News Broadcasting
From television to web on the go
CANNES: Day two of Mip Junior put the spotlight on how kids today are increasingly moving from television to the web.
“This year, four trillion gigabytes of social data was generated. In fact, two years down the line, the number will double,” said SuperAwesome CEO Dylan Collins, adding that Netflix and YouTube were two of the biggest platforms for children to watch/upload videos and listen to music.
“There is a re-definition of trend. This year, YouTube has seen 100 hours per minute of video being uploaded. And this has built up from zero, six years back. YouTube could probably kill half a dozen entertainment companies tomorrow, just because of how many children are there,” he said.
SuperAwesome recently asked 2,000 children what presents they’d like to unwrap on Christmas Day only to find out that kids favoured iPhones and iPads over traditional games consoles and handhelds.
Speaking about the shift to multiple screens, Collins said: “A lot of people talk of two screens, but there are actually four – the mobile, laptop, TV, and desktop. If one has to look at China, the usage of mobiles has exceeded that of desktops. This is where every kid is going.”
Again, kids with their own tablets are using more Android than iPad, Collins pointed out. “So when you’re thinking about creating new IPs and new brands, build them for tablets and not necessarily just iPads,” he said.
He stressed on the need for producers to think multi-channel from the very beginning. “Parents today are ready to pay $10-20 for tablets. Everything that interacts with kids involves video and that is the way ahead. Video isn’t going away, in fact, online video is getting bigger and everyone needs to think about it from day one,” he said.
The morning session also concentrated on games, apps, toys and books for kids.
In a session on ‘Borderless IPs’, MakieLab CEO Alice Taylor informed the audience about her creation of physical goods from virtual ones. “MakieLab is a start-up making customisable 3D printed dolls, born out of the trend where children were seen collecting in virtual worlds like Moshi Monsters and Club Penguin to customise avatars. We wanted to turn these avatars into real dolls.”
MakieLab now has a website and an app, and will also launch a game in early 2014. “The app helps children build their own doll through simple slide-bar controls. MakieLab is also working at creating an 11-minute 52-episode animated show aimed at girls, based on the Makies characters and world,” Taylor said.
Compania de Medios Digitales (CMD) COO Marcelo Liberini spoke about his product Gaturro, which started as a comic in 1993, and has now moved to TV and video. “We ended up building a full trans-media property around this character, and this year, we are finishing the work on the TV series,” Liberini said.
In 2010, CMD also launched Mundo Gaturro, a virtual world, which has since spread to online radio, a social network called Picapon, webisodes and a video-on-demand platform. “We are expanding into mobile too. We are now in the process of porting the virtual world, ready to be used on tablets,” Liberini said.
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.
