News Broadcasting
TV news received massive boost during war: ITC survey
MUMBAI: Audiences for news programmes on television received a massive boost during the Iraq War, according to a survey released yesterday by the Independent Television Commission (ITC).
The report aptly called Conflict Around the Clock, confirmed that the Iraq war is the most media-intensive conflict in history.
According to a company release, the ITC research stated that television was the main source of international news for 67 per cent of people world over, compared with 16 per cent for newspapers, 13 per cent for radio and 1 per cent for the Internet.
The survey made some interesting observations:
* It pointed out that multichannel viewers, traditionally less likely to watch news programmes, increased viewing by 145 per cent – from 118 minutes per week to 289 minutes per week – in the first week of the Iraq war.
* Viewing in terrestrial-only homes increased by 84 per cent – from 171 minutes to 315 per week.
* However, though 77 per cent viewers surveyed said they were interested in the war coverage, 61 per cent thought there was too much of it.
Excessive coverage?
Over a third of the people surveyed by the ITC had reservations about going to war without the United Nations’ support or exploring diplomatic avenues more fully. And the survey noted that most of these viewers considered the amount of TV coverage excessive. These viewers were also more likely to consider the coverage unbalanced.
As a whole, about 52 per cent considered the TV coverage to be balanced, compared with 62 per cent saying the same for radio. Newspapers were seen as being less balanced. 53 per cent considered the UK daily The Sun to be biased in favour of the war.
The majority of viewers (42 per cent) felt that the UK and US governments were being as honest, with information only withheld when there was a legitimate security reason, while 32 per cent thought that information was being censored.
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.
