News Broadcasting
Zee MGM, Zee English set for revamp
MUMBAI: After a period of inactivity, Zee MGM and Zee English are pushing ahead in terms of a new look as well as innovative programme strategies.
The channels’ vice president Ajay Trigunayat says a new look has been put in place for Zee MGM from 11 December. This sees the return of the roaring lion on the channel logo since that is what Indians associate the MGM brand with. The channel has also taken a decision to delve into the brand heritage of MGM and is therefore using the famous tagline Lions Share of Hollywood.
The decision to go in for a revamp was taken in mid-September and Zee asked MGM to do the needful, says Trigunayat. The Zee network then did its own upgrades using state of the art facilities. The channel now also has a new promo director in Shrett Garnett who has worked in Dubai and the UK for ten years, says Trigunayat.
Elaborating on the strategy for Zee English, Trigunayat says, ” What we did for Zee English is to put all the graphic elements which were already available but which had not yet been used into place like new fonts. Every promo has a time and day, which is standardised across the channel. For Zee English, we are not going for a new look right now. We will wait for some time and then proceed. Effectively we are taking things in various stages and I call it the ‘afterburner’ approach.”
Trigunayat says the broadcaster renogitiated the contract with MGM in August 2002 after which it started airing non MGM movies like the Oscar Winner Traffic..
As far as positioning Zee MGM was concerned, he says, “During our research, viewers told us that when they watch an English movie channel, they look forward to unreleased and unknown movies in India. those that have not been seen in theatres or on the DVD, video circuits. This led us to the assumption that maybe we should be a channel which plays good movies at all times. We took the decision to not be a functional or a symbolic brand. We will be an experiential brand. You can watch a good movie at any time and there will be no appointment viewing required. “
In terms of channel share, Trigunayat says that during the top of the line slot, which is Romantic Monday’s , Zee MGM’s share had gone up by thrice as much.
Reagrding programming on Zee English Trigunayat says, ” We tinkered only slightly with the FPC. When Friends aired at 10:30 pm on weekends, channel share was 55 per cent between 9-12 pm. So we decided to put it back on weekdays at 10 pm. After the eighth season of Friends was over, we went back to the first episode from 11 November and channel shares have jumped back up to 47 per cent.”
Trigunayat says Zee English plans to bring in four shows from next month, for which a fresh approach has been taken. Zee MGM will premiere Run Lola Run in end January. It will also air English movies with an Indian feel like David Lean’s A Passage to India on Tuesdays at 9 pm.
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.
