News Broadcasting
News Corp forms Fox Television Studios India; Deepak Segal is head
MUMBAI: Star India looks to be aiming to move a significant part of its production activities, particularly relating to format shows and advertiser funded programming (AFP), in house.
For that purpose, News Corp’s Fox Entertainment Group has set up a wholly owned subsidiary Fox Television Studios India Pvt Ltd (FTSI) and put Star India executive vice-president content and communication Deepak Segal in charge of leading it. Segal, who is currently “on deputation” to FTSI from Star, will officially move to the new company once it is fully operational. Segal summed up the broad logic of the move by News Corp as “backward integration”.
FTSI is setting up relevant infrastructure for creating channel, pre-production, production and post-production facilities for content and storage of content.
The format shows produced by FTSI will have a mix of product developed in India as well as those licensed from abroad and adapted for telecast in India, Segal reveals.
According to Segal, while FTSI’s focus is on formats and AFPs, his team is working on a narrative show as well. Queried as to when any of these shows were expected to go on air, Segal said it would only be in the next fiscal. A point of note is that Star’s financial year is from 1 July to 30 June.
As regards the executive structure within Star following Segal’s departure, it will more or less follow the changes incorporated in July 2005 when new portfolios were created for Shailja Kejriwal as senior creative director – Star network and Harsh Rohatgi as GM – Star network.
While Kejriwal oversees programming and on-air promotions, Rohatgi is responsible for broadcast operations, network planning and presentation.
About the only change in terms of functionality would be that Channel [V] head honcho Amar Deb, who used to report to Segal, now reports directly in to Star Entertainment India CEO Sameer Nair.
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
