News Broadcasting
NDTV Car & Bike Awards are back with their 9th edition
MUMBAI: The coveted NDTV Car & Bike Awards are back with their 9th edition, scheduled to be held at the Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi on Monday, January 13, 2014. Presented by Mobil1, the Awards will once again honour the best cars and bikes in the country’s vibrant automobile sector and give recognition to the minds and the efforts behind their success.
The NDTV Car & Bike Awards have emerged as the most credible automobile industry awards that have created a niche for themselves in the sector and among automobile aficionados. The 9th edition will felicitate 35 most deserving winners across various categories. A new category has been introduced, the ‘CNB Visioneer Award’ that will acknowledge outstanding contribution to the Indian Automobile Industry.
Announcing the 9th edition of the awards, Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, Editor -Auto & Head Automobile Programming, NDTV said, “It has been quite a journey and I am very proud that we have now completed 10 years of CNB on the NDTV Network. The fact that the CNB awards are now recognised as most credible across the automobile industry is a matter of great pride for us at NDTV. We are very happy with the anticipation around this year’s edition, and I too cannot wait to find out who will be going home with the coveted trophies on awards night.”
He further added, “The 9th edition of our own independent and trusted automobile awards will once again establish a set of credible winners – chosen by an eminent jury comprising the best names in the business. I am equally excited as always by the annual Viewers’ Choice category. The hundreds of thousands of votes as always represent our most valued viewers and what they believe are the best products of the year.”
Car and Two Wheeler of the Year awards will take the top honours while the CNB Viewers’ Choice Awards gives viewers the exciting opportunity to vote for their favourite car and bike nominees and stand a chance to take the year’s hottest wheels home. The CNB Viewers’ Choice category has already received over twenty thousand votes through online and mobile messages and the numbers are growing every hour.
To ensure a fool proof and fair selection process, each Jury member assesses and awards each nominee in complete isolation to other jurors. Each car and bike nominated is driven, evaluated and tested by the Jury along with a detailed research on each nominee’s specifications; its market performance and its immediate competition also being provided to them. Tabulators at Ernst and Young monitor the entire process.
An eminent Jury consisting of an expert panel of auto aficionados will select the winners of this year’s awards. These include Adil Jal Darukhanawala, Editor in Chief, Zeegnation; Aditya Patel, one of India’s brightest young racers; Dilip Chhabria, an eminent and internationally acclaimed automobile designer; Dhruv Behl, Founder and Managing Editor of AutoX; Gul Panag, known as much for being an auto enthusiast and biker, as her silver-screen avatar; Jens Meiners, based in Germany and in New York, Jens is one of the foremost international motor journalists; Kamlesh Patel, Former Rallyist and automobile enthusiast; Karun Chandhok, India’s youngest Formula One driver; Kushan Mitra, Managing Editor, Digital and New Projects of The Pioneer newspaper; Dr V Sumantran, currently the Non-Executive Vice Chairman at Ashok Leyland and Siddharth Vinayak Patankar; Editor – Auto & Head Automobile Programming, NDTV.
The Awards also recognise Marketing, Advertising and Communication efforts of the players which contribute to any product’s success, with the CNB-AAA Awards. The categories in this include Best PR & Communications Team, Best Integrated Campaign, Best TV Commercial Two Wheeler & Four Wheeler categories and Brand Ambassador of the Year.
The CNB AAA Awards Jury includes Raj Kamle, Managing Partner, StrawberryFrog, Vinod G Nair, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Clea PR, Sam Balsara, CMD, Madison Communications, Shruti Verma Singh, Consulting Editor, NDTV and Siddharth Vinayak Patankar; Editor – Auto & Head Automobile Programming, NDTV.
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.
