News Broadcasting
Ten Sports moves SC against Prasar Bharati over Windies series telecast
NEW DELHI: The government proposes. Ten Sports disposes. And, the courts find themselves in a bind. Most of the time this could be story of cricket telecasts involving India.
Now that Ten Sports, which has exclusive rights to telecast the upcoming India-West Indies cricket series, has again moved the Supreme Court today seeking to restrain Prasar Bharti from downlinking the live feed of the matches (read sharing with Doordarshan), the government is likely to act tough.
A Bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhan and LK Panta posted the matter for hearing on Tuesday (9 May) asking Solicitor General GE Vahanvati to seek proper instructions on the issue as the Dubai-based sports channel has declined to provide the link without payment, a report put out by Press Trust of India states.
The private channel filed an application contending that if the matches of the Test and one-day international series were simulcast on Doordarshan, it will suffer a huge loss.
The petitioner said it has already sold the distribution right to Set Discovery Pvt Ltd, which will have the right to license throughout the country.
Interestingly, Ten Sports has taken refuge behind an earlier SC judgment, saying if interim relief was not granted to it this time round, a judgment the court delivered before the recent Indo-Pak series would become infructuous.
Taj Television Ltd, owner of Ten Sports, had filed the petition seeking stay of the government guidelines making it mandatory for the sports channels to share feed of sporting events of national importance with Prasar Bharati.
The court had allowed the live telecast of Indo-Pak ODIs on DD after an agreement was reached between Ten Sports and Prasar Bharati that latter would deposit in court a sum of Rs 150 million and carry the “dirty” Ten signals in toto without booking any advertisement of its own.
During a brief hearing today, according to PTI, the Bench observed that last time it was a series with Pakistan and “matches of Indo-Pak series are different from the others.” It added, “For West Indies, many people may not be interested.”
Contacted by Indiantelevision.com, Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma refused to comment on the matter saying it was sub judice.
However, government sources indicated that the I&B ministry is unlikely to bend down easily this time round.
A source familiar with the developments said, “The government’s plea before the court would be to uphold the downlink guidelines, which are in the process of being implemented.”
The downlink guidelines state that events of national importance, including cricket, will have to be shared with the pubcaster on a mandatory basis. The ministry has come out with the listed events also, which has been upon after consulting industry stakeholders.
In an earlier petition in a Mumbai court, Ten Sports has challenged the validity and legality of the downlinking guidelines terming it as arbitrary without the authority of law.
The sports channel had challenged the Bombay High Court order of 21 December 2005 refusing it any relief. Later the matter pending before the High Court was transferred to the apex court.
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.
