News Broadcasting
Vizeum to lead rebranding of BBC Knowledge to BBC Earth across Asia
MUMBAI: Vizeum has been appointed to lead the launch of the BBC Earth channel across Asia.
Consistent with BBC Worldwide’s global strategy BBC Knowledge was rebranded to BBC Earth on 3 October, 2015.
In Asia, BBC Earth will be available in Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. There is also a BBC Earth block in Japan on Wowow.
For India, BBC Worldwide entered into a joint venture partnership with Multi Screen Media (MSM) to launch the channel of BBC Earth. The co-branded channel will be called Sony BBC Earth.
“It’s fantastic to have been appointed to launch BBC Earth in Asia and to expand Vizeum’s global relationship with the BBC. We look forward to working with the team at the BBC to deliver incredible content to consumers across the region,” said Vizeum Asia Pacific MD Duncan Pointer.
BBC Earth offers premium content, original commissions and a world beating pipeline of factual programmes that define the human experience, our planet and the wider universe. The channel will deliver awe inspiring programmes in the BBC’s well-known world class style.
BBC Earth launched with Shark, the history of the ocean’s greatest predators.
The new channel will also see the Asia premiere of The Hunt, within 24 hours of the UK telecast. The blue chip landmark series, narrated by Sir David Attenborough and executive produced by award-winning producer, Alistair Fothergill, explores the dramatic world of predation as never before, taking an intimate look at the remarkable strategies of hunters and the hunted, exploring the challenges animals face and the tactics they employ.
Other programmes on the channel will include the series Life Below Zero, which follows the lives of hard-working people living off the grid in Alaska, Infested in which Dr Michael Mosley explores the bizarre and fascinating world of parasites by turning his body into a living laboratory and deliberately infesting himself with them, and Human Universe, in which rockstar turned nuclear physicist Professor Brian Cox explores our place in the universe.
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.
