News Broadcasting
Sahara moves court against Star over ‘One’ name
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Star’s plans to launch a new upmarket Hindi channel, Star One, has run into a roadblock. Sahara India Mass Communications has appealed in a Delhi court against Star using the `One’ brand name.
Though details of the case are not forthcoming, what is known is that part of the Subrata Roy-promoted Sahara group moved the Delhi high court on Monday contending that Star should be restrained from using the name Star One as it is similar to SaharaOne. Recently Sahara brought all its media and entertainment businesses under the umbrella brand name of SaharaOne.
It has been contended that Sahara had applied for the trade mark SaharaOne some time back and, hence, Star cannot use a similar sounding name, Star One. Sahara is not only using that name for its general entertainment television channel but across its movies, radio and film academy businesses. The logo was unveiled on 1 October at London and came on the entertainment channel on 10 October.
When contacted, a spokesperson for Star India refused to comment on the case as the matter was sub-judice. Star One is slated for launch on 1 November and a media campaign has already been unveiled.
The case has been listed for hearing again day after tomorrow. Former law minister, Arun Jaitley, would argue the case on behalf of Star India.
In the past Delhi high court had heard such cases involving media companies.
In one such case, filed about 18 months back, the court had ordered that Videocon group could not use a name for a proposed channel that got abbreviated to `BBC’.
The British Broadcasting Corporation had appealed against Videocon group’s intention to launch a channel by the name of Bharat Business Channel or BBC in short; saying that BBC is a registered trademark.
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.
