News Broadcasting
Indian tech success story takes the next step with wins in Africa
MUMBAI: Mumbai based Media Nucleus continued its impressive growth story with its first wins in the African continent.Media Nucleus has clients across India, South Asia, South East Asia, Middle East, I and now Africa.
ANN7 based out of South Africa and TVC News in Nigeria have both chosen Media Nucleus’ flagship product, Broadcast Air Time Scheduler (BATS), to optimise revenues and deliver efficiencies in their broadcasting operations.
The flexibility of the modular structure along with the intuitive features of the software that ensures reduction of human error that delivers accurate billing and programming were key to BATS winning.
Value for money and the comprehensive, high quality yet cost effective were the main features that swayed the decision towards BATS in this case.
These broadcasters join global brands such as Fox and CNBC, top Indian brands such as Star World, India News, Fox Movies, Dhammal, PTC, to name a few along with a growing number of other channels across India,Middle East and now Africa who use BATS to run their entire operational processes or parts of it. The ability of BATS to integrate with industry standard broadcast technology infrastructure as well as ERP products such as Oracle or SAP are some of the features Media Nucleus clients value.
Media Nucleus Operations Director Santosh Nair believes this trend of gaining customers abroad would continue especially from the emerging markets that are undergoing through the digitisation revolution. Africa is the initial target but by no means the only one.
“Africa is a big continent with varied levels of market maturity however technology is proving to be a great equaliser in many respects and “digitsation” would open new opportunities as well as challenges,” he said.
“Our experience in supporting broadcasters and other content owners optimise revenues and deliver efficiencies in their operations and meet the challenges of digitisation in India and Middle East make us perfectly poised to do the same in Africa. “
Although BATS is the flagship, he points out that CAMS (a subscriber management system for Cable and DTV Operators) has also established itself as one of the market leaders in its space. The product was launched timely to aid cable operators and others in the industry to comply with digitisation requirements
The SaaS service model with little infrastructural costs and ease of use are some of the criteria that has made CAMS a success, but Nair believes, it is the comprehensive, high quality innovative nature of the product that defines it success especially as it also delivers quick RoI and results.
Nair goes on to say: “Our commitment to delivering value for money with quality products and services supported by excellent customer services has helped us become a market leader in India and we are confident that we can replicate the same success in other emerging economies.”
Aside from BATS, the company product portfolio also includes subscriber based management system (CAMS), a broadband billing system (BBS) and services that are aimed at optimising revenues and delivering efficiencies for all parts of the value chain in the media and entertainment industry.
This Mumbai company with offices in London and Dubai has set its sight on making an impact in the global media industry by helping clients succeed in a complex and rapidly changing competitive landscape.
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.
