News Broadcasting
Star News uplink issue held up by the home ministry
NEW DELHI : Even after the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) last week cleared Star News’ proposal for restructuring its uplinking entity to conform with foreign direct investment (FDI) norms, the company’s request to uplink from India is now stuck with the home ministry.
“The ministry of information & broadcasting has cleared it for all intents and purposes. But now Star News’ proposal is pending with the home ministry, which is examining it in detail with respect to security issues,” a Press Trust of India report quoted a government official as saying.
The report further stated that a Star India spokesperson declined to comment on the issue when contacted and joint venture partner Ananda Bazar Patrika could not be reached for comments.
Star had offloaded 74 per cent equity stake in the uplinking entity Media Content and Communication Services India Pvt Ltd (MCCS) to the ABP Group, which had applied afresh last month, the PTI report said.
The fresh application by MCCS followed the government’s decision to tighten uplinking guidelines, in which it stipulated that an Indian entity should hold at least 51 per cent equity. The government had earlier expressed apprehensions about proxy control of Star in MCCS wherein minority stakes had been offloaded to a clutch of high net worth individuals like ad man Suhel Seth, Hindustan Times editor Vir Sanghvi and Balaji Telefilms chairman Jeetendra.
In the fresh application moved by MCCS, it had sought government permission to induct 26 per cent foreign investment from Star News Broadcasting Ltd. The restructuring , according to the application submitted to FIPB, was to be a two-part exercise, which involved MCCS first becoming 100 per cent owned by Aveek Sarkar’s ABP Group. The second stage involved MCCS offloading 26 per cent in favour of Star.
Meanwhile, indiantelevision.com learns that because MCCS, for all practical purpose, is an ABP company that has 74 per cent shareholding, all public relation activities would now be looked after by MCCS itself through a public relations agency.
The agency that has been shorlisted to do this job, according to PR industry sources, is Perfect Relations.
Till now Star India used to handle most of the PR activities associated with Star News.
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.
