News Broadcasting
South Indian producers intensify stir against DD
MUMBAI: Independent producers affiliated to Doordarshan (DD) kendras in Thiruvanthapuram, Hyderabad and Chennai are scheduled to join the stir started by the Bangalore producers – who have bought airtime and are involved in marketing programmes on Doordarshan (DD) Bangalore – ten days ago.
While the Banglore producers stopped providing content to DD since 12 September, their counterparts in Thiruvanthapuram, Hyderabad and Chennai plan to join the strike from Thursday, Friday and next Monday respectively.
The stir is being spearheaded by the South Indian DD Producers Association. According to the association’s spokesperson Shivanandan, a delegation had met the Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma last fortnight and given a charter of demands.
Their demands were as follows:
* Prasar Bharati should take a decision to sort out the issue of service tax. At present, Prasar Bharati is insisting that the producers should pay the same as most of the major clients have declined to pay the tax.
* Prasar Bharati’s marketing division should stop selling slots on programmes that have already been allocated to the private independent producers. There have been cases wherein the Prasar Bharati marketing team has directly given special rates to major clients like Life Insurance Corporation of India for programmes that have been marketed by private producers.
* Prasar Bharati and DD officials must smoothen the process of extensions for dailies and weeklies. The present system of three-month or six-month extensions, should be replaced by one-year extensions.
* DD should allow all independent producers to ‘bank the seconds’ of programmes that aren’t doing too well on those programmes that are doing well.
* Lastly, there should be clarity on DD-Metro turning into DD News.
According to Shivanandan, Sarma has not concede to any of the five demands. Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Shivanandan said, “We have made up our mind to continue the stir indefinitely – till our demands are fulfilled. We are also trying to meet the central union minister of urban development Anant Kumar on Wednesday and the Karnataka CM SM Krishna on Thursday to discuss our demands.”
Shivanandan was resolute that unless the government complies, they won’t air their shows on DD and not allow any other producer to do so.
However, DD Bangalore director Venkatesh Sherval, said, “The present status is that the producers have discontinued their programmes. But we have not yet taken a decision regarding their demands.”
In Mumbai, Universal Communications’ MD Padmakar Nandekar confirmed that he was part of the delegation that met Sarma and other officials earlier this month.
“We feel that the issue should be sorted out amicably as it would be in the best interests of the national broadcaster and the independent producers who always supported DD,” Nandekar added, while claiming that he is heading to Tiruvanandapuram to address a meeting of the South Indian producers.
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.
