News Broadcasting
International visitors boost traffic at Oscar.com during Academy Awards
MUMBAI: US measurement service comScore Networks has reported the results of a study conducted on visitation to popular film-related Internet sites in conjunction with last weeek’s 79th Annual Academy Awards.
On Sunday 25 February, 2007 139,000 US Internet users visited Oscar.com, a one-day increase of 219-per cent versus the 44,000 visitors that visited the site on 24 February, 2007.
comScore Media Metrix executive VP Jack Flanagan says, “For the audience watching the Academy Awards at home, the Internet has become an important part of enjoying the festivities. Whether they follow the action on the red carpet or view clips and trailers of nominated movies, consumers are supplementing their television viewing experience with web content.”
Tinternational visitor traffic to Oscar.com also spiked. Of the 422,000 total worldwide visitors to Oscar.com on Oscar Sunday, just one out of every three site visitors came from the U.S. while the remaining two-thirds came from international locations. Canada and Mexico, both of which were well represented among the various award nominees, combined to account for nearly 10 per cent of the worldwide audience.
European countries such as the UK and France also factored in prominently with 10,000 and 8,000 visitors, respectively. Nielsen Media Research meanwhile says that the Academy Awards which aired on US broadcaster ABC had 24 minutes of commercial time during the 3 hour and 10 minute broadcast (not including the Oscar pre-show). This was down slightly from 24 and a half minutes last year.
27 unique brands aired commercials that competed for viewers’ attention for a total of 38 national advertisements in this year’s broadcast. In addition, ABC aired three minutes and 50 seconds of promotional announcements.
General Motors was the top advertiser again this year, with 3? minutes of commercial time, 30 seconds less than last year. Coca-Cola and L’Oreal tied for second place with three minutes each. J.C. Penney was the fourth largest advertiser with 2? minutes. These four companies have maintained the top slots for the last two Oscar telecasts.
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.
