News Broadcasting
CNN.com claims excellent response for Iraq conflict coverage
MUMBAI: With the Iraq war gaining steam, news broadcaster CNN has claimed an excellent response for its round the clock coverage online.
An official release informs that millions of people around the globe logged onto CNN international news network’s web sites to get the latest updates on the Iraq war since the outbreak of hostilities on 20 March. Some of the highest page impressions ever achieved on CNN web sites have been recorded since then.
On Thursday, the first full day of the conflict, CNN.com registered 236 million page impressions, the second highest level of traffic ever for CNN (12 September, 2001 was the highest day with 337 million page impressions). Traffic remained high on 21 March registering as the fourth highest day, with 183 million page impressions on CNN.com worldwide.
There has also been specific growth of CNN’s international sites, with the highest ever traffic on CNNArabic.com, CNN’s Arabic language site, which increased by over 60 per cent on a daily basis in the first days of the conflict. The international edition increased traffic by over 60 per cent on Wednesday and by a further 100 per cent on 21 March, the highest level of daily traffic seen on either edition since the launch.
The trend continued over the weekend when CNN.com’s traffic on 22 March was 71 million page impressions, representing twice as much traffic as a normal weekend day. CNN.com’s average weekend traffic numbers for the last six weeks was 34 million.
CNN.com’s news web sites include international and US editions of CNN.com as well as six local language sites in Arabic, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. The web sites also support mobile services, including a PDA service on Avant Go and a breaking news SMS news alert service.
On air it will be interesting to note whether the shift in watching CNN, BBC and their ilk will affect drastically viewership for non news channels. Watch this space for further details.
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.
