News Broadcasting
News Nation gets a place in Limca Book of Records
MUMBAI: Last year when the government decided to stop the telegram service, news channel News Nation decided to use it to its advantage. Upon inquiry from the Limca Book of Records (LBR), it found that the record for the maximum number of telegrams sent in a day had earlier been held by a person in Kerala for sending 201 telegrams in one day.
It sent a mail to the LBR that it will be attempting to break the existing record. In order to break the record it had to send out a minimum of 50 telegrams more than the earlier record.
On 13 July 2013, the channel sent out 400 telegrams from the Noida post office to various people including the President, Prime Minister, Sonia Gandhi, Shah Rukh Khan, agencies, socialites etc. The message on the telegrams was ‘ab telegram nahi aayega, News Nation har khabar pahunchayega.’ Once it was done, it had to send the original receipts, photos and a video of the process to LBR.
Even though no one responded back in time (as the service was to be shut from 14 July), it has now received the response from the LBR that it has successfully created a new record of ‘most telegrams sent in a day (group)’. The record will feature in the next edition of the book that will come out in January 2015.
This record has also become unbreakable because the service no longer exists in the country.
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.
