News Broadcasting
Two IAS officers to head DD, AIR
NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati today announced that Indian Administrative Service officers Naveen Kumar and Brajeshwar Singh have been appointed the
director-generals of Doordarshan and All India Radio, respectively.
Announcing the appointments, Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma said that with this both the organizations would have full-time DGs and he can be free to pursue the broader vision of India’s pubcaster Prasar Bharati.
According to Sarma, the organization is negotiating with distributors and platforms in the US and the UK for beaming of DD international channel as also Indian language channels in Punjabi, Telugu, Gujarati amongst others.
Prasar Bharati would hold parleys with the Rupert Murdoch-controlled BSkyB in the UK for the carriage of DD channels and the talks are expected to be held next week in London when Sarma and other ministry officials go there.
For the carriage of DD channels abroad, global tenders had been floated four times. In the US, Globescat has the rights for distributing DD India (the international channel) on DTH and cable systems. As part of this deal, Prasar Bharati is earning $ 80,000 per year, Sarma said.
As part of another expansion process, Prasar Bharati has decided to start two classical music radio channels in Lucknow and Bangalore from 26 January. Alongside, a 24-hour news channel on radio would also be launched on Republic Day. Additionally, more language programming would be introduced for Delhi listeners, said Sarma.
Commenting on external services division of All India Radio, Sarma said it has been decided by the board in a recent meeting that some external services should be shut as the ministry of external affairs is supposed to bear the expenses which is “not happening” at the moment.
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.
