News Broadcasting
Trai constitutes panel to work on cable TV service regulation
MUMBAI: The broadcast regulator announced today it had set up a committee whose mandate was to work on the various issues relating to cable television and provide inputs to the Telecom Authority of India (Trai) to finalise regulations in this regard.
The special panel has representation from Trai and the four state governments that fall under the conditional access rollout map – Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
Trai has said it is writing to the chief secretaries of these states to nominate suitable officers as members of the committee.
The announcement follows a meeting Trai had yesterday with representatives of the four state governments. These latest moves on the regulator’s part follow its recommendation issued on Monday that CAS be either denotified or kept in abeyance for a period of three months.
A day after it’s decision to push for the shelving of CAS, Trai on Tuesday said cable subscription rates for CAS zones in the interim period would be announced after getting a reply from the government.
The ambit of the special committee is to study:
*Various problems faced by state governments in the implementation of CAS.
*Extent of acceptance of CAS by subscribers.
*Extent of competition in Cable TV Services in the four metro cities.
* Issues relating to prices of Pay Channels vis-?-vis bouquet of channels.
* Promotion of competition through introduction of DTH and Broadband services.
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.
