News Broadcasting
TRAI to be broadcast industry regulator
NEW DELHI : The Indian government has decided that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) would be the body that would regulate the broadcasting sector too.
A notification in this regard is slated to be issued later today or latest by tomorrow. The law ministry has okayed the proposal, government sources told indiantelevision.com. The law ministry also advised the information and broadcasting ministry that taking piecemeal decisions on issues like CAS, permissions for uplinking, etc. is not the right way to go about addressing the needs of the broadcasting industry that is not only growing, but is also attracting a lot of investment.
The government decided to appoint TRAI as a regulator as in the TRAI Act itself there is a provision that the body would take up issues and sectors, apart from telecom, as notified by the government from time to time.
Notifying TRAI as the regulator for the broadcasting sector can be termed as a good decision on the part of I&B minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. It would mean that TRAI would now take a final call on the rollout of CAS, currently being implemented in a haphazard fashion in South Delhi.
Under its terms of reference, TRAI would not only be responsible for licensing issues related to the broadcasting sector, but would also take up technical issues like standardization of set-top boxes.
As part of its mandate, TRAI would also look at issues like capping advertising time on pay channels as per norms prevalent globally.
Stay tuned for further details…
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.
