News Broadcasting
Next stop Asia for NBC Universal?
MUMBAI: The birth Wednesday of a new media-entertainment titan NBC Universal that rivals the likes of Time Warner and News Corp offers possibilities that Asia might well see competition to Star TV on different fronts, including new channels.
With brands such as television networks NBC, Telemundo, USA Network, Sci-Fi Channel, Bravo, Trio, CNBC, and MSNBC (jointly owned with Microsoft); Universal Pictures film studio; television production studios and interests in theme parks, there are many possibilities that open up.
Indiantelevision.com put the poser to president and CEO, CNBC Asia Pacific Alexander “Sandy” Brown of what Asia could expect from the creation of the media behemoth and he said that while “there is no direct implication today” but there would be no waiting around on the issue. Using the synergies that the new entity brings on board to “significantly drive up toplines” would be an ‘A’ priority activity, avers Brown.
Brown would offer no timelines on when and how the action plan would be set forth except to assert that there was a great deal of urgency behind the effort.
The key synergies will come from the 4,000 strong film library that is available to NBC Universal added to the 40,000 television show archive, Brown said. The third link in the revenue chain would be provided by the theme park business with one already up and running in Osaka, Japan and a second sceduled to start operations in 2007 in Shanghai, China.
Questioned as to whether there was now scope for channels like Bravo, Trio, or Sci-Fi Channel launch in Asia, Brown, while not ruling it out, said another possibility was that the TV content that was available could also be mixed and matched to create wholly new channels customised to suit Asian preferences.
Giving some sense of the scale of the revenue ramp up that was possible, Brown pointed to NBC’s annual revenues from international business being in the “low 100s of millions of dollars” compared to Vivendi Universal’s $ 2.5 billion. The merger “gives NBC a whole new opportunity,” Brown said, adding that the fact that the network major was principally advertising driven while Universal was fees (subscription and ticket receipts) driven meant that the two complemented each other well.
Queried as to whether he would have an expanded role in the new dispensation, Brown said it was too early to tell as these decisions were still to be firmed up. “I will continue to focus my energies on CNBC Asia,” he said, of his near term scope of activity.
Asked about any initiatives or deals that CNBC had entered into in the last year, Brown said, “We launched a co-production initiative with Shanghai Media Group in April 2003 which has been very succesful.”
Another initiative that has happened on Brown’s watch is the launch of the MGM channel in three new territories – Hong Kong, Indonesia and Macau. MGM is available in India on the Zee Turner distribution platform co-branded as Zee MGM. Brown said two more announcements regarding MGM distribution deals would be made in the near future.
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.
