News Broadcasting
Now, uplinking caps may apply for regional channels too
NEW DELHI: It is not only the likes of Star News, CNBC-TV18 and Zee News that have to restructure their shareholding pattern to comply with the foreign investment cap of 26 per cent on news channels uplinking from India.
The government may extend the dragnet to some regional channels too, like Alpha Bangla, Alpha Marathi, Alpha Gujarati (from the Zee Telefilms stable) and Vijay TV in which the Rupert Murdoch-controlled Star has over 40 per cent equity stake indirectly.
While Star News and CNBC-TV18 have restructured themselves to fall within the permissible limits, Zee News is yet to initiate a restructuring, taking full advantage of the one year time granted to it. Star News’ final clearance from the government is expected over the next 10 days.
While formulating a new uplinking policy, announced on 26 March 2003, the government had also said that any entertainment channel that beams news and current affairs programming would have to adhere to the prescribed norms and caps if the news venture has foreign investment.
According to data laid by the government on the table of the Lok Sabha (Lower House) today, Alpha Gujarati, Punjabi, Bangla and Marathi – apart from Zee News and Zee TV – have foreign holding of 57.54 per cent.
Interestingly, according to the information on Zee Telefilms’ site, the total foreign shareholding in the company mounts to 61.7 per cent as on 30 September, 2003.
When contacted by indiantelevision.com, a spokesperson for Zee Telefilms admitted that Alpha channels do air news bulletins, apart from entertainment-related programmes, and said, “All Zee Network television channels are subsidiaries/divisions of Zee and restructuring compliance will be across the spectrum.”
According to the new eligibility criteria for uplinking, foreign holding should not exceed 26 per cent of the paid-up equity in a news channel venture, while at least 51 per cent of the stake would have to be held by an Indian shareholder. This excludes the equity held by public sector banks and financial institutions.
The government today also said, so far it had permitted 39 companies to uplink 104 channels from the country, which beam news and current affairs and/or entertainment programmes. Out of these, 12 had varying component of foreign equity.
Information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, in a written reply to a question in the House today stated, the government has asked Star News, BBC and CNBC-TV18 to reduce foreign equity in their channels by at least 74 per cent and comply with the revised guidelines by March next year for uplinking from the country.
Prasad said that all the existing channels, having foreign equity or foreign direct investment, were required to comply with the new regime within one year after the new guidelines were issued on March 26 this year, putting a cap on holdings.
News Broadcasting
Network18 posts Rs 1,955 crore revenue, narrows FY26 losses
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.
