News Broadcasting
Swaraj pushes for Broadcasting Regulatory Authority
NEW DELHI: Trust India’s information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj to drive to the hilt the advantage she has gained in recent times. Now she is pushing for a Broadcasting Regulatory Authority.
Egged on by her, the Parliamentary Consultative Committee, attached to India’s information and broadcasting ministry, in a meeting earlier today, came out strongly in favour of forming a regulatory body to monitor unregulated content on television channels in the country as soon as possible.
Members of Parliament, cutting across party lines, said that this was necessary in order to address the concerns of public order and decency, preservation of cultural diversity, prevention of excessive depiction of sex and violence, national security, integrity and sovereignty of the country and protection of children from undesirable programmes and advertisements, government sources told indiantelevision.com.
The issue is being seen as another step taken by I&B minister Sushma Swaraj in recent times to have in place a legislation to regulate the broadcasting and cable sectors in a piecemeal fashion, ahead of an omnibus legislation being proposed to govern the three sectors of media, information technology and telecommunications.
According to the sources, presiding over the meeting, Swaraj fully shared the concerns of the members and said that the ministry would consider setting up of an independent Broadcasting Regulatory Authority. According to Swaraj, the earlier Broadcasting Bill was not pursued in view of the introduction of the Communication Convergence Bill 2001 that had a provision for setting up of a panel for content regulation.
The members felt that in case of a delay in finalising the Convergence Bill, the government should move ahead towards regulating content since the programmes on various television channels were becoming increasingly unwholesome.
Merely waiting for the Convergence Act would not help, they are reported to have chorused —- something which Swaraj, on being criticised by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for getting legislations passed in a piecemeal fashion, had reiterated in Parliament earlier.
IT, telecom and parliamentary minister Pramod Mahajan had some time earlier told indiantelevision.com that he does not foresee the Communications Convergence Bill, envisaging a super-regulator for IT, broadcasting and telecom, being discussed by policy-makers in Parliament before May 2003.
Meanwhile, arguing strongly for the immediate need of content regulation, Saroj Dubey, a BJP Member of Parliament during the meeting today said women are projected in a very bad light through some serials and advertisements on some channels.
Another MP, Vijay Darda, said that the proposed Authority must have adequate powers to punish the defaulters and should not be like the Press Council of India, which is unable to enforce its decisions. Kartar Singh Duggal said that the Authority be set up immediately without waiting for the Convergence Bill’s passage in Parliament and, at the same time, the script writers, artists, producers, broadcasters, advertisers and the viewers may be made aware of their obligations.
E. M. Sudarsana Natchiappan said the glorification of drinking, smoking, sex, violence and degraded values must not be allowed to be carried on. Abdul Rashid Shaheen shared the concerns but wanted detailed discussions both in and outside the Parliament.
Other MPs who wanted immediate action included C Narayana Reddy, G Sukhender Reddy, D Ramanaidu, Ram Naresh Tripathi, Lalhmingliana and Ajay Maroo.
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.
