News Broadcasting
Total Sports Asia going mobile with WWE
MUMBAI: The recently launched integrated sports marketing company Total Sports Asia (TSA) is trying its level best to tap a growing revenue stream for entertainment products – The mobile.
The company has signed a deal with a major Indian content provider for mobile telephony rights for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
TSA is the WWE Asian representative for television distribution, licensing, merchandising and event management. Speaking to indiantelevision.com Total Sports & Entertainment India MD, Indian Subcontinent and Middle East Navneet Sharma said, “An official announcement of the deal will be made in about a month’s time. Our partner will negotiate deals with all the service providers whether it is hutch or Airtel. Customers, for a fee, will be able to download wallpaper, text news headlines ringtones and ringback tones. As of now we have not decided as to when we will also offer audio and video services. This will depend on the available bandwith. The deal will work in the form of a minimum gurantee along with revenue sharing.”
Sharma added that the company was adopting a 360 degree approach to pushing and marketing the WWE. It has also signed a deal with Weekender for a line of apparel. “Since WWE is synonymous with finely sculpted physiques, health food brands see a big opportunity here. We are talking to several parties in this category. In this way we have been able to segementalise the different categories. In the watch category we have a deal with Impact Promotions. WWE has an enormous cachet in India when you examine the fact that it gets highest TRPs in sports after cricket.”
One major deal that is already in place is with Ultra for VCDs. Sharma added that TSA is hoping to bring down the WWE to India early next year. As far as other sports are concerned it is also looking at organising running events like marathons in the country early next year. For this purpose it is talking to major FMCGs to come on board as partners and sponsors.
This sounds like a sound move. It may be recalled that the Mumbai Marathon (sponsored by Standard Chartered) in January drew an excellent response. The profile of the marathon in India has risen a great deal as the Mumbai marathon saw celebrities and people in the public limelight like Anil Ambani taking part and treating it as a serious part of their lives.
TSA is also into television distribution of different sports. It will appoint a head for TV distribution for the Indian subcontinent next month. Sharma added that one property that they are looking at pitching to the likes of Star, Sony and Zee in a big way is Latin American soccer. That is because it has a deal with Traffic Sports which virtually owns Latin American football.
“We would be looking to market World Cup qualifying matches in Latin America. We also see an opportunity to work with new channels that are coming up and which will be looking for content (read Zee Sports). We will also approach regional channels.”
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.
