News Broadcasting
Zee News, Mid-day end content sharing deal
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The alliance between Mumbai Mid-day and Zee News is coming to an end as per an agreement this month.
The alliance for sharing content between the two, was hatched in August last year. It envisaged both Zee News and the popular afternoon tabloid giving each other space and airtime on their product for a specified time per week. Mid-day had also been given the mandate to put together an eight and half minutes news programme for Zee News, which was credited to the Mumbai newspaper. Zee, according to the deal marketed this programme among advertisers and paid Mid-day for the news product.
Contacted by indiantelevision.com in Delhi, ZeeTelefilms news director Laxmi N. Goel admitted that the Zee-Mid-day relationship is slated to “come to a natural end.” Pointing out that there were no extraneous reasons for ending the relationship, Goel said, “If in future we go in for a such a news package deal (for Mumbai), it’d be with Mid-day only.”
Mid-day Multimedia’s Television Division COO Arindam Mitra when contacted, also reiterated that the contract was due to end on 31 March 2004, and that both companies did not wish to extend the alliance at this point. Pointing out that Mid-day had anyway not hired permanent staff for the Zee News programmes and that the work was being done by freelancers brought in for the project, Mitra said Mid-day’s television division currently has its hands full with its foray into film production.
The company’s first film, Black Friday, is based on Hussain Zaidi’s novel on the serial bomb blasts that took place in Mumbai on 12 March 1993. The Rs 50 million project, which Mitra says will target both television and the big screen, will soon be marketed aggressively by the company. The film is being jointly financed by well known producer Jhamu Sughand and Mid-day. According to reports. the film is being released on international circuit initially, after representations at various film festivals.
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.
