News Broadcasting
Vivendi Universal reduces losses for last year
MUMBAI: France’s Vivendi Universal has anounced that it lost less money last year. It reported a net loss of 1.143 billion euros compared to a year-earlier loss of 23.3 billion euros.
The company’s chairman and CEO Jean Rene Fortou was quoted in a company release saying that the financial results for 2003 had exceeded its guidance.” We reduced our debt from approximately 35 billion euros to 11.6 billion euros. We divested approximately 10 billion euros worth of assets.
“Today, Vivendi Universal is in good working order. In 2003, Vivendi Universal invested 1.6 billion euros of capital expenditures in its core businesses.” As had been earlier reported by indiantelevision in October an agreement was signed by the company with General Electric to combine the assets of Vivendi Universal Entertainment and broadcast network NBC. This will give rise to a new entity NBC Universal. NBC Universal’s 2003 revenues are anticipated to exceed $13 billion. As part of the transaction, GE is expected to pay at closing $3.65 billion of cash consideration, of which Vivendi Universal would receive approximately $3.3 billion. Vivendi will have a 20 per cent stake in NBC Universal.
The 2003 adjusted net income for Vivendi Universal amounted to 349 million euros. This compares with a loss of 514 million euros in 2002. There was an increase of 1,432 million euros in the operating income segment.
Fortou added, ” Our main commitment was to improve considerably our operating cash flow and Vivendi Universal managers have focused successfully on this matter. As a result, our consolidated cash flow from operations grew 64 per cent in 2003 and our proportionate cash flow from operations increased almost four times over the previous year, on a pro forma basis.”
Fortou stated that for the first time in six years the Canal+ Group had recorded a positive operating income. Revenues from the French pay-TV operations, Canal+ Group’s core business, increased by six per cent to 2,813 million euros. Canal+ Group ended the year with nearly 8.1 million subscriptions to its Canal+ pay-TV offerings in France. On the flip side StudioCanal’s revenues went down by 23 per cent to 351 million euros. This is in line with the company¡¦s strategy to be more selective on its movie investments.
The Universal Music Group and Vivendi Universal Games are implementing a strong and determined reorganisation plan. Looking ahead to this year he said, “In 2004, I expect Vivendi Universal to deliver strong growth in its profit, to reach a level of debt below five billion euros at year end and be in a position to distribute dividends to its shareholders in 2005.
News Broadcasting
Network18 channels lead YouTube news viewership in March 2026
CNN-News18, News18 India and CNBC channels top categories with record views
MUMBAI: When the world hit refresh on breaking news, Network18’s channels were already streaming ahead. As geopolitical tensions and war-driven headlines fuelled a surge in global news consumption, the network’s digital playbook delivered big clocking record Youtube viewership across English, Hindi and business news categories in March 2026.
At the forefront was CNN-News18, which emerged as the clear leader in the English news segment with 130 million live and video-on-demand views. The channel edged past competitors such as Times of India (126.5 million), Times Now (101.1 million), India Today (88.2 million) and NDTV (77.5 million), according to Databeings data for March.
In the Hindi news arena, News18 India delivered a commanding performance, racking up a staggering 3,297 million views on YouTube. The channel comfortably outpaced NDTV India, which recorded 3,119 million views, underlining its deep reach and consistent engagement with mass audiences, as per Playboard data.
The network’s dominance wasn’t confined to general news. In the Hindi business segment, CNBC Awaaz topped the charts with 92 million views, narrowly ahead of Zee Business (90 million) and well ahead of ET Now Swadesh (57 million). Meanwhile, its English counterpart CNBC-TV18 posted a strong 58 million views, reinforcing the network’s cross-category strength.
The spike in viewership reflects a broader shift in audience behaviour, with viewers increasingly turning to digital platforms particularly Youtube for real-time updates and in-depth coverage during high-intensity news cycles. For Network18, the numbers signal more than just scale; they underline the effectiveness of a multi-platform strategy that blends speed, credibility and continuous coverage.
In a month where the news never paused, it seems viewers chose to stay tuned where the stream never stopped.
