News Broadcasting
Sahara corp comm head Prriya Raj quits
MUMBAI: Sahara Media & Entertainment Network Vice President (Publicity, Promotions and PR) Prriya Raj has put in his papers citing ‘personal reasons’.
Raj, also a well-known management cartoonist, had been with Sahara from early 2001. He was instrumental in injecting the launch of Haqeeqat and Draupadi in May 2001 with creative and media innovation as well as sustaining the same with the newsletter Sampark, DMs, posters, flyers, road shows, promotions, PR and interactive website to build the brand Sahara TV. He was also behind the much talked about tongue-in-cheek campaigns of news programmes of Sahara TV namely Chunav Sangram and Budget Mahapuran.
He was nominated for the award of PR executive of the year at the Indian Telly Awards 2002 by Indiantelevision.com.
An MBA topper from Allahabad University, Raj has earlier worked with S. Kumars as a Publicity Officer, Mitra Prakashan as All India Advertising Manager, ad agencies Mudra as Account Director and R K Swamy / BBDO as Director Client Services. He also co-promoted Momentum as India’s first fee-based ad agency and worked with www.123india.com as an advisor.
He has two books to his credit – ‘Under The Pyramid’ (IBH / 1998) and ‘Counter Point’ (BPI/1999). He also contributes a regular weekly management cartoon column ‘Out Of The Box’ in the Hindu.
While he is yet to firm up his future plans, Raj says his stint at Sahara has given him valuable insights into the entertainment business. “This has surely added a new dimension to my overall experience,” he says.
About his future plans, he says : “I have not yet firmed up my plans. I need to first take a break, think afresh with a new perspective and then look at the available opportunities to finalise my next course of action.”
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.
