News Broadcasting
No decline in DD viewership in recent years: I&B ministry
Mumbai: There has been no decline in viewership of Doordarshan in recent years, the union information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur told Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Viewership of DD has been unaffected in spite of the increase of private TV channels in the broadcasting space during the past years and fragmentation of audience due to many private TV channels relaying Doordarshan’s live content, he noted.
The Rajya Sabha queried the I&B minister whether DD viewership has been declining sharply in recent years. It also asked for the trend of revenue generation at DD through advertisements during the last three years.
Anurag Thakur supplied Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) data for 22 subscribed standard definition DD channels, out of a total of 36, for the period between 2016 to 2021.
The minister also shared the commercial revenue earned by Doordarshan during the last three years from government and non-government advertising.
The minister stated that public broadcaster Prasar Bharati had taken a number of steps to further increase the viewership of DD channels. This included launching dedicated sports, entertainment and news channels including DD Sports, DD Retro, DD India and DD News. Prasar Bharati also aired the iconic shows “Ramayan” and “Mahabharat” during the 2020 lockdown that led to a record high in TV viewership.
Apart from its TV network, DD has ensured that major live events are also live-streamed on its digital platforms. Recently during Republic Day 2022, it garnered 2.6 crore views on its YouTube platform in comparison to 2.3 crore views on its TV network. “It is evident that the Doordarshan’s viewership on YouTube platform alone was greater than its TV viewership as reported by Barc,” noted Anurag Thakur.
DD visuals were also aired by more than 180 channels across the country from 9:30 a.m to 12 p.m. This further amplified the TV viewership of Republic Day 2022 and led to more than 3.2 billion TV viewing minutes of consumption as per Barc data.
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.
