News Broadcasting
Taj TV secures Lanka cricket rights for $50 million
MUMBAI: Taj Television, holding company of Dubai-based sports broadcaster Ten Sports, has signed with Sri Lanka Cricket a broadcast rights deal that runs from January 2005 to 2008. The cost of the acquisition — a whopping $ 50 million.
According to reports in the Sri Lanka media, Taj Television officials were supposed to have met SLC officials last evening to finalise the deal.
It was in June that SLC called for tenders for the TV rights. Taj Television, as the incumbent rights holder, had been allowed to match the best offer after the tenders closed. Among the international tenders that came in, the highest bid was $ 48 million, reportedly put in by Dubai-based digital satellite broadcaster ARY. The next highest bids were by sports marketing agency World Sport Group with $46.6 million and ESPN Star Sports with $40.6 million.
A point of note is that Taj Television and ARY, which broadcasts mainly in the Middle East and Europe, jointly hold the contract to broadcast Pakistan’s home cricket matches in a $42.6-million deal that began last year and runs until 2008.
At $ 50 million, this is by far the highest ever amount Sri Lanka Cricket has obtained for broadcast rights. Even Taj TV’s initial bid of $33.5 million was higher than any the SLC had ever received, which puts in perspective the size of the final sale. While Taj TV officials were unavailable for comment, it is to be assumed that the additional $ 2 million it paid out was to lock in subsidiary rights like broadband.
According to information available with indiantelevision.com, there were a total of 12 bidders that threw their hats in the ring for rights ranging from broadband telecast to in-stadia hoardings. Willow TV (broadband), Madison Outdoor Media Services (Moms), and even CBFS (the Sharjah event company that is also promoted by Taj TV owner Abdurrahman Bukhatir) were among those that bid.
The reason the rights went for such a high cost was largely because of one thing — the guarantee of visits by India to the island nation. The SLC has managed to get the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to confirm three tours (which includes two triangulars) for the period the contract runs.
An immediate problem the $ 50-million “windfall” will allow the SLC to resolve is the compensation suite that World Sport Nimbus, the agency that held the international television rights to Sri Lankan cricket until 2001, won against it in a Singapore court of arbitration.
WSN reportedly won damages worth $ 7 million from the Singapore court over the premature termination of its contract.
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.
