News Broadcasting
Sony bids $40 million for Indo-Pak series
MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television (SET) has made a composite bid of $40 million to get the satellite TV telecast rights of the upcoming India-Pakistan cricket series, indicating a high price broadcasters are willing to pay to control cricket programming.
Sony’s offer to BCCI includes air time sales and telecast rights for India and international territories. The Madras High Court has already mandated the telecast feed of the matches to pubcaster Prasar Bharati, but kept all the other rights including air time sales and production contract with the BCCI to decide.
According to a source, Sony has made a three-tier bid, offering the cricket board different options for a deal.
As an alternate offer, Sony has bid $26 million for the international and India satellite TV rights. As a third option, Sony has made a bid of $10 million for international telecast rights, the source says.
“We have made different bids so that the board can weigh its options and take a decision accordingly. The only thing we have stayed out of is bidding for just the production rights,” the source adds.
Several broadcasters and sports marketing agencies have evinced strong interest in the India-Pakistan series. Nimbus Communications had bid in the range of $33-45 million, depending upon the “quality of coverage, type of the matches and swiftness in decision making.” This includes air time sales, sale of international rights and TV production for the series.
Dubai-based Ten Sports, Pakistan-based broadcast company ARY Digital and sports marketing firm TWI have also bid for the rights, according to industry sources.
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.
