News Broadcasting
SETVI signs virtual influencer Polar exclusively in India
Mumbai: Talent and metaverse consulting Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India (SETVI) has signed international virtual talent and celebrated popstar Polar exclusively in India.
SETVI will represent Polar for all metaverse and web3 opportunities worldwide.
Created by Anastasiia Vinogradova, producer at Soul Publishing, Polar is a 16-year-old virtual influencer, or V-influencer, who is known for her striking turquoise hair, unique TikTok moves and a mesmerising voice. She hides her real identity on stage behind a unique mask and wants to take her place on the musical Olympus along with other platinum artists like Ariana Grande, Marshmello, and Olivia Rodrigo.
A virtual influencer is a digital character that is created using cutting-edge technology. This character is then given a personality and will at all times act on social media platforms as if he/she is an influencer.
SETVI would help Polar unleash different marketing and promotional potential across leading brands. She can be leveraged as an ambassador for digital films, promotional v-fluencer for different Marvel movies, creating covers of the latest Indian regional songs, participating in social media #ReelChallenges, being a part of the virtual fashion shows, events in the metaverse, and the list is endless. To that end, SETVI is also planning to launch a virtual concert with Polar to give an exclusive sneak peak to its audience into this metaverse world.
As an emerging artist, Polar releases original music and covers of popular songs such as “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish and many more. In terms of her originals, she has recently released “Redhead Girl” and “Euphoria”, an electronic high-energy track which follows the huge success of her first three singles; “Close To You,” “Boom Ballon” and an electro-pop cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. She is soon going to launch her upcoming human and virtual human collaborations with Rasster, a well-known platinum musician.
Soul Publishing producer Anastasiia Vinogradova commented, “We were ecstatic when SETVI came to collaborate and represent Polar. The virtual artist was just an initial thought, and now when I see her gaining fame and recognition all across the world and now in India, she is nothing less than a dream come true. SETVI is India’s first ever talent-metaverse advisory company, and being the best in this business, we couldn’t have trusted anyone else.”
SETVI CEO Vijay Singh said, “Polar is going to upscale the virtual artists’ space by leaps and bounds, and holding the baton of familiarising the audience with the metaverse, we had to hop onto it. Soul Publishing is an award-winning global digital studio and our exclusive partner for India, that is known to produce the best-in-class entertaining and organic content for its audience. Polar would be a pathbreaking intervention which would give a broader spectrum of experimentation in Web 3 and metaverse opportunities as marketing solutions to many leading brands in the country.”
Polar’s popularity has raised the bar for all human artists; she is on her way to one million Spotify followers and has over 6,00,000 YouTube subscribers.The meta space for artists doesn’t only have Polar, but many other artists like Lu Do Magalu (Brazil), Barbie, Knox Frost (a male influencer from Atlanta), Anna Cattish (Russian animator and illustrator) and many more.
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.
