News Broadcasting
Zee adds Realty TV to bouquet
MUMBAI / NEW DELHI: Subhash Chandra’s Zee Telefilms is certainly not letting any grass grow under its feet following the defection of movie channel HBO from the Zee-Turner platform to Sony Entertainment’s One Alliance.
In a deal signed two days ago but announced today, Zee-Turner has entered into a distribution agreement with the Zone Broadcasting (Maximum Realty) Ltd for distribution in India of Realty TV, a channel devoted solely to reality television programming. The channel will be launching in India in January, industry sources say.
It is further learned that Zee-Turner will be hiking its full package rate from the current Rs 42 to around Rs 60. The full package includes all the Zee channels, the Alphas, the Turner channels (Cartoon Network and CNN), Zee’s educational channel ZED and Realty TV. However, judging by the packaging structure that Zee adopted earlier in the year wherein it offered various combinations of channels at different prices, most operators will be paying lower rates.
Meanwhile, today’s Financial Express has quoted Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea as saying the lead network had decided to maintain status quo on its rates and would concentrate instead on driving up connectivity.
While Star’s distribution head Tony D’Silva maintains that a final decision on this would only be made next week, if as reported Star has decided to refrain from going in for a hike, it is bound to increase the pressure from cable operators if Zee hikes its full package rate to Rs 60.
Meanwhile, industry sources say that Turner will inform Zee by next week whether premium movie channel Cinemax can be brought into the bouquet to replace HBO. HBO being a stakeholder in Cinemax does complicate matters. Further, with HBO and Star Movies having tied up most of the rights for new Hollywood blockbusters, there may also be an issue of getting decent titles on the channel to contend with.
Realty TV is a UK-based channel launched about a month ago, industry sources say. Realty TV is also available in South Africa.
Alongside the Realty TV announcement, Zee also informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that its board had today approved and ratified the distribution agreement entered into between Zee-Turner Television Eighteen India Ltd for distribution of CNBC channel in India.
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.
