News Broadcasting
Tribune: Blackstone may join Fox in purchase race
MUMBAI: Fox and a New York firm, possibly Blackstone, are planning to form a joint venture to buy Tribune which owns or operates 42 stations, with Fox contributing its 28 owned-and-operated stations and Blackstone providing cash.
The potential multi-billion-dollar deal would make Fox US’s largest single broadcast station owner.
Meanwhile, Fox News Channel on Monday said that co-president Bill Shine has left the company, the latest high-level departure at a network troubled with charges of discrimination that already claimed founding CEO Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly.
Fox and Blackstone are together hoping to beat a rival offer from Sinclair Broadcasting, the largest owner of TV stations in the US. Baltimore-based Sinclair, which owns 173 stations, has stations in midsize and small markets.
Sinclair was also in the running for Tribune, which could give the former significantly more leverage in talks with Fox.
Under current rules, however, the national TV audience that any single owner can access with its stations is capped at 39 per cent. Since President Trump elevated Pai to lead FCC, the commission has changed rules and made public statements announcing that it intends to scale back limits placed on station ownership. If Sinclair or Fox purchased Tribune, they would go past the current FCC limits.
Another current FCC regulation that could obstruct Sinclair or Fox purchase of Tribune is the local ownership rule which disallows any owner from running more than two stations in most markets.
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.
