News Broadcasting
Santa, are you listening?
It’s the season to be jolly. It’s that time of the year when children are told to be on their best behaviour so that Santa Claus showers them with candy, toys and gifts the night before Christmas. However, it isn’t just kids who are busy making merry and wishing that the portly old man with the white beard brings them a sack full of goodies. Grown-ups across ages continue to believe in the sanctity of Father Christmas. A day before Christmas eve, indiantelevision.com asked people associated with the film, television and cable industry what they would most wish for from Santa. Read on to know what they said…
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This Christmas, I would like Santa to gift me a regulation, which will ensure that all government – both state and central – levies are removed. Also, I would like that post digitisation, the revenue share for broadcasters, multi-system operators and local cable operators should be 1/3rd each. Shaji Mathews, COO, GTPL, Hathway |
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I would like carriage fees to be wiped out, subscription revenues to be as per world norms and till such time as that doesn’t happen, for there to be no ad cap. Narayan Rao, executive vice chairperson NDTV and president NBA |
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We want Santa to bring reduction of taxes by the government which currently range between 35 and 40 per cent (note: exemption of Entertainment Tax). Anil Khera, CEO, Videocon D2H |
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This Christmas, I would like clients to use a lot more of video conferencing facilities to enable less travel, more productivity and less fuel usage. As an industry, we need to look at options which not only help us but the world as a whole too. Nandini Dias, CEO, Lodestar UM |
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I want Santa to come with a magic wand this Christmas with a click of which, the marketing of my films is taken care of! I want to concentrate on making good content and don’t want to bother about how the content will reach its buyers/target audience. Santa sir, we are creative souls and not bankers/financiers who have to keep bothering about marketing cost more than telling our stories – please kuchh karo. Yusuf Shaikh, head – distribution, acquisition and IPR management, Percept Picture Company, Percept Limited |
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Rajinikanth once said, ‘If I say it once, I have said it a million times’. So, if I take care of one wish, it will take care of million wishes. I want Santa to be there with me every single day and not once a year. If he will be with me 365 days, he will give me gifts every single day. Divya Radhakrishnan, managing director, Helios Media |
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Christmas is a time to party. I have two wishes from Santa this year, one on a professional level which is that Santa should give some sanity to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), so that they can force the multi-system operators to introduce packaging and complete the process of digital addressability. Also, I would want Santa to gift me tickets to Disneyland, so that I can take my five-year-old daughter there. Sudhish Kumar, executive director , Sagar E Tachnologies |
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I would like better rates from advertisers and inventory from TRAI. Ashok Venkatramani, CEO, MCCS |
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Too many cases of people in the industry engaging in unfair means. Those who indulge in piracy are not nice. Santa should take them to the North Pole and bury them in ice! So be Good and may Santa visit everyone with good fortune, health and happiness…! Pankaj Krishna, founder and CEO, Chrome Data Analytics & Media |
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I wish Santa could give me some professionals at the top level to help upgrade Doordarshan. Jawhar Sircar, CEO, Prasar Bharati |
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.
