News Broadcasting
Scope for BTVi & two channels in biz genre, says Megha Tata
MUMBAI: While assessing business news viewership to be less than one per cent of the 183-million television viewing homes, BTVi aims to be among the top three channels as it grows two and a half times in six months flat.
Business Television India (BTVi) will complete a year in August 2017 and its hard work seems to have catapulted its ratings on the BARC India charts. It claims to have doubled its Twitter following in a year.
BTVi’s focus continues to be the main metros, where English business news consumption is on a higher side. The channel plans to strengthen its sales team by hiring some more senior executives in Mumbai, Delhi and south India. Recently, BTVi hired Shilpa Shetty and Seema Pisharody and made their revenue and strategy teams stronger.
BTVi COO Megha Tata said, “The business news genre is very small — probably be less than a per cent, and there is space for three business channels to survive, eventually.”
Talking about the growth of genre and BTVi as a channel, she said: “The genre has grown by about 104 per cent in the last 5-6 months, but BTVi has grown by 240 per cent, This growth is primarily owing to the content we are airing, is connecting well with the viewers.” Says Tata: “We are planning to increase our ad rates soon.”
Talking about BTVi shows and their success, Tata said, “We have had some early wins, which are showing a positive trajectory. Shows launched recently are ‘Call BTVi’ and ‘Financial Planner’, of which the former got a very good response from across the country. We have almost about hundred calls waiting everyday — an indicator that people are watching our channel.”
“We are planning to launch more show in the coming months,” she added. “Our sales team is in the process of getting more advertisers on board,” Tata said.
BTVi recently stepped into the digital space by launching a mobile version of the channel and a website. It remains to be seen how the business strategy of the business channel works in the coming months.
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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.
