News Broadcasting
Will Jeena Isi Ka Naam hai be Sandeep Goyal’s KBC?
He seems to have got his charge’s act together this time. After a disastrous Roosevelt-type 100-hundred day relaunch of Zee TV, group broadcast CEO Sandeep Goyal went back to the drawing board as it were and completely reworked his strategy.
He hired a new creative team, which was headed by Tara wiz Vinta Nanda and left her to handle the process of getting Zee back on track while he chose to whiz around globally, making a pitch for the Indian television industry, and projecting himself as the face of Zee TV, marking his presence at many a fora.
Proof that the strategy is working is the show Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hain (JIKNH), which marks its third week on air this Friday. If the first two episodes are anything to go by, Zee TV has a winner on its hands. The tide seems to have turned at last.
Goyal and Nanda seem to have done the right thing by plumping for the show. Produced by NDTV for its channel NDTV World, which never got to see the light of day, JIKNH is just what the TV doctor would have prescribed for the ailing Zee.
Sandeep Goyal went back to the drawing board as it were and completely reworked his strategy It has great ingredients: film star celebrities, who while they are adored and swooned over, are little known excepting what appears in film magazines which focus on their extramarital affairs and mistakes rather than their positive aspects. In noted film actor Farouque Shaikh they have a presenter who is pretty amiable. Viewers get to know more about their stars through lesser known people – like you and me – who momentarily, because of their associations with the stars, become stars themselves.
Additionally, the show has the slickness that was missing on other Zee TV shows. Finally, it appeals to advertisers and media planners and buyers in ad agencies, which greatly influences whether they buy or not.
Tara wiz Vinta Nanda was given the task of handling the process of getting Zee back on track
Zee TV also seems to be doing well on the marketing front with good creative and slickly produced billboards and promos. The creative suggests that we are getting to see the real face behind the star’s mask on JIKNH.
The only disadvantage is that it is a weekly. To generate stickiness for the channel, Zee TV should plug some of its programming properties – throw in a few dailies into this pot – heavily. Six properties – including JIKNH – might just suffice to do the trick. It has its Playwin lottery draw, which because of the jackpot is a property that could build up across the whole network. Then it has Sa Re Ga Ma which has a new anchor in Shaan, who bonds tremendously with the bubble-gum crowd, with his boyish good looks and melodious voice. It needs another three good shows, which will help it ride back into the hearts of viewers.
To Zee TV’s advantage is the fact that Star has not been able to replicate the mind-boggling viewership numbers it used to generate (with its earlier shows) for its new shows. It has a window of opportunity to leap into. Now it’s over to Team Goyal and Nanda.
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.
