News Broadcasting
Padmalaya to launch 10 films this fiscal
MUMBAI: Padmalaya Telefilms with its new chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) Adiseshagiri Rao, is moving on to greater heights with a whopping figure of ten feature films all set to be unveiled this financial year.
The company is planning to get five Hindi films and five regional films (which break up into two Tamil films, two Telugu films and one Bengali film) off the ground. Add to this, is the much-anticipated live action cum animated film Bhagmati, in the making for eons now, which looks to be all set for an October release.
Bhagmati is being touted as the first live action cum 2D animation film to come out of Asia.
Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Padmalaya Telefilms executive director GV Narsimha Rao, gushes, “It’s almost finished now; it is now in the process of editing. This will be a big achievement, although it’s yet to be seen how the industry will respond.”Although the company is very optimistic about the initiative, a major concern that was voiced during the discussion with Indiantelevision.com was the fact that Indian audiences are not ready for cartoons and animated films.
On the television software front, Padmalaya is set to enter the Hindi fray with the backing of its parent company and media heavyweight Zee Telefilms. With an already established clout in the regional space, with 5-6 hrs of television programming in Tamil and Telugu, Padmalaya is testing the waters with Zee.
Discussions are on regarding the production of content for the Zee umbrella. Padmalaya will be producing a number of shows for Zee this year. On the regional front, they are producing a show each for Maa TV, Gemini TV, ETV and Visa TV, the Telegu channels and are also in negotiations with Sun TV, the Tamil channel.
With all the progress that Padmalaya seems to have made on the animation front translating into all their major overseas deals, the film and TV software arms of the company have also not been left behind. The company seems to have an interesting vision for the year 2004-05, hoping to be a significant player in all three fields.
Some may call it blind optimism, but by the looks of it, Rao seems to be reaching for the stars. GM Krishna, the former CMD of the company, interestingly is himself a very renowned actor in the south credited with over 325 films in lead roles.
With his first love being movies, Krishna has decided to pursue his dream and now it is all left to CMD
Adiseshagiri Rao and GV Narasimha Rao to steer Padmalaya onto a higher pedestal.
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.
