News Broadcasting
Will Sanjivani be Star’s lifeline for 2002?
If a show takes up the time slot occupied earlier by the celebrated gameshow Kaun Banega Crorepati, it better be BIG! That seems to be the line that Star Plus has taken by pulling out all stops to ensure that its new weekly soap Sanjivani grabs eyeballs in a big way.
The one-hour show, produced by Cinevista Communications, and airing 9 – 10 pm on Wednesdays, is definitely not cutting any corners in scale or concept. Spread out over 18,000 square feet of space in a suburban studio is a permanent hospital set that has taken over Rs 10 million to put up. The standard betacam has been given the go-by; the entire filming and editing is done digitally. The cost of digital beta filming is four times that of the betacam (which hovers around Rs 3000 per episode) and the resultant picture quality 20 times better. Each episode of the series that explores the human side of hospital life costs over Rs 1 million to produce, avers Cinevista creative director Siddharth.
Set designer Omung Kumar has created a hospital set that is stylish, colourful and very hip – very unlike a hospital, but one with a ‘hopeful feel’, says director Kaushik Ghatak (because it is loosely based on Chicago Hope?). A veteran of such hit serials like Kyunkii and ShhhKoi Hai, Ghatak says Sanjivani has the potential to tap a variety of emotions and relationships in the wider canvas of hospital life. Authenticity has been maintained to the last detail in buying original operating and scanning equipment and infrastructure worth millions. Cinevista has also retained a panel of around eight doctors who advise the crew on medical terms and shots. Ghatak says the team spent eight months of research on assimilating 800 case files from various hospitals to ensure that the incidents portrayed have a ring of truth to them.
And for some star appeal, middle-rung Bollywood actor Mohnish Behl has been signed on for a central character in the serial.
Star Plus too is ensuring that the investment in the series fetches due returns. Hoardings and innovative front and back page advertisements in major English and regional language newspapers marked the launch of the serial. The channel tried another innovative promotion – distributing Band-Aid medicated strips in local trains in Mumbai on launch day (yesterday), stamped with the Sanjivani logo to get the medicine message across.
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.
