News Broadcasting
Republic TV & Pushkar’s kin restrained, hearing on 21 Sept
MUMBAI: The Delhi High Court has asked Republic TV and the kin of late Sunanda Pushkar not to indulge in “name calling” in connection with her death case but said there could be a possibility of some posturing from both sides.
The court was hearing the Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s plea seeking to restrain journalist-editor Arnab Goswami and his TV channel from alleged misreporting on his wife’s death, PTI reported. Pushkar was found dead in a south Delhi five-star hotel suite on the night of 17 January, 2014, in mysterious circumstances.
Justice Manmohan made the above observation after lawyers accused each other of not being careful while tweeting about the case as well as about each other.
The court has now told Tharoor’s lawyers to file their response to the affidavit filed by Goswami and the channel and listed the case for hearing on 21 September. Tharoor had filed Rs 20 million defamation suit against Goswami and his channel.
While the media house was now careful in how it reported about the case, senior advocate Salman Khurshid, appearing for Tharoor, said some Republic TV reporters were not taking the same care while tweeting. Appearing for Republic TV, advocate Malvika Trivedi contended that Tharoor had also made endless tweets against it which, she said, were offensive.
In response, Khurshid said that his client’s remarks about the media house were harsh and funny, but not defamatory and assured the court that such statements would not be made again. Khurshid said he does not want to gag the media. Investigation was their right, he said, but, he said, they had already held him guilty.
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.
