News Broadcasting
GroupM ESP to explore opportunities in Eastern India
National: 2nd August 2013: GroupM ESP (Entertainment & Sports Partnerships), a specialist business unit of GroupM operating inthe field of Entertainment, Sports & Live, Celebrities and Content withexpertise in building clients businesses through strategic consulting and creative ideation, conducted a summit in Kolkata. Top brands like Emami, Manyavar, Linc Pens, Spencer’s Retail and Century Plyboards were amongst the attendees who were taken through the non-traditional media approaches and offerings by GroupM ESP
With the recent impact of 10+2 luring on traditional TV advertising, GroupM ESP presented strategic insights on leveraging brands and their positioning through integration across entertainment, sports & live events, celebrity associations etc. The ideas shared in the summit were to introduce THE POWER OF INTERACTIVE MEDIA OVER INTERRUPTIVE MEDIA. With a paradigm shift in the way media is consumed, the summit focused on content’s movement from AIRING TO SHARING!
The summit received an overwhelming response. While GroupM clients like Century Plyboards, Spencer’s Retail, Berger Paints, Microsec Capital and Dey’s Medical attended the summit; non-GroupM clients like Emami, Linc Pen & Plastics, Manyavar, Concast ISPAT, Eveready Industries, Khadim’s, Shree Cements and SRMB Steel also graced the occasion. The summit focused on the key areas of interest like activations and experiential marketing, celebrity procurement, in-film branding and brand integrations within live events like IIFA, SIIMA, GIMA etc. The industry experts from GroupM like GroupM ESP, Dialogue Factory, and GroupM Interaction presented their credentials in the summit.
“With media landscape in a state of constant flux, we at GroupM ESP truly believe in the adage ‘Where Advertising Can’t, Content Can’. The underlying thought of this summit was to interact and present the opportunities available beyond the realms of traditional advertising to clients outside a ‘Mumbai’ or a ‘Delhi’. The icing on the cake was the overwhelming response that we received from the clients which reinstates our belief in the strength of non-traditional media” said Vinit Karnik-National Director- Sports and Live GroupM ESP
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.
