News Broadcasting
Pat Walters is Promax & BDA’s new VP & CFO
MUMBAI: Pat Walters is the new vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) of Promax & BDA, television’s leading organization of promotion and broadcast design.
Walters, who held key finance and operations positions at Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) for over a decade, will assume the charge immediately. His new responsibilities will include managing and overseeing all global finance and operations of the organization.
Walters will also be contributing in the areas of administration, marketing and strategic planning as Promax & BDA looks to expand, launching new conferences in India, The Middle East (Dubai), and South Africa this year.
Walters will also liaison with the Promax & BDA sales team as they take on their new assignment as the exclusive sales and marketing representative for the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ emmy sponsorship and consumer brand promotions. Walters will be based in Los Angeles.
In an official statement, Promax & BDA chief executive officer Jim Chabin states, “Pat has a solid and impressive background in leadership, team building, operations, finance, marketing and strategic planning. He’s successfully managed multi-million dollar marketing budgets for feature films and staffs of over 140 people. He’s also restructured Sony’s film marketing department from top to bottom and made it more efficient on a variety of levels. With over two decades of experience in the entertainment business, including his years at Sony, Pat will be an asset as the Promax & BDA expands to new markets and develops new initiatives.”
Joining Sony in 1984, Walters has held the positions of Director Domestic Marketing Finance and Administration, SPE and senior vice president, finance, SPE.
Most recently, Walters had served as president and co-founder of The Group1LCC, a business consulting firm he started in 2000, which advises clients on finance, organizational structure and operations as well as creates and executes marketing plans and organizes and staff’s marketing departments.
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.
