News Broadcasting
Salman tapes boost news channels reach 16% in Mumbai: aMap
MUMBAI: It was not just newspapers that went to town on the Salman Khan-Aishwary Rai tapes scandal story broken yesterday by Hindustan Times to coincide with the launch of its Mumbai edition.
The Bollywood bad boy’s latest controversy surrounding alleged links with the underworld gave a big boost to the share of Hindi news channels, which gave the story blanket coverage.
According to online television ratings system aMap, which tracked data for Mumbai city, the Hindi news genre grew 16 per cent on the day following increased viewer tune-ins. aMap states that over the last 10 Thursdays, Hindi news channels recorded an average 34.80 per cent reach in India’s commercial capital, while yesterday it surged to 40.4 per cent.
aMap data for 14 July indicates that Sabse Tez – Aaj Tak managed to chalk up 18.4 per cent across all news channels. Followed by NDTV India, which secured net reach of 13.1 per cent. Zee News on the other hand recorded reach of 12.7 per cent. Star News managed to carve out 11.6 per cent reach, while Channel 7 was at 9.4 per cent.
Sahara Samay Mumbai recorded a reach of 8.6 per cent, while India TV recorded 6.8 per cent. Sahara Rashtriya , the national channel from the Sahara group listed a reach of 6.1 per cent, while the DD News recorded 2 per cent.
This clearly indicates that the viewership base increases when news channels deliver news that have juice and spice, besides high shock value.
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.
