News Broadcasting
Republic Media Network expands content solutions vertical, launches R.Fluid, felicitated at Golden Awards of Montreux, Switzerland
Within five months of launching R.Bharat, Republic Media Network set to achieve another milestone- R.Fluid; the new venture to strengthen its distinctive competence of storytelling and story-doing for advertisers.
Arnab Goswami-owned Republic Media Networkannounces its new venture R.Fluid which thriveson creating strong platform-agnostic content-led opportunities for brands.Keeping brands at centre, R.Fluidweaves stories that result in an unforgettable experience for the brand’s consumers.
Rachit Tiwary is going to lead R.Fluid as the Business Head. This is in continuation to his role as the Director of Brand Solutions at Republic Media Network. Rachit started his career as a NBCUniversal Page executive and worked on shows such asThe Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Saturday Night Live. In addition, Priya Raman has been appointed as theProgramming Head of this function. She joins this vertical with over two decades of experience in content & production.
“Content-led conversations, discussions, features, activations, and events with a platform/media agnostic approach is required to find effective solutions.I am confident that the Fluid team will strive to make the partners and brands win using Republic as its pivotal asset, considering the large reach and high engagement across platforms,” said the Group CEO of Republic Media Network, Vikas Khanchandani.
The R.Fluid will approach brand solutions in a varied format-be it large scale cause-led marketing initiatives, media solutions, network IPs, or on-ground events &activations.“The key task is to grab the ever-fleeting attention of today's hyper-bored consumer and having engagement throughcontent. The birth of Fluid epitomises the market’s need for creation of clutter-bursting ideas that can avoid the quicksand of consumer indifference. The strength of Fluid is its fluidity to adopt and adept at any contextual imperatives of its customers,” said Dr Bhaskar Das, Group President of Republic Media Network.
Over the last two years, the team has successfully partnered with more than 25 brands across various verticals such as HMSI (Honda Motorcycles & Scooters India), Facebook, Ola, DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance, and Apollo Hospitals, among others.
The Content President and Chief Executive Producer of Republic Media Network, Charu Thakur, further elaborates on the belief of R.Fluid, “Republic is a 100 percent content driven company. Fluid is an extension of our brand and we are excited about bringing top-notch content opportunities to our audiences through this new member of our network.”
The launch of R.Fluid comes at a perfect time with the Republic Media Network winning its first award for the DHFL Pramerica Life InsuranceBehtar India campaignat the prestigious International Advertising CompetitionGolden Award of Montreux 2019.The Network won this award among 3000+ entriesregistered from 37 countries. About the win, the Chief Marketing and Digital Officer of DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance, Anshuman Verma, said, “Montreux award certification is recognised worldwide and has a highly credible International jury. This award is a testament of how Behtar India is one of the finest social innovation programmes in the world, which is building a conscious society through development of leadership qualities in school students. The collective enthusiasm and the infectious energy of our teams, Republic TV and schools; made Behtar India an astounding success and made this award possible.”
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.
