News Broadcasting
`Red Alert’ completes a century; special show on 6 Aug
MUMBAI: Star News’ crime show Red Alert will air a special episode on 6 August to on the occasion of completion of 100 episodes.
The show, which launched 2 August 2003, is presently hosted by Jitendra Dixit.
The weekend show, airing at 11:30 pm notched up a 214 per cent viewership growth post-launch in August 2003 in the late night time slot.
In a statement today issued, Star News said Red Alert is the “original, path-breaking crime special that spurred the current spate of crime programs across news channels.”
However, while these programs might look similar, they quite haven’t been able to match the flavour or the unique character of this original “favourite,” the statement claimed.
Episodes featuring Maninder Pal Singh, wanted in the rape and murder of British student Hannah Foster, Star News said got positive repsonse from viewers as the xcrime programme sensitised people to such heinous acts.
A spokesperson for Star News said, “Red Alert was an attempt to break the mould and involve the viewer in the crime-fighting process. More importantly, the crimes and scandals exposed and criminals nabbed as a result of Red Alert’s unrelenting focus on exposing crime draw up as medals of recognition in our mission to build a better society.”
Some of the exposes by Red Alert include a first time sting operation post-Tehelka that delved into the involvement of glamorous Bollywood actresses and models in a high profile prostitution racket.
The show also, during its 100-episode journey, highlighted a medieval exploitation of women through Arab tourists seeking quickly dissolvable contract marriages in the back alleys of Hyderabad for short bursts of pleasure.
An episode on Baby killer Darbara Singh featured an exclusive story by Star News on the kidnapping, raping and killing of scores of innocent children in Jalandhar. The story was brought into focus by Red Alert, resulting in the pedophile’s subsequent arrest.
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.
