News Broadcasting
Supreme Court to hear IBF petition; MIB appeals against DAS III stay orders, asks to club all HC cases
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is expected to hear on 19 February a petition by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) challenging an order of the Bombay High Court directing a pan-India stay of Phase III of Digital Addressable System (DAS).
It is understood that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has filed a similar petition stressing on feedback from multi system operators (MSOs) and broadcasters at its Task Force meetings.
Both petitions are expected to come up before a bench headed by Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar.
Indiantelevision.com had in early January quoted MIB secretary Sunil Arora confirming that the Government would approach the Supreme Court and club all High Court cases. Ministry sources said that it had taken time as the Law Ministry had to be consulted.
The IBF has, in its petition, said that the decision about DAS was a policy matter, which was taken in 2011 and various High Courts had upheld it at that time.
It has been stated that the first two phases have been implemented and there is therefore no ground to stall the progress at this stage.
Both the Ministry and IBF petitions are accompanied by applications to the Court that all petitions in various High Courts where stay orders have been issued should be transferred to the apex court.
In any case, IBF has contended that the argument of shortage of set top boxes is erroneous as the Task Force meeting held at the end of December last had been told that 85 per cent seeding had been completed.
The Bombay High Court had relied on the Supreme Court order in the Kusum Ingots and Allous Ltd case where the apex Court had said that a High Court could give an order similar to that given by other High Courts if the circumstances were similar. In this case, all the cases related to shortage in seeding of STBs.
The matter has already been stayed by other High Courts including Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Odisha, Maharashtra, Telengana and Chhattisgarh for the entire state, and for individual local cable operators in Karnataka and Kerala. The Allahabad High Court has also put off the matter in view of the Ministry’s decision.
The matter remains stayed in Tamil Nadu where the Madras High Court had, after Phase I, directed a stay, which still continues.
When the matter came before the Punjab and Haryana High Court in January, the Ministry told the Court that “it will not press for requirement of having a set top box as of now.”
In view of this, Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain had dismissed as infructuous a petition by cable operator Parbobh Rattan seeking extension the ground that there was shortage of STBs.
Counsel Vivek Singla had told the Court that “the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India has decided not to press the requirement of having a STB as for now till the decision of the cases, which are pending before various other Honourable High Courts.”
Earlier, Assistant Solicitor General Chetan Mittal was informed through a letter by an under secretary, Anil Kumar, that legal opinion was clear that the interpretation of the Bombay High Court was clear that the earlier orders of the Hyderabad High Court relating to Andhra Pradesh and Telengana applied to the entire country.
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.
