1. At a Glance – The “Sound of Silence” Edition
Next Mediaworks Ltd is trading at ₹5.69, up 6.36% today, which is impressive for a company whose quarterly revenue is ₹0.00 Cr. Market cap stands at ₹38.9 Cr, which is roughly the valuation of a mid-sized Mumbai housing society with better cash flows. The company reported PAT of –₹1.03 Cr in Q3 FY26, continuing a long tradition of losses that would make even startups nervous.
ROCE is –9.35%, book value is –₹4.69, and the auditor has officially flagged the company as “not a going concern.” That’s auditor-speak for “boss, ye gaadi dhakka maar ke chal rahi hai.”
Promoters hold ~75%, debt stands at ₹36.8 Cr, interest coverage is –0.04, and EV/EBITDA is a legendary –473, a number so absurd it deserves its own radio frequency.
And yet… the stock moves. Why? Because Indian markets love a good comeback story, even when the hero hasn’t shown up yet. Curious? Good. Let’s dig.
2. Introduction – When FM Stands for “Financial Meltdown”
Next Mediaworks was incorporated in 1981, back when FM radio was cool, ads were booming, and nobody imagined Spotify would eat everyone’s lunch. Through its subsidiary Next Radio Ltd, it ran Radio One (94.3 MHz) across India’s top cities—Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, and Ahmedabad. Premium audience, English music, classy vibe.
Fast forward to FY26, and the business model looks less like “premium FM” and more like “strategic silence.” No operating revenue, consistent losses, eroded net worth, and auditors waving red flags like it’s a Formula 1 crash.
The company tried to pivot—digital content, talent hunts, amalgamations with Digicontent and HT Mobile—but execution seems to have vanished somewhere between board meetings and courtrooms.
Question for you: How does a media company survive when it literally has
nothing to broadcast financially?
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
In theory, Next Mediaworks should be doing three things:
- FM Radio Broadcasting via Radio One
- Digital Content & IP Creation (like the “International Icon” project)
- Platform Synergies post amalgamation with Digicontent & HT Mobile
In practice? FM revenues are zero. Digital revenues are zero. Synergies are PowerPoint-only.
Radio One was positioned as a premium brand—English music, affluent listeners, high-quality advertisers. But advertisers moved to digital, podcasts, YouTube, and influencers who shout “LIKE SHARE SUBSCRIBE” louder than any RJ.
The International Icon project sounded fancy—a global digital music talent hunt—but financial impact? Invisible.
As of Feb 2025, Next Radio Ltd ceased to be a subsidiary, which is like saying, “We sold the microphone but kept the studio rent.”
So today, the business model is best described as:
Holding company + legacy liabilities + hope.
Be honest—would you lend money to this business model?
4. Financials Overview – Numbers That Refuse to Sing
Quarterly Comparison Table (₹ Cr)
| Metric | Latest Qtr (Q3 FY26) | YoY Qtr (Q3 FY25) | Prev Qtr (Q2 FY26) | YoY % | QoQ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0% | 0% |
| EBITDA | –0.06 | –0.28 | –0.04 | NA | –50% |
| PAT | –1.03 | –0.97 | –1.15 | –6.19% | –10.4% |
| EPS (₹) | –0.15 | –0.15 | –0.17 | 0% | –11.8% |
EPS Annualisation (Q3 Rule Applied):
- Q1 EPS: –0.17
- Q2 EPS: –0.17
- Q3 EPS: –0.15
- Average EPS = –0.163
- Annualised
