News Broadcasting
ABP news & Hindustan gear up for upcoming action in Hindi belt
MUMBAI: What happens when two giants of Hindi news come together….What happens when the face of Hindi television news joins hands with the face of Hindi print media. What happens when this amalgamation happens in the Hindi heartland of UP and Bihar? The Political environment heats up further in the Cow belt where Bihar is going into elections from next month, while UP perpetually continues to be a high stake state given its size and place in Indian politics.
Two most credible names in Hindi News, ABP NEWS and HINDUSTAN have come together to raise questions in the states of UP and BIHAR with their programmes, ABP News KAUN BANEGA MUKHYAMANTRI (KBM) and HINDUSTAN’s HINDUSTAN SHIKHAR SAMAGAM.
ABP News Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri is the Highest Election Recall Programme in the country with the highest viewership. KBM aims at giving all the viewers holistic information about the state elections including various offerings like debates from various constituencies, opinion polls, exit polls, polling & counting day special etc. The programme will also have consumer connect with voters through on-ground activation in multiple cities, mini polls etc.
The Hindustan Shikhar Samagam is set to convene on September 26th in Lucknow with its theme– Hindustan ki tarakki ka naya daur. This platform will have more than 300 distinguished guests from Politics, Bureaucracy, Industry, Public Life, Sports, Academia and Entertainment world. The galaxy of speakers include Akhilesh Yadav, Raj Nath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Irani, Virendra Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rajeev Shukla, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Kangana Ranaut, Irrfan Khan and Amish Tripathi.
Going beyond the regular tie ups of news organisations, this is one of the biggest CONTENT and MARKETING tie up in recent times. A multi-media campaign consisting of TV, Print, outdoor and digital platforms will take this tie up to new levels. Hindustan’s property, Hindustan Shikhar Samagam will be telecast Live on ABP news channel with some of its mainstream anchors like Dibang, Kishor Ajwani and Abhisar Sharma hosting a few sessions. The Samagam will be available Live through video streaming on www.livehindustan.com as well as on www.abplive.in , the digital platform of ABP News Network.
Hindustan will be the official print partner for KBM where one editorial representative from Hindustan will be part of the ABP News panel for all public debates, opinion polls, exit polls, counting day coverage and all election related analysis and the content will get leveraged in their Bihar edition. Hindustan will also have the first right of information for polls results over others.
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.
