News Broadcasting
Sun Direct Introduces Cinema + Sports Pack at an Unbelievable Price
Bringing more joy to the festival of Onam, Sun Direct, gifts Kerala viewers utmost entertainment with its exciting Onam offers. Sun Direct has over 12 lakh subscribers in Kerala and is the single largest DTH player in Kerala. This Onam Season, Sun Direct targets to add 1, 00,000 new subscribers with their special offers.
New customers can avail an extra month’s free viewing on select packs:
*Malayalam Cinema plus for 1 + 1 month at Rs. 1890, 4 +1 month at 2290, 8 +1 months at 2890.
*Malayalam Super value for 1 +1 month at Rs.1990, 6 +1 months at 2890.
This Onam, with a new 24 hour Malayalam music channel – Surya Music, non-stop Malayalam comedy with Chirithira, exclusive Malayalam cinema club along with 4 popular Sports channels, ESPN, Star Sports, Star Cricket, Star Sports 2, and Sun Direct gives its customers a great value proposition. All this is available on the Cinema + Sports pack at a monthly renewal subscription of just Rs. 185. What’s more, customers can now record their favorite channels with video recording on SD+ and HD+ boxes at no additional cost.
Commenting on this festive offer, Mr. Mahesh Kumar, MD, Sun Direct, said “Sun Direct aims to add spirit and joy to the festival of Onam by providing optimum entertainment at a very affordable price point. This Onam, we intend to value every need of our customer and offer maximum entertainment packages. We expect our customized offers for the festival to add more joy to our customers bringing them the best packages to choose from. “
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.
