News Broadcasting
UTV, ISRO & Vigyan Prasar co-produce quiz show Chamatkar, to premiere on DD1
MUMBAI: UTV has tied up with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Vigyan Prasar to produce a quiz show, Chamatkar. Slated to kick off on 3 September at 9 am on Doordarshan 1 (DD1), the 26 episode series aims to introduce science in a fun, non-intimidating way. Sachin Khedekar will anchor the show.
UTV COO Ronald D’Mello said, ”Through Chamatkar we plan to provide a refreshers course on the fundamentals in Science all over again through an interesting and exciting format of a quiz show, which will appeal to a larger target audience, not like the usual quiz shows that usually just has straight forward questions and answers.”
The show adopts a simplistic approach with an aim to explain the basics of science to the layman. Questions will be related to things around us that will allow participants and viewers to explore the world of science in their daily lives and understand how it works. The principles of science will also be illustrated with experiments performed on the set by the anchor Sachin Khedekar.
Sachin Khedekar adds, “Being an Environment Engineer myself, it gives me immense pleasure to be associated with Chamatkar, which aims at educating and entertaining simultaneously”.
ISRO director of Development and Educational Communication Unit B. S. Bhatia says “We are happy to be associated with UTV through this quiz show and looking forward to making science easy and relatable for the viewers.”
Vigyan Prasar director V. S. Kamble says, “Through Chamatkar, we hope to achieve our primary objective of popularising the subject of science. We are happy to constantly share information on scientific and technological developments taking place in India with the masses.”
The series commences with the preliminary rounds of the West Zone and will be followed by the West Zonal finals. The pattern will be repeated for the other four zones i.e. South, North, East and Central zones. It will finally end with the zonal finalists competing in the National finals.
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.
