News Broadcasting
Post weekends, its 8 pm under the scanner for Star Plus
MUMBAI: Post the weekend attack, Star Plus is now concentrating on its 8 pm slot with the launch of its new show Mum Tum Aur Hum. It’s simple, it’s basic and is an indigenous product from the Synergy Communications stable. Debuting on 19 September, slotted from Mondays to Thursdays, this game show format for moms and kids is an attempt to offer differentiated content; away from the staple diet of Star Plus.
Mum Tum Aur Hum (MTAH) is a game show played by a mother and child team (two teams at a time) that aims at heightening and exploring the mother and child relationship in the midst of action and distraction.
The channel is pitching this as family viewing via the mothers and kids by using this format to intersperse all the relationship factors within a family unit. The show in a sporting situational manner reveals the extent of understanding that a mother and child have of each other. What is interesting is that every reaction that the mothers and kids reveal is captured live and is not pre-recorded. The age band of the kids has been frozen between 7-10 years.
The winning mother and kid team will win an all expenses paid trip for four for four nights and five days to any of these toursit destinations – Maldives, Sydney, New Zealand, Dubai or Mauritius.
Why 8 pm? Answers Star India network senior creative director Shailja Kejriwal, “Our research shows that most kids are back home by 8 pm and it’s dinner or television time. And via this show we are looking and getting on board both the female and the kids demographics. We’re also pushing the envelope a little further with this new format and will keep adding elements as the show picks up momentum.”
The 8 pm slot on Star Plus did well with Sonpari (Wednesday) and Khichdi (Mondays) prior to the launch of Dekho Magar Pyar Se (DMPS). Kejriwal agreed that the 8 pm slot was a weak one, and 8 pm per se is still early prime time and has not yet come into the core prime time band. “With this show, one is first trying to experiment with a new concept, secondly offering a show that does need everyday commitment and thirdly try and understand this slot with this show.”
Kejriwal also pointed out that with Sonpari, while being kids skewed, introduced elements to pull in female audiences while with Khichdi, which was adult skewed, elements were brought in to pull in kids.
The show, if it picks up, will also give a further impetus to Kasauti… and the Monday to Thursday line thereon with kids also latching on to the serial.
On the marketing front, the channel has introduced a school contact programme across 50 schools in Mumbai and Delhi. Says Star India vice president marketing Puneet Johar, “For the next two weeks we are focussing on the school contact programme in Delhi and Mumbai wherein about 40,000 kids will participate in different contests and bag goodies; the jackpot being an entry to participate in the show. We will also be looking at ground activation in other cities.”
That apart close to 1500 GRPS have been allocated for the promo of this show.
While the channel is very clear in its objectives for Mum Tum Aur Hum, its going to be an interesting game between Sony’s Kaisa Ye Pyaar Hai, Zee’s Tumahari Disha and the newest game format.
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.
