News Broadcasting
Star Plus, 3 other network channels launch in the US
MUMBAI: Star has finally launched in the US on the News Corp controlled DirecTV platform.
Alongside flagship channel Star Plus, the three other channels that launched are newest kid on Star block Star One, Hindi news channel Star News and Tamil language entertainment channel Star Vijay, Sameer Nair, Star India COO, confirmed to indiantelevision.com.
Nair said the four channels started beaming into the US from 2 November.
With this latest initiative, Star’s “Indian channels” have now become available in Asia, Middle East, United Kingdom and the USA.
Commenting on the US launch of the network’s news channel, Star News CEO Uday Shankar stated, “We are extremely proud to be India’s first and only global news channel catering to the Indian diaspora spread across the globe.”
Meanwhile, the decks appear to have been cleared for the official re-entry of the Star channels into neighbouring Pakistan. That they are already available in most Pakistani C&S homes that can afford them is of course another matter. According to a report put out last Saturday by Pakistani daily The News, the country’s information ministry has sent a formal summary to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s office, seeking his approval to grant permission to Star TV channels.
The report said that with rumours of relaxation of the ban, several cable TV operators in Islamabad have already begun (openly instead of clandestinely) telecasting Star Plus and Star Utsav channels.
The justification for the lifting of the ban on Indian channels that has been in force since 2001 specifically and only for the Star Network channels. According to Pakistan’s information ministry, an exception can be made in Star’s case as it is a non-Indian multinational media group.
A rather strange argument to say the least, if one were to take into consideration the fact that the ban on Indian channels came into being to protect Pakistani television from being “overwhelmed” by Indian offerings. And that applies far more to a Star Plus than a Zee TV, for which the ban recommendation stays.
And why wasn’t Sony Entertainment TV India accorded the same benefit as Star since it is also “a non-Indian multinational media group”? Well, Sony didn’t push for it unlike Star which lobbied strenuously to get the permissions, is the reasoning offered by sources who have been following the developments.
The formal request for distribution and marketing of Star channels in Pakistan was made by SATSTAR Media, a wholly owned subsidy of the Star Group.
The ministry has sought the required permission to be granted to the channel by changing the existing policy, The News has reported.
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.
