News Broadcasting
CNN is most watched international news brand in APAC: Ipsos Survey
MUMBAI: Newscaster CNN has maintained its number one position as an international news brand in Asia Pacific, according to the latest Ipsos Affluent Survey.
The channel reaches to 34 per cent upscale consumers and 53 per cent to the C-level executives every month. The independent survey also reveals significant audience growth for CNN on both its TV and digital platforms.
On TV, CNN is the most watched international news brand in Asia-Pacific in daily, weekly and monthly reach. As per the survey, the channel has 47 per cent more viewers each month than the next placed news channel and 125 per cent more viewers than the leading business and finance news channel.
The survey further reveals that in digital, CNN’s monthly reach is 51 per cent higher than the next largest brand. CNN’s lead is even more clear-cut in key target groups with an 80 per cent advantage with top management and 64 per cent with business decision makers.
CNN also recorded substantial growth in TV and digital consumption. In TV, there was strong growth in daily (+13 per cent), weekly (+11 per cent) and monthly (+six per cent) audience numbers. These numbers surge when it comes to International travellers (+49 per cent weekly) and luxury spenders (+29 per cent weekly).
In digital, the monthly digital reach increased by 11 per cent and was most significant in the key target groups of international business travellers (+72 per cent) and international leisure travellers (+57 per cent).
Even in India, CNN is the number one international news brand for top management with a 39 per cent lead in multiplatform reach over BBC. On TV, CNN reaches twice as many top management viewers on a daily basis and 41 per cent more on a monthly basis than BBC World News. Among India’s affluent audience, CNN is yet again the international news leader as a multi-platform brand reaching more than one-in-five upscale consumers (22 per cent). On TV, CNN is the most watched international news brand reaching 16 per cent more viewers each month than BBC World News.
The lead continues on digital platform as CNN reaches 42 per cent more audiences than BBC each month. CNN also recorded substantial growth in audience numbers across all platforms including multi-platform (+28 per cent), digital (5.1 times) and TV in weekly (+35 per cent) and monthly (+24 per cent).
CNN International Asia Pacific vice president advertising sales Sunita Rajan said, “This is a spectacular result for CNN and a testament to the commitment we made to our audience – to provide first-class content across multiple platforms. Our audience’s appetite for global news and staying connected has never been greater. In response, we’ve boosted our resources across television and made major investments in digital including an integrated newsroom, designing a new responsive website and creating a slate of new dedicated digital content. These survey results show unequivocally that CNN is the number one international news brand and the first choice for affluent consumers.”
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.
