News Broadcasting
Sanju Saha quits Star News, to join Pepsi India
NEW DELHI: Sanju Saha, executive vice president, human resources at Star News, has put in his papers and is slated to join Pepsi in a much higher capacity.
Industry sources said that Saha, just 37, is joining as executive vice president, human resources of the Rs 70 billion Pepsi India group, a high profile job that functionally is director, HR.
Reluctant to comment on the development, Saha did tell indiantelevision.com: “I can say that I am as of date EVP HR, Star News, but I am leaving the group, that is confirmed.”
Sources who know him say that Saha was looking for a higher profile, which Pepsi has now offered him. And though no one is putting a date to either his finally leaving Star or joining the F&B global major, sources said he is joining Pepsi in the first week of February.
Saha had been working with Star News for the past two years and was responsible for streamlining the HR department and making it market oriented, getting the right people and generally “ruddering the ship in an industry that has seen so much turmoil”, a Star insider says.
Saha has previously worked with Aaj Tak, thus having worked in senior capacities in both the top Hindi news channels of the country.
“I come from a banking background, having worked with American Express before joining the media, Aaj Tak,” Saha said.
Before AmEx, he had worked with Britannia and Vazir Sultan, the Hyderabad based tobacco manufacturer.
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.
