Brands
Moneycontrol doubles ET audience in January rankings
Comscore data shows Moneycontrol ahead on reach, views and time spent
MUMBAI: Moneycontrol has begun 2026 with a decisive lead in India’s business news race, pulling in more than twice the audience of The Economic Times, according to January data from global measurement agency Comscore.
The figures make for striking reading. Moneycontrol recorded 63.38 million unique visitors last month, comfortably ahead of The Economic Times, which logged 30.61 million. In fact, Moneycontrol drew more readers than its next two business news rivals combined, tightening its grip on the category.
The advantage was not limited to reach. On page views, Moneycontrol clocked 249.25 million in January, nearly three times ET’s 97.18 million. The numbers suggest not just scale, but sustained user interest across stories, markets coverage and analytical tools.
Engagement told an even stronger story. Readers spent 581.29 million minutes on Moneycontrol during the month, more than five times the 111.90 million minutes recorded by The Economic Times. In the crowded digital marketplace, attention is currency, and Moneycontrol appears to be banking plenty of it.
“The latest numbers reflect the deep trust readers have placed in the quality of our content, the depth of our coverage of the stock markets and the cutting-edge analytical tools we provide to users,” said Moneycontrol managing editor Nalin Mehta. “In an increasingly fluid global environment, readers are looking for clarity and we remain sharply focused on providing credible, accurate and timely business information.”
Comscore’s January rankings reinforce Moneycontrol’s position at the top of India’s financial news ladder, underlining its continued dominance in both reach and reader engagement.
Brands
Dunkin’ Donuts to exit India as Jubilant FoodWorks ends 15-year franchise deal
The quick service restaurant giant is ending a 15-year franchise partnership with the American doughnut chain, even as it renews its Domino’s agreement for another 15 years
NOIDA: Dunkin’ is done in India. Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, the country’s leading quick service restaurant operator, has decided not to renew its franchise agreement with the American coffee and doughnut chain, and will wind down its Indian stores in a phased manner before December 31, 2026, bringing a 15-year partnership to a quiet, loss-laden close.
The decision, approved by JFL’s board on March 30, 2026, ends a relationship that began with a Multiple Unit Development Franchise Agreement signed on February 24, 2011. JFL will now evaluate and undertake what it described in a regulatory filing as the “rationalisation and/or cessation of certain operations and/or sale, transfer or disposal of assets and/or assignment or transfer of franchise rights,” all in consultation with Dunkin’s brand owners and strictly within the terms of the original agreement.
The numbers tell the story bluntly. In the financial year 2024-25, Dunkin’ India posted a revenue of Rs 37 crore against a loss of Rs 19 crore — a haemorrhage that was always going to test the patience of a parent company recording revenues of Rs 6,104 crore and a profit of Rs 194 crore in the same period. Doughnuts, it turns out, were never going to move the needle.
The contrast with JFL’s handling of its other marquee franchise could hardly be sharper. Even as it walks away from Dunkin’, the company has just doubled down on Domino’s, signing a fresh Master Franchise Agreement on March 31, 2026, granting it exclusive rights to develop and operate Domino’s Pizza stores in India for 15 years, with an option to renew for a further 10.
JFL, incorporated in 1995 and promoted by the Bharatia family, operates a network of more than 3,500 stores across six markets — India, Turkey, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Its portfolio includes Domino’s and Popeyes on the global side, and two home-grown brands: Hong’s Kitchen and COFFY, a café brand in Turkey.
For Dunkin’, India was always a stretch. The brand never quite cracked the cultural code in a market where filter coffee and chai command fierce loyalty and where the doughnut remains, at best, an occasional indulgence rather than a daily habit. Fifteen years, mounting losses and a parent with better things to spend its capital on was always going to be a difficult equation to solve.
The doughnut has had its last day. The pizza, however, is staying.
