News Broadcasting
Star News’ ‘Red Alert’ and ‘Sansani’ exposes hundreds of ‘tantriks’ across the country
MUMBAI: Star News recently made a bold exposé of ‘tantriks’ in the country, which blew the lid off a startling and rather widespread racket. The channel uncovered the fraud on a daily basis for 21 days through its popular crime bulletins – Sansani and Red Alert. Captured on camera, these tantriks have admitted to gross wrongdoing. Some of the crimes perpetrated by this widespread tribe of offenders include rape, extortion and even murder.
These tantriks often initiate their trickery with a Rs 100 fee and later extract anywhere between Rs 5000 – Rs 100,000 making false promises to the innocent victims. If the victims refuse to comply with their demands they threaten to get them possessed by an evil spirit and other dire circumstances.
Subsequent to the overwhelming response from the viewers on the initial revelations, Star News kicked off an aggressive campaign to expose this evil. The channel threw open a dedicated phone line for viewers to report about such fraudulent tantriks they have encountered or are aware of.
Close to 40,000 viewers called in since the night of 27 December, 2004, and complaints poured in from different parts of the country, which in itself was a proof of the rather wide spread social evil. This campaign lasted 21 days and resulted in exposing the conniving ways of close to 100 tantriks across the country and the arrests of many tantriks in Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Kanpur and in other parts of the country. Many others have even shut shop due to fear of being exposed.
In some cases, Star News reporters accompanied the complainants to help them recover what is their rightful and hard earned money. In most cases reporters have ingeniously disguised themselves as customers and captured these tantriks ‘in the act’ on camera and exposed their wrong ways.
This campaign reinforces Star News’ promise to its viewers and illustrates once gain its investigative prowess.
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.
