News Broadcasting
Radio Mirchi launches Kaan awards
MUMBAI: Taking an inspiration from the Cannes awards, Radio Mirchi will be launching the Kaan awards. While the Times Group’s radio station has already started inviting entries, the awards will be held in mid-February, probably in Mumbai.
Says Radio Mirchi national marketing head Gautam Gulati, “During the Radio lecture series called Radio Works that we have recently started conducting, we realised that category building is an important aspect of Radio advertising. With a visible lack of any awards instituted to laud excellence in radio advertising, we decide to institute these awards.”
Currently, with Abby’s having a small radio section and the Rapa awards not being publiced too well, there was an obvious need to recognise the talent in radio advertising. “Although not in the interiors, private FM radio has a great reach in the four metros. While people are slowly awakening to the pester power of radio, it is still by and large, a medium used by the advertisers, in addition to the traditional press and television. Besides lauding the talent, the awards will also help educate the media planner about radio,” Gulati explains.
In its debut year the awards will be divided broadly into three clusters, the radical path breaking ads, the creative ads and the radio ads that filliped the ad sales/revenue. While the Radio Mirchi officials are still in the process of drafting the categories, there is a likelyhood of almost 12 categories being announced in each cluster.
With entries invited from all the private radio stations and national broadcaster Prasar Bharati, the awards aim to educate the ad fraternity and the masses, alike, on the creativity and reach of the awards.
While MaCann’s Prasoon Joshi is on the panel to judge the awards, the names thrown for the other six panelists include Vineet Singh Hookmani and Lowe’s Balki. The jury will be a mix of ad men and media planners.
The radio station has invited entries for the calendar year 2003 January to December. “Earlier ads that were aired on the radio were either an audio of the TV ad or a slap shoddy gimmick, but the ads today are far more superior and definitely more creative,” says Gulati. According to Gulati, the target audience is slowly growing from passive listeners to an active audience. With both the housewives and the corporate bigwigs tuning in, the 160 million urban markets are waiting to be trapped.
“In the western market, the radio ad spend forms a chunk of the revenue. We aren’t quite in their league, but I think there is an enough potential,” he added. The FM being still in its nascent stage, the awards will definitely create an awakening of sorts claims Gulati.
Based on the western Pencil awards, One Show awards, Kaan awards aim to become radio equivalent of Cannes.
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.
