News Broadcasting
NT awards recognise the best in TV news
NEW DELHI: In a fitting finale to a year that saw some very tumultuous coverage for television news channels highlighted among others by the Indian victory of the ICC Cricket World Cup and the anti-corruption movement of Anna Hazare, the best in the world of the electronic media were felicitated at the gala event of the 5th News Television Awards here this evening.
Over 135 awards in different categories in four languages – English, Hindi, Marathi and Telugu – were presented amidst huge cheers by a large number of high profile dignitaries from the world of television, performing arts, sports, fashion, bureaucracy, and politics.
While presenting the awards, Indiantelevision.com founder and CEO Anil Wanvari said ethics and credibility will be the key to news coverage with the changeover to digital technology. He therefore advised media persons to find the right model for news according to their viewership.
There were three cases where the awards were shared amongst two channels, but there were several individual programmes or individual newspersons and anchors who received more than one award.
The awards gala was hosted by television actress Manini Dey Mishra and TV presenter Denzil O’Connell, who made some interesting comments on the way news is presented or about politics and personalities in general, leaving the audience in splits.
Indiantelevision.com general manager Anoop Wanvari referred in his opening remarks that the awards were aimed at encouraging young people in doing better, and echoed the sentiments of Anil Wanvari, when he called for more channels to send entries for these awards – which were the first to be instituted especially for news TV channels.
Awards were given for the best in categories like crime shows, sports shows, gadget and auto programmes, documentaries with limited duration, news presentation, anchors and news readers, business news programmes, investigative reporting, current affairs, prime time news cast, popular news show, use of graphics, set design (actual and virtual), cameraperson, promos, show packaging, news reporters and presenters, entertainment critics and news anchors, business programmes, public debates, and lifestyle and fashion.
Special awards were given for coverage of two major events of 2011 – the World Cup win for India, and the agitation for a Lok Pal by Anna Hazare. There was also a special award for the best news person under 24 years of age.
Those who had come to give away the awards included Central Information Commission chief Wajahat Habbibullah, Birju Maharaj, Aman Ali Khan, HK Dua, politicians Dr Subramaniam Swamy and Jaya Jaitley, Kiran Bedi, fashion designer Ritu Beri, danseuse Shovana Narayan, former cricket player Bishen Singh Bedi, former RBI chief Bimal Jalan, Doordarshan deputy director general Raj Shekhar Vyas, Rashmi Rizhwani, Babbal Sabharwal, Shaswati Sen, industrialist Mohit Burman, Francis Wacziarg of Neemrana Hotels, and veteran media person Kuldip Nayyar.
The awards function came at the end of a news summit on ‘Seeking a growth injection: Is digitisation the answer for the news television business’ which saw representatives of leading news channels, direct-to-home platforms and others in the television news industry taking part in four different sessions on ‘Tech Trends’, ‘A look at the Genre’, ‘Content’, and ‘The Leader Panel’.
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.
