News Broadcasting
Spice gears-up for the forthcoming cricket fever
MUMBAI: With the champiopns trophy in cricket kicking off today Spice Telecom a cellular operator in Punjab has plans to offer value added services for cricket fans.
Spice subscribers can keep themselves updated with the latest match scores and updates through IVR, SMS and USSD packs and also choose from a host of action packed cricket games available on Spice GPRS. Furthermore, Spice subscribers can listen to cricket maestro Ravi Shastri’s and Tony Greig’s expert comments on each game during the entire tournament.
Spice Telecom, Punjab assistant VP – marketing, Mukul Khanna says, “Spice has always made efforts to understand the needs and requirements of its subscribers and offer them the best value added services. With the series commencing shortly, Cricket fever is at its peak and considering the popularity of the game we decided to provide our subscribers an opportunity to play, stay updated and access a host of exciting cricket based trivia on their favorite teams.”
Cricket trivia on SMS, IVR, USSD & GPRS platforms : On Spice cricket buffs can keep themselves updated on the latest cricket scores by subscribing to the tournament pack, which is available on SMS, IVR, and USSD by simply dialing 5550 (for IVR) or *555*3# (for SMS /USSD).
SMS Pack – Customers who subscribe to SMS pack would get SMS alerts every 15 minutes or each time a wicket falls during the duration of the match.
IVR Pack – Customers subscribing to the IVR pack can listen to Live score updates any number of times during the entire series for FREE, by simply dialing 5550 (Toll Free).
USSD Pack – Customers subscribing to the USSD Pack can access cricket content by dialing *555*5# for free during the entire series.
GPRS – Subscribers can access live score board, match schedules and recent match details through GPRS by going to Spice WAP Portal >> Cricket Fever.
Furthermore Spice subscribers can download various cricket games like Kapil’
s Challenge, 50 s n 100s, Cricket 05-Skava, Cricket Fever and lots of Wallpapers and a host of Cricket Trivia.
Expert comments from Ravi Shastri and Tony Greg: By dialing 555 subscribers can access live Cricket Scores, expert comments and match updates by Tony Greig and Ravi Shastri (on all match days), match schedules, team rankings, player rankings and cricket logos. All calls to 555 will be charged at a nominal rate of Rs.6 per minute.
Alternatively Spice subscribers can also catch all the Live action by simply dialing *555*5# (for USSD) or by sending
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.
