News Broadcasting
NewsX ropes in Seema Mustafa
MUMBAI: Indi Media-owned English news channel NewsX has appointed senior journalist Seema Mustafa as the national affairs editor and head of the national bureau.
The channel has launched a weekly interview programme, Straight Talk With Seema Mustafa.
Prior to NewsX, she was working with The Asian Age as resident editor. In her career spanning over three decades, Mustafa has worked with The Telegraph, Indian Express, The Economic Times and The Patriot. Her weekly columns have been syndicated to several newspapers including The Deccan Chronicle and The Dawn of Pakistan.
NewsX co-promoter Jehangir S Pocha said, “Seema’s joining the NewsX team is another step in our re-building and strengthening the channel. Her experience and calibre will further allow us to give viewers the quality news and journalism they have come to expect from NewsX.”
Mustafa is one of the few women journalists to have reported extensively on armed conflicts. She has covered the Beirut war in 1982 between Israel and the PLO and more recently, the Lebanon-Israel war. She received “Prem Bhatia Award for Excellence in Political Reporting and Analysis” in 1999 for her coverage of the Kargil war.
“NewsX’s approach of bringing the depth and coverage of print journalism to electronic medium makes for an excellent television. It’s a vibrant and fresh news channel with a fine balance of young journalists and seasoned voices. It’ll be exciting experience working with a progressive and engaging news channel such as this,” Mustafa added.
Mustafa’s areas of interest are Kashmir, West Asia and Pakistan. She also writes on atomic energy and nuclear issues.
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.
