News Broadcasting
Americans use media more than they realise: Study
SOUTH CAROLINA: Americans spend more time than they realise with the media, especially television. They often use multiple media simultaneously. These findings are contained in a new study which was released at a conference on media convergence at the University of South Carolina.
The study concluded that residents of Middletown, USA (Muncie, Indiana) spend 10 and a half hours a day using media. For around a quarter of that time, they are using at least two media simultaneously. Television, at 4.5 hours a day, is the most used medium. It is followed by computers (2.4 hours), radio (1.9 hours), reading (1 hour), music (55 minutes), phone (53 minutes), video games (12 minutes) and e-mail (seven minutes).
An academic team compared reported media use from telephone surveys and personal diaries to actual, observed use. Researchers followed 101 subjects for an entire day from the time they got up to the time they went to bed. The researchers found that the group shadowed spent substantially more time with the media than indicated by more traditional research methods. The greatest discrepancy was in television viewership. The closest correlation between reported vs. observed behavior was in time spent reading. The study suggests self-reporting may be unreliable and that to be effective, research should measure more than one medium at a time.
The study also offers new insights into the reported drop in television viewership among 18 to 34 year old males. The men in this group observed by the researchers watched less TV than other demographic groups. They spend more time listening to music, watching videos and playing video games.
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.
