News Broadcasting
Jupiter Media Metrix report recommends media buy spread across online networks
Jupiter Media Metrix has reported that contrary to widespread belief, advertising buys across fewer online networks are often far less efficient than buys across several networks.
The company did a quantitative study of three popular categories of ad-supported Internet sites – news, finance and music. It found that placing a four-week ad campaign of four million impressions on any one of the leading four sites would reach an audience of 1.4 to 1.9 million unique visitors. However, spreading those four million impressions across three of the top four sites within each category substantially broadens the audience reach from 2.2 to 2.5 million unique visitors.
Moreover, the audience reach can be increased by up to an additional seven per cent by spreading the same four million ad impressions to four sites.
Target audiences are often fragmented across multiple sites, thereby limiting the ability of one or just a few sites to efficiently reach a greater number of defined audience members. Conversely, advertisers looking to increase frequency in a campaign may very well lean toward advertising on fewer sites.
For this analysis, four leading sites and portal channels were selected in each of the three categories:
News
Average Audience Reached with a Four-Million Impression Ad Campaign August 2001 – At home/work combined in the U.S.
Unique Visitors Reached for Each Category of Site (in millions)
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.
