News Broadcasting
Zee News says it scored some firsts in terrorism coverage
NEW DELHI: The Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Telefilms has claimed that Zee News created television history on Tuesday, 24 September 2002 by covering a military operation to flush out terrorists from a house in Gogjibagh area in Jammu and Kashmir live.
In a press statement, Zee News’ deputy editor Alka Saxena has said this was for the first time in the history of Indian broadcast media that an anti-terrorist operation was covered live. Beginning from 6:30 AM through 10:30 AM, Zee covered the event non-stop, second by second.
The press statement also states that several other broadcasters, including a foreign-owned news channel, switched to Zee News several times during their bulletin to show their viewers the action-packed shots.
The statement further goes to state that the same evening, Zee’s Gujarat bureau was the first to break the news of terrorists storming the Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar. “Minister of State for Home Affairs I D Swami made the incident’s first official confirmation in our studios,” the statement, quoting Saxena, said.
The flip side of the story is that even Star News gave a comprehensive and extensive coverage to the two events as did some foreign news channels too, including CNN and BBC.
But it’s Zee News which has made capital of its efforts by going to town and tomtomming them.
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.
