News Broadcasting
TV9 Network dominates the Indiantelevision.com News Television Awards 2023
Mumbai: In a resounding recognition of its commitment to excellence in journalism, TV9 Network won a staggering 53 awards at the News Television Awards 2023, organised by Indiantelevision.com at an event on 9 December in Holiday Inn, Delhi.
The honours span no less than 15 categories and 7 languages, recognising the work of multiple broadcast channels and digital platforms by TV9 Network, including News9 Plus, The Innovation Hub, Money 9, TV9 Bharatvarsh, TV9 Bangla, TV9 Gujarati, TV9 Kannada, TV9 Marathi, TV9 Telugu and the TV9 UPUK Digital YouTube channel.
Incepted in 2007, the News Television Awards honour outstanding television news journalism across 45 unique categories in 8 different languages, rewarding “channel programmers, anchors, presenters, technicians, producers, editors, reporters and management”, as per its website.
“There is a major transformation taking place in the realm of Indian news media today. As viewers become more discerning amidst a surplus of options, TV9 Network has succeeded at disrupting the status quo, both in conventional broadcasting and in digital news formats. From pioneering the world’s first news OTT platform to delivering unparalleled coverage of current affairs through traditional television, innovation is at the centre of everything we do. Our commitment is to continually enhance the quality of content while upholding the fundamental tenets of journalistic integrity”, said TV9 Network chief growth officer Raktim Das.
Indiantelevision.com founder & CEO Anil NM Wanvari, joined the panel of jurors for this year’s event, which included esteemed personalities such as PolicyBazaar CMO Sai Narayan, Gulf Marketing head Amit Gheji and JK Tyre CMO Amit Gujral among others.
News9 Plus, India’s first news OTT platform took home 8 laurels at the event, across the ‘Programming’ and ‘Promo, Designing and Packaging’ categories, with TV9 Network MD and CEO’s ‘Duologue with Barun Das ft. Mithali Raj’ winning the award for ‘Editorial Choice – Most Cerebral Talk Show’.
TV9 Network Innovation Hub, the flagship brand solutions powerhouse, bagged 2 wins for the Set Design and Brand Partnership of its ‘Road to Safety’ campaign, which aimed to increase awareness about road safety in India.
Money9, the personal finance OTT offering by TV9 Network and the first of its kind in India, was also graced with the ‘Original Programming On OTT (Hindi)’ award, for its show Money Central.
Also winning big were the broadcast channels, with TV9 Bangla walking away with an unprecedented 12 accolades, including 3 Personality Awards, for Amritanshu Bhattacharya, Anirban Chowdhury and Suman Mahapatra.
TV9 Telugu scored a similarly impressive 11 wins, with 3 Special Awards and 4 Personality Awards given out to Deepthi Vajpeye, Rajinikanth Vellalacheruvu, G Nethravathi and Pranitha Yadav.
TV9 UPUK, the YouTube channel dedicated to quality news coverage of events in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand also emerged a big winner of the evening, with 4 Programming Awards and 2 Personality Awards, to Pankaj Tripathi and Brijesh Tiwari.
On another front, Shivani Purohit of TV9 Gujarati was also conferred with a Personality Award, bringing the total tally of honours bestowed on the channel to 6.
Meanwhile, TV9 Kannada and TV9 Marathi enjoyed great success in the Programming Categories, taking home 3 and 2 commendations respectively.
Logging one win for Programming and one Personality Award to Mahesh Kumar Tiwari, TV9 Bharatvarsh rounded out the Network’s tally for the evening, bringing the figure up to a tremendous 53.
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.
