News Broadcasting
Supreme Court favours Zee in ’13 December’ telefilm case
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India today morning stayed a ruling of the Delhi High Court which had yesterday sought to put a stay on the telecast of a film, 13 December made by Zee News to be aired on the news channel today evening. The film takes a look at the attack on Indian Parliament by terrorists exactly a year ago.
A jubilant Laxmi Goel, director, news group, Zee Telefilms, told indiantelevision.com sometime back, “A stay has been obtained on the stay of the High Court. The ruling again shows that the country’s apex judicial body is alive and sensitive to the issues of national importance. The ruling also indicates that the Supreme Court supports creative freedom.”
This SC verdict means that Zee News can go ahead and telecast the film today evening as scheduled. The Delhi High Court had, on Thursday, barred Zee from airing the film as it did not have the permission of the special court, which is holding the trial in the case. The direction came following a petition filed by four of the accused in the Parliament attack case, pleading the telecast would prejudice their case on which judgment is likely to be announced on 16 December.
Goel, one of the four brothers of Zee promoter Subhash Chandra, said that he still could not undertstand the rationale and real reason which prompted the petitioners to move the High Court seeking a stay on 13 December as the film is a “tribute to the brave soldiers of the country who fought the terrorists in and around Indian Parliament and neutralised a move which could have played havoc in India as it did in the US after the 11 September, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre towers.”
Zee had moved the Supreme Court, appealing against the Delhi High Court verdict, today morning. 13 December, the film, has a voice over by Bollywood baddie Raza Murad who, according to Goel, has not taken any remuneration for the assignment.
The film goes behind the scenes of and tries to find where the seeds of the dastardly plot were sown. It is an attempt to go back in time and get to the truth. When did the terrorists come to Delhi….how come they went unnoticed in Chandni Chowk…Palika Bazaar and Mukherjee Nagar in the Capital. “All this in 40 minutes of plain speaking,” Goel added.
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.
