News Broadcasting
Toonz bags $4.5m Korean deal
MUMBAI: Kerala based Toonz Animation has inked a $ 4.5 million contract with the leading Seoul based Korean production house ANI21 Co Ltd to produce an animated television series Twin Princes.
The series, which includes a six-minute trailer and 52 episodes of twenty three minutes each, will be a blend of 2D and 3D animation.Toonz will have exclusive broadcast rights to the series in India for a period of 10 years. Production on the series will begin in May 2004 and is slated for completion in the year 2006.
The top brass of ANI21, president/general producer In-Hyung Hwang and international division head Iksu Zhun, recently visited the Toonz Studios in Trivandrum to shore up their relationship with Toonz and to explore prospects for further collaboration. The visiting delegation included key personnel from Apple Tree Films, which is involved in the merchandising of this series.
“We are thrilled to have Twin Princes on our production slate,” Toonz Animation India CEO P Jayakumar was quoted in a company statement. “This big-budget series has immense potential and will help us make a major headway in the global animation market,” he added.
The three year old production company ANI21 specialises in animation production, broadcast program planning and, character development and licensing. Based in Trivandrum’s Technopark, Toonz is known for the 26-episode animated television series The Adventures of Tenali Raman.
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.
