News Broadcasting
Panregional players to participate in Discop 2006
MUMBAI: The 2006 edition of Discop to be held from 22 to 24 June expects a good attendance due to the strong recovery of the world television programming markets and the awakening of Central Europe and Eastern Europe to production projects in addition to sales of finished product.
To be hosted at the Sofitel Atrium Hotel in Budapest, Hungary, there will be 1,300 participants from less than 400 participants four years ago.
Discop is a programming market focused especially on Central and Eastern Europe and it is attended by small- and medium-sized buyers that do not usually go to MIPTV and Mipcom. The highlights are:
* For the first time, there will be regional production presence, with a good number of local, regional and independent producing companies.
* Larger buyers will attend, including some from Western Europe.
* New players are emerging including regional distributors, new pan-regional pay TV channels and also broadcasters, from Czech Republic, Bulgaria and smaller nations.
* Several ancillary business developers will also attend, covering home video, licensing, mobile telephony and Internet. This did not happen in the past.
On the sellers side, there will be larger participation, too:
* Western Europe will be more represented than earlier.
* Latin America will be participating at full, not only with telenovelas but also offering other types of finished product and formats, cashing on the new bonanza of telenovelas and general “Latin” product in Europe.
* The countries within the region are starting to market their own product.
* More participants from the U.S. are expected, since NATPE purchased the show from Reed-Midem.
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.
