News Broadcasting
TV18 Group creates new division TV18 Media Networks, names Saikumar CEO
MUMBAI: Raghav Bahl’s Television Eighteen Group has fused all its marketing and sales operations under a new division TV18 Media Networks. The group has promoted its VP sales and marketing B Saikumar as CEO of the division.
Speaking on the rationale behind the move, TV18 CEO Haresh Chawla said, “TV18, today stands as the largest news network with four news channels. It is merely to consolidate all the sales and marketing activities.”
When quizzed if the group was adopting a similar model to that of NDTV Ltd’s subsidiary NDTV Media (which manages the company’s ad sales and marketing), Saikumar said, “This is a division and very much part of the group. We are involved in activities of designing promos besides sales and marketing.” He declined to comment any further on the matter.
As CEO of TV18 Media Networks, Saikumar will have all the heads of sales and marketing from various channels of the news network – English business news channel CNBC TV18, Hindi consumer channel Awaaz, English news channel CNN-IBN and Hindi news channel Channel7 (soon to be re-named as IBN7) reporting in to him. Saikumar, meanwhile, continues to report in to Chawla.
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.
