News Broadcasting
Swaraj’s broadcasting council plan shelved
NEW DELHI: With the latest buzz in the information and broadcasting ministry being self-regulation, it seems that former I&B minister Sushma Swaraj’s grand plans to have a broadcasting regulatory authority or a Broadcasting Council in place to monitor content on television, ahead of the passage of the omnibus Communication Convergence Bill, is being given a quiet burial.
Pointing out that he is not at all for “moral policing” — and rightly so — the new I&B minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today said: “The broadcasting council has yet to get my consideration and attention.”
Interacting with media beat correspondents today, Prasad said, “My approach is simple: self-regulation. I would again appeal to all bonafide channels to go in for self-regulation.”
When it was pointed out that his predecessor had listed bringing a bill relating to broadcasting council in Parliament in the first quarter of this year, Prasad clarified that the issue is still to catch his attention and, in the meantime, before the government takes any action, it’d be nice if everybody went in for self-regulation.
When asked when does he propose to take the uplinking issue (the Star News case, to be precise) to the Cabinet, the minister clarified that feedback from all other ministries on the issue has come in, but some more consultation is being carried out within the I&B ministry.
“I am very well aware of the deadline,” he replied to a question that some proposed news channels’ future depended on a government decision. Was he aware of the Star News deadline? The minister would not specify. Jocularly reacting to indiantelevision.com’s prodding on the issue, he said, “All I am saying is I am aware of everything. That should suffice.”
The minister also said that he is having a “proper look” at the KU-band direct-to-home (DTH) guidelines and would not give details as to when the ministry proposes to clear the two application lying with it.
“As a minister I have the right to study issues relating to my ministry and I am doing that,” Prasad said without giving any hint whether there would be any review of some of the contentious points in the DTH policy guidelines.
The minister, however, sent out a categorical message to everybody in the cable and broadcasting industry: the deadline of July 14 for rollout of conditional access would be adhered to strictly.
“I am commited to bring in the effectiveness of CAS,” Prasad said and pointed out that one of his top priorities would be to ensure “good availability of set top boxes”.
Asked whether the consumer would be really interested in buying STBs (as per his admission a digital STB may cost up to Rs 4,000), Prasad said, “A lot of these questions are based on presumptions. The market forces would take care of the process (of affordability of STBs).”
He, however, would not be drawn out on whether the finance minister is mulling a duty cut on import of components for STBs that would make them cheaper.
The minister also said that as of now there is no proposal to allow FDI in print medium news agencies. The decision not to allow any FDI in news agencies was taken by the Caninet way back in 1956.
“It is a question of review,” the minister said, adding, “The view of the industry would be taken.”
News Broadcasting
Network18 trims FY26 losses as Q4 revenue touches Rs 1,955 crore, 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.
