Mumbai: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), formerly Culver Max Entertainment, reported a 16% rise in consolidated net profit for FY26 riding a cricket-heavy sports calendar, robust advertising growth and disciplined content spending despite its subscription revenue being under. Last year, the company's net profit declined by 45% due to a challenging ad environment.The company's regulatory filings accessed through the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) showed consolidated net profit rose to ₹556 crore in FY26 from ₹481 crore a year earlier.Revenue from operations increased 9% year-on-year to ₹6,830 crore, while total income grew 9.4% to ₹7,064 crore.While SPNI did not respond to queries on its financial performance, people familiar with the company's operations attributed the growth primarily to its cricket portfolio led by the Asia Cup 2025, which featured three India-Pakistan clashes and culminated in India defeating its arch-rivals to lift the trophy after a nail-biting final. The company had acquired the Asian Cricket Council rights in 2024 million till 2031 for $170.SPNI also televised India's Test series in England and sublicensed the digital streaming rights to JioHotstar, helping recover part of its sports-rights costs.The deal also gave JioHotstar live cricket content after the Indian Premier League 2025 ended.It covers the ongoing India-England white-ball series comprising five T20Is and three ODIs.Non-fiction programming, including Kaun Banega Crorepati and Wheel of Fortune, also supported advertising revenue, though Sony Entertainment Television is yet to deliver a breakthrough in the Hindi fiction genre.