News Broadcasting
Study sheds light on US TV viewing habits
MUMBAI: Americans love TV. We all know that. But a study commissioned by the US labour department shows us how desperately they have become addicted to TV. The survey revealed that folks in Bush country spent half of their leisure time of 5.1 hours daily staying glued to the idiot box.
What’s more Americans are also spending a lot of time on their backs in bed – fast asleep. The survey states that the average American spent 8.6 hours a day sleeping in 2003.
And what about work? Lo behold, Americans work for only 3.7 hours daily.
Is there a lesson that a large part of the populace in Asia – which slogs from morning to evening but yet has a lower standard of living- has to learn from these stats ? Does watching TV and sleeping a lot lead to riches like in a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale? Of course not, that’s meant to be a joke.
The US study included everyone from working parents with almost no free time to retirees and teenagers. This helps explain why this average day does not reflect anyone’s actual day.
Not surprisingly working parents aged 25-54 had just 2.6 hours to spend on leisure.The telephone survey covered 21,000 people over the age of 15 and was conducted throughout 2003.
Respondents were asked to recount 24 hours of activity from the previous day. When not watching the idot box the typical American spent 41 minutes socialising, 22 minutes reading, 20 minutes on sports or recreation, 20 minutes relaxing and thinking and 17 minutes playing games often on the computer.
American men typically had more leisure than women (can we see some I-told-you scowls on the faces of readers who are women). Men lazed around for 5.4 hours as compared to women’s 4.8 hours.One thing that has to be borne in mind is that the study only considered respondents’ primary activity. For instance if a person watched television while ironing clothes or eating dinner, only one activity was counted.
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.
