News Broadcasting
Two new Samachar Plus channels to launch this year
MUMBAI: With completion of phase one of two news channels in the states of Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand and Rajasthan, the Best News Company plans to enter phase two by launching two more news channels this year.
The channels in question being Samachar Plus Haryana and Samachar Plus Madhya Pradesh/Chattisgarh – both under the Samachar Plus umbrella – scheduled for a September-October 2014 launch.
The current duo has a 600-strong staff with broadcasting happening from Noida and news gathering from bureaus in Lucknow and Jaipur. Incidentally, the Noida office has 30,000 sq ft demarcated for the upcoming channels where the setup is in progress. Plans are afoot to recruit another 500 people for the upcoming channels.
Recently, Aidem Ventures was entrusted the job of handling the ad sales for the existing two channels with corporate companies while local channels would be handled by the channel itself. Brands such as Rajnigandha and Jhandu are already with the channel while others such as Bajaj and Reliance are to be handled by Aidem going further. Currently, ad slots are in the range of around Rs 500 for a 10 second slot.
“The vision of the company is to provide unbiased news, programs based on development of the state and to promote art and culture of the respective regions as well as to bring up social issues that are relevant to the common man,” says Best News Company MD Shashank Bansal.
Investment to the tune of Rs 15-20 crore is being pumped into the up and coming channels while the existing ones are expected to break even in 2015. The third phase will see another channel for Bihar/Jharkhand.
On the distribution end, being handled by a 22 member-strong internal team, the channels have managed to be present 100 per cent in cable while DTH is yet to happen. The two free to air (FTA) channels beaming off Insat 4 are being shot in standard definition (SD) with no plans to go high definition (HD) anytime soon. “Our SD shooting is as good as HD due to our high quality equipments,” says Best News Company CEO Umesh Kumar.
Other contenders in the UP/Uttarakhand market are ETV UP, Zee Purvaiya and Zee Sangam while in Rajasthan, ETV Rajasthan, Zee Marudhara and Samay Rajasthan are in the fray. As to how the company will take on the challenge presented by biggies like Zee and TV 18, Bansal says, “We will provide our audiences with better content as compared to other channels.”
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.
