News Broadcasting
Raj seeks its place in the ‘Sun’ with three channels
CHENNAI: The lucrative southern market where Kalinidhi Maran’s Sun is shining brightly is all set to see competition. Come 23 May Raj Network will launch a Telugu channel Visa TV.
The Rs 100 million Visa TV will be owned by an independent company, Visa Television Network. Visa TV will be the sixth player to enter the Telugu market. Besides Suns channels Gemini and Teja you have ETV, MAA and Doordharshan.
The launch of news channels is happening thick and fast and the south is no exception. Raj will also launch a 24-hours news channel and music channel.
Raj Television CEO Rajeev Nambiar has been quoted in a report saying, “All the three new channels will be free while our two existing channels Raj TV and Raj Digital Plus will go pay for Rs. 12”.
Let’s now scrutinise the financial aspects of the plans. Raj Television’s MD M Raajhendhran has been quoted saying that they will involve a capex of Rs 420 million. The source of funds will come mainly out of internal accruals and some borrowings from the State Bank of India
Raj’s revenue is Rs 400 million and Nambiar is clearly hoping for increases in both ad and subscription revenue with the two channels going pay. Of course CAS will weed out the filler channels and those too weak to stand on their own two feet. Therefore a big question mark hovers over the extent to which Raj is able to enhance subscription revenue in its home state. It is lagging behind the competition in terms of quality of transmission and programmes. Nambiar however maintains that transmission is a problem only in Tamil Nadu. “In other markets the picture clarity is quite good,” he said. Nambiar is hopeful of clocking a turnover of Rs 1.2 billion this fiscal.
The Tamil channel ad market is worth Rs 3 billion. Sun and national broadcaster Doordarshan garnering nearly Rs 2 billion. This leaves Raj’s two channels, Jaya TV, Star Vijay and Tamizhan TV fighting for the remaining Rs 1 billion.
On the distribution front Nambiar has been quoted as saying that the total declarations by the cable ops and multi-system operators (MSO) in Tamil Nadu are around 3.5 million and in Chennai it would be around 1.5 million. He maintains that the situation is healthy even if Raj gets one-third of the above numbers.
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.
