News Broadcasting
Teen spirit unfiltered as MO lifts the lid on Secret Lives of Teenagers
MUMBAI: When teens start talking, the world better listen. MO India Today Group’s Instagram-first Gen Z brand has rolled out a bold new experiment: Secret Lives of Teenagers (SLOT), a six-part Insta-first series that puts today’s young voices front and centre, no filters attached.
Presented by Swiggy, the show assembles a group of outspoken, curious, and sometimes chaotic teenagers many of them students at top global universities who dive headfirst into the themes that define their generation. Think identity crises, ambition vs burnout, heartbreak and hookups, rebellion, mental health, and, of course, life lived perpetually online.
The conversations are raw, hilarious, and painfully real, giving audiences parents, educators, marketers, and even brands, a rare peek into the psyche of Gen Z. For teens themselves, SLOT functions as a loudspeaker for experiences often sidelined: finally their truths, in their own words.
What makes the format different is its Insta-first DNA. SLOT was born under MO, the India Today Group’s cultural playground for youth, designed to talk in the internet’s native language reels, memes, podcasts, and behind-the-scenes storytelling. With this series, MO flexes its credentials as a space where Gen Z can be messy, funny, and thoughtful, all at once.
India Today Group vice chairperson and executive editor-in-chief Kalli Purie explained: “With SLOT, we’ve created a space that’s raw, real, and completely Gen Z no borrowed narratives. Digital-first brand MO and SLOT bring out the spontaneity of social storytelling. It doubles up as a resource for anyone wanting to understand Gen Z India.”
Backing it, Swiggy Food Marketplace CEO Rohit Kapoor will close every episode with his take on the “Gen Z vibe” for CMOs. As he put it: “Gen Z don’t follow trends, they set them. They’ve rewritten how we eat, shop, and live online. SLOT is a front-row seat to their world raw honesty, humour, and bold perspectives. For brands or parents trying to understand Gen Z, this is the place to start.”
From Shoshthi to shindoor khela, festivals may belong to tradition but SLOT belongs to a generation intent on rewriting the rules of growing up. And on Instagram, where attention spans shrink and stories disappear in 24 hours, these teenagers are proving their own stories might just last longer.
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.
