News Broadcasting
Prasar Bharati to beef up DD, AIR news operations with fresh recruitments
MUMBAI: Prasar Bharati is strengthening its manpower for news coverage in All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan. Responding to a written query on the subject, minister of information and broadcasting and Parliamentary affairs P R Dasmunsi said in the Lok Sabha that the Prasar Bharati board had approved the proposal to position Part Time Correspondents (PTC) in all those districts of the country where regular AIR correspondents are not posted.
According to Dasmunsi, there are about 90 full time correspondents/editors and 419 PTCs posted/positioned across the country and the process of selection of PTCs in respect of remaining 150 districts headquarters is underway.
“With this, Prasar Bharati will have correspondents in all the district headquarters of the country. Doordarshan News has a network of Stringers who, along with the PTCs of AIR, provides news inputs from various districts in the country. Besides, Doordarshan regular TV correspondents/news reporters are also deployed to gather important news from time to time for inclusion in the news bulletins telecast by Doordarshan,” Dasmunsi said.
Dasmunsi informed that, AIR and Doordarshan tried to cover all important news events across the country with its limited manpower and support. “Some events in far off places which are not covered due to infrastructure and manpower shortages are covered by subscribing to news agencies,” he said.
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.
