News Broadcasting
ETV Bangla earmarks Rs 150 mn capital expenditure for its Bengali news channel
KOLKATA: Earlier in January, Indiantelevision.com reported how the Bengali general entertainment channel ETV Bangla of the Network 18 group is looking at a news foray. The latest word is the Network has earmarked a capital expenditure of Rs 150 mln for launching a 24-hour Bengali news and current affairs channel.
The channel would be launched by March 15 and will have a team of 200 professionals, including journalists and technical staffs, said one of the editors of ETV.
The programming for the news channel will be uplinked from Hyderabad for the time being. By the end of the year, the company plans to set up a transmission system in Kolkata to be able to uplink directly. The company has already received a license from government authorities.
Dhrubajyoti Pramanik, formerly with ABP Ananda – a 24-hour news channel from the house of Kolkata headquartered ABP Group, will is joining as the Editor of ET’s Bengali news channel. “He is likely to join the organisation from 1 March,” said a reliable source from ETV.
An official from ETV Bangla said, “We had the set up and infrastructure for running a 24-hour news channel and now we will be using it. To run the news channel, around 200 people would be required.”
ETV Bangla, which airs three news bulletins at present, will no longer telecast news once the news channel is launched. ETV Bangla will strictly become a general entertainment channel (GEC) going forward, the official said.
Recently Viacom18, the 50:50 joint venture between US-based Viacom and India’s Network 18 Group, completed its acquisition in ETV Bangla. It should be noted that ETV Bangla, a part of the ETV Network group of channels, was launched in 1999.
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.
