News Broadcasting
Times Network and NSE launch Prosperous India 2019
MUMBAI: Times Network, India’s leading television broadcasting network, in partnership with NSE launched ‘Prosperous India 2019’, a pathbreaking investor awareness initiative in Mumbai, today. Encouraging Indians for a greater participation in the country’s growth story, the initiative aims to enable investors, stakeholders and public with financial freedom, prosperity and an opportunity to ‘Rise with India’.
India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and holds an advantage of a rising middle class across demography. ‘Prosperous India’ in its entirety is committed to improve the financial wellbeing of people with a focus to provide a platform to ensure financial security and sustainability for an investor to grow as India progresses.
The launch event witnessed a fireside chat between Vikram Limaye, Managing Director and CEO, NSE and Nikunj Dalmia, Managing Editor, ET NOW on ‘Financially Sustainable India, A Prosperous India’. This was followed by a panel discussion on ‘When India Prospers, Investors Prosper’, moderated by Nikunj Dalmia with market stalwarts that included Vishal Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, IDFC Asset Management, Manish Gunwani, CIO – Equity Investments, Reliance Mutual Fund and Lakshmi Iyer, CIO – Fixed Income & Head Products, Kotak Mutual Funds.
Inaugurating the initiative, MK Anand, MD & CEO, Times Network, said, “We have been championing India’s growth story with our continued commitment to encourage citizens to ‘Rise with India’. Through this initiative, we see an opportunity to educate Indians to choose investment methods, thereby empowering them to secure a strong financial future. With Prosperous India 2019, we look forward to building a financially sustainable India and contribute to India’s growth story”.
Commenting on the initiative, Vikram Limaye, Managing Director and CEO, NSE, said, “ Over the last 25 years, NSE’s commitment to investor education has been a continuous and consistent effort. As India’s largest exchange, we believe that one of our key responsibility is to encourage more people to participate in India’s growth story and benefit from the growing Indian economy. The substantial increase in participation in equity and mutual funds in the recent years and broadening of the investor base is an encouraging development. We need to help our new entrance into the market and guide the investors, members and ensure all participants benefit from the market over a long term. This will keep the investors interested and drive the markets towards the sustainable growth. The NSE ‘Prosperous India 2019’ initiative with Times Network is an important development and this launch event marks an important milestone”.
As part of the initiative, ET NOW will host 24 on-ground forums, reaching out a wide spectrum of people across 12 cities – Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Indore, Lucknow, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur, New Delhi and Surat. ‘Prosperous India’ will educate the masses on investment methods and trends thus enabling them to make the best returns as India Prospers. The initiative will culminate with a grand telethon on TIMES NOW, ET NOW and Mirror NOW.
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.
