News Broadcasting
Surabhi set to stage comeback – on a satellite channel
Surabhi, the cultural show that once enjoyed cult status in the country, may soon be back.
This time on a satellite channel, with a more upmarket look, an urban slant and a young, dynamic style. Siddharth Kak’s Cinema Vision India is in talks with Star India for relaunching the show in a new avatar later this year, says the producer. The task should not be difficult, considering the massive amount of research material and audio visual archives that are currently at Kak’s disposal. The star anchor team of Kak and Renuka Shahane however, will not be gracing the programme anymore. “Its time for youngsters to take the show forward, to give it a new image,” says Kak. “The generation that grew up on Surabhi is no longer the show’s target audience,” he points out. The Best of Surabhi is currently running on Star Plus on Sundays.
While the finer details of Surabhi’s second phase are still being worked out, Kak has already firmed up plans for a Surabhi Foundation, an audiovisual archival treasure trove built up during research for the serial. The Surabhi Foundation is envisaged as a multimedia multiple platform for training events, discussions, workshops and screenings can take place. Part of the Foundation’s exercise is Akshaya, a culture resource base envisaged as a single window offering, which will bring citizens over 20,000 hours of footage from the fields of dance, art, craft, music, culture, personalities, religion and architecture.
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.
