News Broadcasting
Scientific-Atlanta wins another round in patent rights battle with Gemstar
ATLANTA (Georgia): Cable television set-top box maker Scientific-Atlanta announced on Monday that it won another round in its legal battle with the Rupert Murdoch-controlled Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. over patented innovations related to television on-screen programming guides.
The latest judgment by a Georgia federal court ruled that Scientific-Atlanta’s Explorer(r) 3000 and 8600x set-top boxes did not infringe any claims of US patent numbers 5,508,815 and 5,568,272. The Court had previously ruled in favor of Scientific-Atlanta regarding the same two patents and Scientific-Atlanta’s Explorer 2000 set-tops. There are additional Gemstar and Scientific-Atlanta patents at issue in the Georgia court.
Gemstar said last week it would restate 2 1/2 years of financial results, including removing $113 million it booked as revenue in anticipation of winning the dispute with Scientific-Atlanta. The US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the company’s accounting.
Gemstar CEO Henry Yuen resigned last month after an accounting review by the board’s audit committee, and last week the company fired its accounting firm, KPMG LLP.
Gemstar holds more than 190 patents for the software used to run menus that help TV viewers pick shows, and it has sued customers and rivals to enforce the rights. As satellite and digital cable have expanded viewers’ choices to hundreds of channels, on-screen program guides have become more important to consumers.
News Corp. owns a 42 percent stake in Gemstar, which earns more from its TV Guide magazine than it does from on-screen listings.
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.
