News Broadcasting
‘Vision 2020’ summit in the US to explore media, technology
MUMBAI: In 1990, CNN had been on-air for a only a decade, Netscape and the Web revolution was five years away, newspaper readership in America was 14 per cent higher than it is today and the Fairness Doctrine for radio and television had been dead for three years.
The next 15 years brought many surprises for the American media industry. And in an effort to prepare the industry for the next 15 years, the Asian American Journalists Association (Aaja) is convening a leadership summit Vision 2020.
The event takes place from 19-20 October 2005 at The Aspen Institute in Colorado. The summit will be part of a four-day gathering to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Aaja’s Executive Leadership Programme. This leadership development programme has since graduated 288 mid-career Asian American Pacific Islander journalists.
Media executives, futurists, business leaders and philanthropists will look at the technology that will be used to distribute information, business practices of the future, and the impact of both on society and social justice issues. Summit participants will also look at audiences, their buying habits and information needs in the year 2020.
Ideas from the summit will be distilled into a white paper and distributed to summit participants and media companies.
Summit speakers will include Community Technology Foundation of California CEO Tessie Guillermo, Viacom Cable Networks, Film and Publishing executive VP research and planning Betsy Frank and ESPN Mobile senior VP Manish Jha.
Representatives from some of Amwerica’s philanthropic organisations will also attend the program and explore potential synergies between media, business and philanthropy.
Aaja is a non-profit professional and educational organisation with more than 2,300 members today. Founded in 1981, Aaja states that it has been at the forefront of change in the journalism industry. Its mission is to encourage Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) to enter the ranks of journalism, to work for fair and accurate coverage of AAPIs, and to increase the number of AAPI journalists and news managers in the industry.
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.
