News Broadcasting
The History Channel to air special series on Rome
MUMBAI/BANGALORE: This month, The History Channel brings its viewers up close and personal with Rome. The civilisation has been ruled by visionaries and tyrants whose accomplishments ranged from awe-inspiring to deplorable.
The broadcaster is featuring a two-hour special series Rome: Engineering an empire and four films Augustus, St. Peter, Nero and Spartacus every Saturday and Sunday at 8 pm. The aim is to to highlight the power, grandeur and conflict of Rome.
Rome: Engineering an empire’s airs on 3 and 4 June at 10 pm. This special two-hour series chronicles the rich history of the Roman Empire from the reign of Caesar in 44 B.C. to its eventual fall around 537 AD, detailing the remarkable works of architecture and technology in between that helped Rome leave an indelible mark on the world.
St. Peter with Omar Sharif in the title role airs on 10 June at 8 pm. The saint changed Roman History. On 17 June at 8 pm viewers can watch Emperor Nero , which reveals the true picture of the lonely, tormented man behind the monstrous mask . This film depicts Nero’s transformation from a pragmatic ruler into a tyrannical monster, who while watching Rome burn on one hand, on the other presented the severed head of an ex-wife to a future wife as a gift, murdered his mother and allegedly burned much of Rome to the ground to make room for a new palace.
Goran Visnjic and Rhona Mitra star in Spartacus, which airs on 24 June at 8 pm. It depicts a legendary slave’s rise from a gladiator to a hero in Spartacus.
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.
