News Broadcasting
Zee News signs content sharing deal with Mid Day
NEW DELHI: Now Zee News is going in for barter advertising deals with print publications and has extended a similar relationship to Mumbai’s tabloid Mid Day Publication for content sharing too.
Confirming the move, Zee Telefilms news group director Laxmi Goel told indiantelevision.com, “We are going in for various marketing alliances with print publications, including Mid Day which will do some news and current affairs programming for Zee News.”
According to Goel, the deal with Mid Day, to be announced tomorrow in Mumbai, entails both Zee News and the tabloid giving each other space and airtime on their product for a specified number of time per week. He didn’t divulge into details.
However, Goel admitted that Mid Day would be putting together an eight-and-a-half minutes news programme for Zee News, which would be credited to the Mumbai newspaper. Zee would be marketing this programme amongst probable advertisers and would be paying
Mid Day for the news product.
Apart from Mid Day, Zee News has also struck up a barter deal for advertising space with Outlook magazine, owned by a Rajan Raheja company. Another Raheja company Hathway Datacom is a multi-system cable operator (MSO), a venture in which Star owns 26 per cent stake.
Though Goel was not forthcoming, he said that the news channel was “open to the idea” of such barter deals with other media companies too, including online entities.
Another broadcaster that has similar barter deals with print publications for ad space is India’s pubcaster Prasar Bharati, which oversees the functioning of Doordarshan and All India Radio.
Prasar Bharati has a string of deals already in its bag with heavyweights like Malayala Manorama, Indian Express group and Dainik Bhaskar and would be leveraging these relationships to publicise the re-launch of DD News
channel.
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.
