News Broadcasting
Ravina Raj Kohli: On the prowl for professionals for Star News
Ravina Raj Kohli is stepping into high gear. Back from a month-long tour of News Corp’s news operations in the US, the UK, east Asia, she is charged up and raring to go all out in hiring professionals – both editorial and management – for her most challenging job yet. Setting up Star News India afresh from ground up in Hindi. News head Sanjay Pugalia – a steal from Zee News – is expected in Mumbai to begin a round of interviews in the coming week.
“I’m looking for a new kind of broadcasting professional who comes without any baggage,” says Kohli. “We would like people who think out of the box. Innovation is going to be the key word. I want new people, I want the best of talent because I believe if you want to be the preferred channel to watch, you have to be the preferred channel to work in as well.
According to her, she has hired a single professional agency to rope in the best of talent. She reveals that Star News India will have two major streams: the news side and operations. Pugalia, as stated earlier heads editorial and news, and the operations head has already been appointed from within the Star India network in Vynsley Fernandes. Operations will handle broadcasting and technology matters that make for a quality service, she says.
Kohli states that the news operations will be peopled by seasoned blood mixed with raw, young, and dynamic news gathering talent. “I’m looking for people who have fire in their bellies,” she says. “Who are willing to go the distance for the story.”
“News as a genre is no longer going to be the same,” says the tough-as-nails lady. “What we are looking at is relaunching the brand to broaden its horizons and perspective. We are the most fertile news market in the world. We can generate more news per square foot than anywhere else because of the sheer diversity and population that this country offers. And that is what Star News aims to tap.”
Central to Kohli’s vision is Mumbai, India’s commercial and entertainment capital. According to her, the very act of centralising news operations in Mumbai is a huge paradigm shift of perceptions because Delhi is India’s political capital and all national television news organisations are hqed there.
Why Mumbai? “Because the city encapsulates the cosmopolitan Indian sensibility,” says Kohli.
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.
