News Broadcasting
Star News asserts it is real No. 2; claims lead position among affluent males
MUMBAI: The scrap for pole position in the Hindi news channel space may still be a while away with Aaj Tak the clear leader, but where the action is right now is for the Number 2 slot.
In clear riposte to NDTV India stating to Indiantelevision.com recently that it was now the Number 2, chief rival Star News has issued a counter. A company release asserts that it is in fact the number two channel among the the key C&S, 25+, male, SEC ABC demographic, in the Hindi speaking markets.
Going one further, it states that among SEC A males 25+ it is ahead even of Aaj Tak (data for six main metros, including Delhi and Mumbai).
The data refers to the latest TAM figures for the week ending 10 January 2004 and average channel shares for the past four weeks.
Backing up its claim to being the favourite news channel for the upmarket adult male, the release quotes channel shares for the week 4 – 10 January 2004 in C&S, 25+ years, SEC A, 6 metros that show it ranks first with 1.37, followed by Aaj Tak 1.23, DD News 1.11 and NDTV India coming in a lowly fourth with 0.81
Jan 4 – 10 4 week avg
Aaj Tak 2.9 3.04
Star News 1.34 1.37
NDTV India Hindi 1.28 1.36
Zee News 1.14 1.23
DD News 0.88 0.92
Sahara Samay 0.49 0.60
(TG: Male 25+, SEC ABC – Hindi Speaking Markets)
Commenting on the performance, president & CEO of Star News Ravina Raj Kohli is quoted in the release as saying, “The latest figures reaffirm that Star News is one of the fastest growing Hindi news channels and the most preferred channel among urban viewers in SEC A homes across six metros. This is a tremendous achievement for a young news channel.”
Two channels both claiming the Number 2 position? Indiantelevision.com asked TAM to do a run through the data that had been supplied and this is what the reply was – both seemed okay but there might be some slight differences as to the Hindi-speaking markets covered in the two sets of data that have been issued.
Further, NDTV’s data was for the period between 7 December 2003 and 3 January 2004 while Star News is more recent and covers a four-week period up to the week ending 10 January. NDTV’s data had three time bands covered – all day (24 hours), evening prime (6 pm to midnight) and morning prime (6 am to 9 am). Star News did no time band break ups and the data represents absolute channel shares (all day) over four weeks.
What this seems to indicate is that, as of now, the two channels are running virtually neck-and-neck. It may well be the coming general elections that delivers a clear verdict on the Number 2. But for the moment it looks like a “hung result”.
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.
