News Broadcasting
Star takes up ad sales of Hindi news channel Live India
MUMBAI: In its first ever advertising deal outside the network, Star India has inked a deal with Broadcast Initiatives Limited for its Hindi news channel Live India.
Star will handle the ad sales of Live India, nationally and globally, with immediate effect. Live India plans to venture into international markets including the US, UK and Dubai.
The announcement comes close on the heels of the re-positioning of Live India from a ‘views’ to a news channel with live content. The channel was previously known as Janmat.
Broadcast Initiatives Limited vice chairman and managing director Markand Adhikari said that the company is soon looking to foray into International markets including US, UK and Dubai. Apart from India, Star’s ad sales teams across the globe will be fully functional in this regard.
With a distribution platform already in place, the Star network is looking to adopt an integrated broadcast services approach through its first ad sales deal outside the network.
Star India Pvt. Ltd president – advertising sales and distribution Paritosh Joshi said, “This is the first time Star India has offered its advertising sales capabilities to a channel outside the Star Network. This is a major milestone for this division. It is our intent to quickly evolve into the region’s top integrated broadcast services organization and this deal underscores the seriousness of this intent.”
Adhikari added, “This is a critical partnership for us and we consider it a significant asset to securing a strong advertising revenue base for our Live India.”
For the Marathi channel Mi Marathi, Adhikari has assigned NDTV Media to handle the ad sales functions.
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.
