TV Today Network Limited didn't just have a bad year—it had a catastrophic one. Net profit crashed 81% to Rs 14 crore in FY 2025-26, down from Rs 74.83 crore the previous year. Revenue slid 19% to Rs 807 crore, and the culprit was clear: advertising revenues simply dried up. AnnualReports +3
The company's financial statements tell the story of a business under siege. Profit before exceptional items and tax dropped from Rs 111.12 crore to Rs 39.38 crore during the same period. But here's what really hurt—restructuring costs kept piling up. The radio business, operating under the Ishq FM brand, bled Rs 10.54 crore in losses before tax in FY 2025 and Rs 14.61 crore in FY 2024. The company ultimately pulled the plug, entering into a Memorandum of Understanding to sell the radio business as a going concern. AnnualReports +4
Management had avoided large-scale layoffs in 2025, hoping the advertising market would bounce back. It didn't. The March 2026 quarter showed weaker revenue compared to the corresponding period a year earlier, and something had to give. The company had already undertaken significant restructuring in January 2025 (363 employees, 14% workforce reduction) and August 2024 (200 employees). When those measures proved insufficient, the axe fell harder.
Between July 20-24, 2026, approximately 120 employees were shown the door at the company's Noida office. Some reports put the number closer to 200—nearly 10% of the workforce. The message was brutal: "Today is your last day. Please submit your resignation," according to one affected employee.
The layoffs weren't random—they were surgical. The Aaj Tak Hindi website team took the biggest hit, along with camera operations, video editing, graphics, fact-checking, the Data Intelligence Unit, and Aaj Tak Radio. The India Today English web team also saw cuts. This reveals TV Today Network's strategic priorities: retreat from regional markets, double down on core Hindi television, and streamline digital operations.
The company shut down its Chhattisgarh bureau entirely. Technicians and drivers at the Lucknow bureau were dismissed. An outside broadcast van in Patna was withdrawn, costing both driver and technician their jobs. Similar cuts hit Ranchi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Delhi. This isn't just cost-cutting—it's a geographic retreat.
The financial math might work on paper, but the human cost is staggering. Employees with 13 years of tenure were let go, taking decades of institutional knowledge with them. One cameraman who had risked his life during the COVID-19 pandemic to gather news from the ground was among those laid off. "Many of us stood by the organisation through thick and thin," he said. "Today, we've simply been told to leave. We never expected to be treated this way after everything we gave to the company".
The departure of experienced staff creates immediate operational risks. Knowledge transfer takes years, not weeks. When you lose people who've been with the company for over a decade, you lose more than just headcount—you lose the relationships, workflows, and judgment calls that keep a newsroom running smoothly.
Here's where it gets interesting. Higher-paid staff have been leaving voluntarily for competitors like NDTV, while the current layoffs targeted employees earning around Rs 30,000 per month. This reveals a deliberate two-tier workforce strategy: let market forces determine compensation for premium talent while aggressively cutting operational headcount.
The severance packages tell the same story. Employees who resigned received two months' full salary. Those who refused to resign and were terminated got two months' basic salary—typically 40-50% of their full compensation. It's a pressure tactic that saves the company money while encouraging "voluntary" departures.
Let's break down the numbers. Removing 100-130 employees with average salaries of Rs 30,000-75,000 generates annual savings of Rs 4.23-5.7 crore. That's significant for a company where net profit is only Rs 14 crore. The immediate severance payouts of Rs 1.5-2.5 crore are manageable compared to historical restructuring costs—the company booked Rs 24.4 crore in impairment losses over the past three years. AnnualReports +1
But here's the problem: employees claim the restructuring hasn't stopped. More names are reportedly being drawn up. If the company cuts another 50-100 employees in the coming months, total annual savings could reach Rs 7-10.2 crore—but at what cost?
This is where TV Today Network's strategy gets risky. Every bureau closure and content team reduction directly impacts the company's ability to generate advertising revenue. Less regional coverage means lower engagement in key markets. Fewer specialized teams means decreased content differentiation. Limited breaking news capacity means reduced competitive advantage.
That's a net loss of Rs 16-24 crore in Year 1 alone. The break-even point might not come for 4-5 years, assuming the advertising market doesn't deteriorate further.
The abrupt termination process will haunt TV Today Network for years. Employees were dismissed without prior notice, many informed over the phone and offered one month's salary instead of the mandatory notice period. "This is so inhuman," said one dismissed employee. Another noted that being unemployed makes it much harder to find work, often forcing people to settle for lower salaries.
In an industry where talent is everything, this kind of treatment spreads fast. Future hires will demand premium compensation to offset the risk of abrupt termination. Top talent will avoid the company altogether. The cost of replacing voluntarily departing staff typically runs 90-200% of their base salary—a hidden expense that could dwarf the immediate savings from these layoffs.
TV Today Network is betting that a leaner operation can survive the advertising drought and emerge stronger when the market recovers. It's a high-stakes gamble. The company has preserved its core Hindi television business while retreating from regional markets and radio. But in doing so, it has sacrificed the very capabilities—regional reach, specialized content, experienced talent—that could drive future growth.
The next 12-18 months will tell whether this painful pivot was a masterstroke of strategic restructuring or the beginning of a long decline. For now, one thing is clear: the old TV Today Network is gone, and the new one will be smaller, leaner, and fighting for its life in a media landscape that's changing faster than anyone expected.
