News Broadcasting
Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products appoints Brian Offutt as SVP entertainment products
MUMBAI: Brian Offutt, the former head of Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products’ (NVCP) Los Angeles office, has relocated to New York to oversee the NVCP home entertainment, publishing, and record business. The announcement was made by NVCP president, Leigh Anne Brodsky, to whom he will continue to report.
Offutt replaces Stephen Youngwood, who last month became executive vice president, digital media, at Nickelodeon.
In his new role as senior vice president, entertainment products, Offutt has been charged with managing the home video/DVD, publishing and music businesses for Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Noggin, and The N, as well as the home video/DVD, book publishing and videogame businesses for Comedy Central, Spike TV and TV Land and the book publishing business for Paramount — all networks and the movie studio within the Viacom family that are handled for licensing and merchandising by NVCP.
Specifically, he will oversee a staff that manages relationships with Paramount Home Entertainment that distributes all NVCP home videos; Nick Records, which has been in partnership with Sony BMG Strategic Marketing Group since 2004; and the publishing group, with partners including Simon & Schuster and Random House.
“Brian Offutt has been an integral part of Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products for the past year, setting up our licensing and merchandising team within Paramount Pictures and bringing to market such successful product as the Godfather videogame. He brings to his new position a keen understanding of both the entertainment and merchandising businesses to further develop our content-driven businesses,” said Brodsky.
Before joining NVCP in January 2005, Offutt was chief operating officer of Broadway Video Entertainment, a leading independent television and film production company founded by Lorne Michaels. In that position, he was directly responsible for the company’s post-production business unit, whose clients included CBS Sports, Showtime and MTV Networks.
Prior to Broadway Video, Offutt was president and COO of Interdimensions, an online technology and interactive solutions company. He also served as senior vice president of Golden Books, an executive recruiter at Spencer Stuart and an investment banking analyst at JP Morgan.
Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products manages the third largest licensing business in the world and such properties as SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer. The department handles the merchandising for Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, Comedy Central, MTVN International, and Spike TV.
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.
