News Broadcasting
Prasar Bharati invites applications for vacant MPEG-2 slots in 56 e-auction
Mumbai: Prasar Bharati has invited satellite TV channels to bid for vacant MPEG-2 slots on DD Free Dish DTH Platform through the 56th e-auction. Successful bidders would be distributed on the platform for the allotment period between 1 January and 31 March 2022.
The bidding process shall be open to all language genre channels starting at a reserve price of Rs 1.94 crore and going up to Rs 5.51 crore. The e-auction, if required, will be conducted on 24 December and the last date to submit applications is on 23 December by 3 p.m.
The public broadcaster has categorised TV channels into different buckets in accordance with the genre/language of the channel and defined a starting reserve price for the allotment period.
Only satellite channels licensed by the ministry for information and broadcasting for downlinking in India would be allotted slots on DD Free Dish. Only license holder company or their authorised distributor partners can apply for allocation of DD Free Dish slots.
Applicants must also pay a mandatory non-refundable processing fee of Rs 25,000 and participation fee of Rs 1.5 crore. For unsuccessful bidders, the participation fee will be refunded within three weeks after the declaration of the results of e-auction. For successful bidders, participation fee will be adjusted in the final installment of the carriage fee/bid amount.
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.
