News Broadcasting
Yahoo! to produce ‘The Apprentice’ site for Mark Burnett
MUMBAI: Yahoo! Inc. and Mark Burnett Productions, which is the producer of reality TV programming, announced a multiple programme content relationship in which, Yahoo! will produce, host and sell advertising for the official website for the second and third season of The Apprentice.
As a part of the deal, Yahoo! will also integrate exclusive Apprentice content throughout it’s network. Also, additional reality programmes on which Yahoo! and Mark Burnett Productions are expected to collaborate will be announced soon.
The Apprentice’s official website goes live today at http://apprentice.yahoo.com, through Yahoo! TV, or through the SBC Yahoo! DSL front page, and will be operational throughout the show’s four-month run. “We chose to work with Yahoo! because of its tremendous reach on the Internet, as well as its ability to develop a comprehensive and entertaining user experience,” said Burnett. “The fans of The Apprentice are very devoted to the programme and can now enjoy a deeper relationship with our programme and its contents by going online to Yahoo!”
Each week, The Apprentice’s website will feature up to 40 minutes of exclusive video footage from each episode specially edited for the online audience and not seen on TV, such as additional task footage, taxi confessionals and boardroom drama. In addition, Sam Solovey, who was famously ousted from the first season of The Apprentice will write an exclusive weekly column with play-by-play commentary. Users will also be able to download a themed Apprentice IMVironment background in Yahoo! Messenger, as well as use a verbally animated “You’re Fired” audible to taunt their friends while instant messaging.
Other site features include an inside tour of the candidates’ residence, extensive photo galleries, biographies, episode recaps, task overviews and team statistics and strategy. “This relationship with Mark Burnett Productions helps further Yahoo!’s commitment to provide the next generation of original and compelling broadband content for our consumers,” said Jim Moloshok, senior vice- president of entertainment and content acquisition. “At the same time, advertisers will have the opportunity to reach a large, engaged audience within an extremely attractive demography.”
Yahoo!’s advertising inventory for the site, which includes sponsorship, broadband video ads, and banner ads, is proving popular with brand advertisers wanting to take advantage of Yahoo!’s reach with the 18-49 year-old online audience attracted to The Apprentice. As the season progresses, Yahoo! will add additional elements to the official Apprentice site and throughout the Yahoo! network. Integration of The Apprentice content will ultimately span six Yahoo! destinations reaching more than 60 million unique users per month, via Yahoo! TV, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! HotJobs, Yahoo! Search, Yahoo! Finance, and LAUNCH, Music on Yahoo!
Previously, Yahoo! and Mark Burnett Productions had announced a relationship to promote The Apprentice on Yahoo! HotJobs to encourage show viewership and drive contestant applications.
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.
