News Broadcasting
Tandberg Television and PCCW initiate IPTV HDTV roll-out
MUMBAI: Hong Kong’s leading IT&T player PCCW’s now Broadband TV has chosen Tandberg Television as its market-leading advanced compression solutions for a roll-out of HD over DSL to become the first Asian MPEG-4 AVC HD operator.
The deal expands on the two companies’ existing relationship and will make now TV Asia’s first advanced encoding HD operator, as it deploys Tandberg HD encoding solution for MPEG-4 AVC. With the Tandberg EN5990 MPEG-4 AVC encoder, now TV will be able to deliver a compelling HD service with sport, entertainment and news content in half the bandwidth that would have been required for the same picture quality with MPEG-2, states an official release.
The now pay-TV service launched in 2003 and has been using Tandberg Television Mpeg-2 encoding for its premium channels. The rapid growth of now TV’s subscriber base was confirmed when the company announced that it had exceeded half a million customers. The new HD service will be a welcome extension which will enable PCCW to retain its lead in the highly competitive Hong Kong television market, the release adds.
Tandberg Television’s Mpeg-4 AVC HD systems are already established with broadcasters and operators including DirecTV, BSkyB, JSAT and Premiere basing their HD services and trials on the encoding engine.
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.
