News Broadcasting
Prasar Bharati revenues take a dip in 2001-2002
NEW DELHI: The public broadcaster’s gross commercial revenues have taken a beating this year.
In a reply to a query in the Upper House of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj today disclosed that Prasar Bharati’s gross commercial revenues for 2001-2002 had slipped to Rs 6152.1 million from Rs 6375.1 million the earlier year.
The pubcaster, which had netted revenues of Rs 5971.9 million in 1999-2000, had registered an impressive growth last year, but has not been able to sustain the same this fiscal.
CABLE TV MARKET: On whether the Prasar Bharati proposed to enter cable TV market, Swaraj said it had recently signed a memorandum of understanding with MTNL for cooperation in exploring new business opportunities and utilisation of the fibre optic network for carriage of Doordarshan services.
PLAN TO REGULATE CABLE AND TV PROGRAMMES: On the government’s proposal to regulate cable and television programmes, the minister said that the government had constituted an inter-ministerial committee to go into specific complaints regarding any programme not being in conformity with the prescribed programme code.
She said the committee would consist of officials from the I&B ministry, home, defence, external affairs and law. On cases that had been taken cognisance of by the Press Council, Swaraj said the media watchdog had during the period from 1 April 1998 to March 31, 2001 examined 2,452 complaints and upheld 352 of them.
FILM FINANCE: She also said that under the government’s new plans, the Reserve Bank of India as well as public sector banks may soon finance films launched by producers with a good track record, subject to certain conditions. Under the scheme, Swaraj said producers would be required to finance 25 per cent of the project cost as promoters’ contribution and could also tie up with distributors to receive advances as is the usual practice.
She said bank advances would be to the tune of 35 to 40 per cent and this could be increased to 50 per cent on merits under the new guidelines.
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.
