News Broadcasting
Zee News Ltd targets 25 January for Marathi news channel launch, appoints Doraiswamy as CEO of company
MUMBAI: Zee News Ltd. (ZNL), the demerged company of Zee Telefilms which houses the news and regional channels, is targeting 25 January as the launch date of its Marathi news channel.
Harish Doraiswamy, who was earlier looking after the travel business of Oberoi and head of business development in IMG, has joined ZNL as its chief executive officer. Doraiswamy was also working with Adidas India as chief operating officer.
Laxmi N Goel will be the managing director of ZNL. He has relinquished his executive position as whole-time director of ZNL He will continue to be the director of ZNL in his non-executive capacity.
“We are launching the Marathi news channel on 25 January,” Goel tells Indiantelevision.com. He also confirmed that Doraiswamy has joined ZNL as CEO.
Indiantelevision.com had earlier reported that Zee was planning to launch a Marathi news channel, 24 Tas (24 hours). The projected investment for this venture would be Rs 1 billion over a three-year, Goel had said.
The induction of a CEO comes in the wake of the demerger of Zee’s news and regional channels business into ZNL. Zee had earlier announced that ZNL would get listed on the bourses in January.
ZNL plans to launch a slew of channels including a Tamil and a Malayalam channel to complete its presence in the southern language states. “We will be launching the Marathi news channel this fiscal. Any other launches will happen only in the next financial year,” says Doraiswamy.
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.
