News Broadcasting
Star Group revenues up 20% at $ 408 million: report
NEW DELHI: The operating earnings of News Corp’s Asian subsidiary Star Group has exceeded $50 million for the full year (ending June 30, 2004) with advertising revenue growing by 21 per cent, driven primarily by Indian market leader Star Plus.
Hong Kong-based Media Partners Asia, a research and market analysis company, estimates that the operating income in FY 2004 should be in the region of $57 million versus $8 million in FY 2003.
Star Group’s revenues grew an estimated 20 per cent Y/Y to $408 million. Subscription remained robust, again led by India, although a rate freeze in the market (instituted in January 2004) looked likely to impact growth in the second half of 2004.
But, according to MPA estimates, Star still managed to increase subscriber declarations (to at least 13 million versus 10.8 million a year earlier) and squeeze more revenues from the fragmented cable TV distribution chain.
In its financial reportings, News Corp has indicated that in Q4 of FY 2004, operating income at Star grew 52 per cent on the back of 18 per cent Y/Y revenue growth.
“On a full-year basis, we estimate that Star derived more than $80 million in operating income from India although these earnings remain diluted by an estimated $10-15 million in operating losses from China (including start up general entertainment channel Xing Kong), which may break even over the next two years,” MPA has stated.
At present, Star is in the midst of expanding its programming bouquet with the launch of new channels (it launched free-to-air Utsav in June) in order to secure advertising from regional and national brands in India and generate more subscription, despite current rate restrictions.
Star plans to offer a new Hindi pay channel (tentatively called Star One) and ramp up its market share in South India by bolstering Vijay TV (now completely owned by Star) and potentially acquiring or launching another new channel.
Ownership of a distribution platform currently remains out of reach as Star’s $350 million JV with the Tatas (Star owns a 20% direct interest) to launch KU-band DTH services in India and potentially acquire up to 10 million subscribers over the long term, has been kept on hold as both parties wait for a license.
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.
