News Broadcasting
Sports entertainment: Mediacorp gains access to ONE Championship content
MUMBAI: ONE Championship, a sports media property in Asia, has established a partnership with Singapore-based multimedia conglomerate Mediacorp. With a reach that spans the nation, Mediacorp will gain access to all ONE Championship content, including its live events.
ONE Championship streamed to a potential one billion homes in over 128 countries. Headquartered in Singapore, ONE Championship hosts sports entertainment events across Asia featuring Asian martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. oktoSports, a part of a media network under Mediacorp that has a range of media platforms in Singapore spanning digital, television, radio, print and out-of-home media, starts at 9.00pm every day with premium sports content and major sporting events from around the world.
ONE Championship live events will be covered on Mediacorp’s free-to-air channel oktoSports from 10pm on event nights, while full coverage and catch-up will be available on its digital entertainment service, Toggle. oktoSports offers premium sports programming and carries LIVE sporting events such as the International Champions Cup 2017, S.League, Italian Serie A, Singapore F1 Grand Prix, Olympic Games, and the upcoming 29th Southeast Asian Games. Toggle is a multi-lingual OTT service that provides LIVE and on-demand video content, offering a wide variety of sports coverage and entertainment content on multiple devices such as mobile phones, tablets, Smart TV, Apple TV and Chromecast to provide viewers flexibility on their preferred devices both at home and on-the-go.
ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong stated: “ONE Championship is proud to announce its partnership with Mediacorp. From its early beginnings in broadcast radio and television, to launching its digital-first news, Mediacorp has provided Singaporeans with original local entertainment, and this is just the first step to a great partnership. ONE Championship was born in Singapore, and we are excited to continue to deliver a unique and authentic martial arts experience to fans all across the country.”
Mediacorp chief customer officer Debra Soon stated: “The refreshed oktoSports carries sporting events from Singapore and around the world. Mediacorp is happy to work with ONE Championship to make entertaining and engaging LIVE sports content easily available, through our range of TV, digital, radio and print platforms. This partnership further amplifies oktoSports’s vision to be the #1 channel to encourage Singaporeans to lead active lifestyles through sports.”
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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.
