News Broadcasting
POGOs School Contact Program wins Gold at EEMAX Awards for Chhota Bheem ka Fatafat Formula
MUMBAI: POGO, the leading kids’ entertainment channel, recently added another feather to its cap. Chhota Bheem ka Fatafat Formula, an innovative marketing School Contact Program (SCP) in 2012, won the Gold Prize in the category “Best School Contact Program” at the Event & Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) Awards 2013.
This 2 months long SCP gave young school children a unique opportunity to learn basic self-defense techniques to protect themselves and those around them. POGO aimed to empower children and also impress upon them the importance of safety in day-to-day life by teaching them the power of ‘Mind over Might’.
The SCP was conducted with 5 lakh students in over 550 schools across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Chennai. Fountainhead Entertainment was the event agency behind conducting this successful event. In addition, special self-defense themed promos featuring Chhota Bheem were aired on POGO.
Krishna Desai, Sr. Director & Network Head – Kids, South Asia, Turner International India Pvt. Ltd. said, “School Contact Programs of Cartoon Network and POGO have been a proud tradition at Turner. To be recognized and awarded by the industry for one of them is not only gratifying but also encouraging. Fountainhead Entertainment has been a long-standing partner on many successful and innovative initiatives.”
EEMA is the only unified voice of the event management and experiential marketing industry. EEMAX 2013 was the fifth edition of the awards which recognized exemplary work in the events and experiential marketing space. In the ‘Best School Contact Program’ category, the initiative competed against not only brands in kids/broadcast but the across the various brand categories in India.
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.
