News Broadcasting
Star News rides the waves to top of the news pack
MUMBAI: Mumbai deluge (26 July), which brought Media Content & Communication Services (MCCS), the company that broadcasts Star News in the limelight of ratings and still basking in the glory.
With Hindi news space witnessing a lot of action on the ratings sphere, Star News is riding on a high rating – an outcome; “Quality content! It has been a gradual process, which has resulted in a good show for our Star News. It is also brings out the fact that with no calamity whatsoever, the channel has thrown an impressive ratings,” says Star News CEO Uday Shankar Tam data for the week 39 (18 – 24 September) indicates that Star News has managed to hook eight of the top 10 programmes spots across all Hindi news channels.
Crime based show – Sansani chalked up 1.5 TVRs, Desh Videsh picked up 0.82 TVRs, National Reporter posted 0.79 TVRs, Khabar Filmi Hai attains 0.6TVRs and Red Alert garnered 0.7 TVRs giving the channel share of number one spot with 25 per cent market share in the CS 15+ and CS 4+ categories across Hindi speaking markets (HSM).
Amongst the top 10 shows, Zee News’ Kal Kapal Maha Kal gained the fourth spot with 0.83 TVRs and with Aaj Tak’s Aaj Tak Metro holding the nine place with 0.48 TVRs.
In the C&S 4 +market, the leader, sabse tez – – Aaj Tak has been pushed to the second spot in the week 39 with a market share of 23 per cent. Following, Zee News at 16 per cent and NDTV India at 14 per cent are lagging behind, quoting the Tam data for the week 39.
The above ratings scenario has been mirroed by the above mentioned news channels in the all India C&S 15+ market.
A viewer has consumed 40 minutes of Star News during the week 39 in comparison 30 minutes of Aaj Tak. While, time spends on Zee News and NDTV India have been 27 minutes and 22 minutes respectively.
Aapko Rakhe Aagey – Shankar offers that the channel has been different in terms of quality and showing full justifies to the Star News philosophy, it will continue to deleiver news which are people-orietned.
Over the week, there has been an increase, which has reflected. Being different from the herd of news channels, the attempt has been and would be, says he.
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.
