News Broadcasting
NBF questions Barc’s opt-out methodology; demands release of recent historical data
Mumbai: The News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) has written to Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) expressing its apprehensions around the manner in which the agency is to resume ratings on 17 March. In a letter dated 9 February, NBF has alleged that the move indicates “continued favouritism to select few channels that would reflect in skewed audience measurement numbers and fabricated industry representation when the data is planned to be released on March 17, 2022.”
Barc’s communication to its subscribers on 7 February comes barely a week after detailed discussion with channels of NBDA, which the NBF claimed “are of conflict of interest on this issue. NBF, as the largest new broadcasters’ industry association protecting the business interest of news channels, has not been consulted despite several requests on the same.”
The association has also expressed doubt regarding the opt-out methodology being used by Barc having an official seal of approval from the MIB.
“The MIB had directed Barc to release the data with ‘immediate effect’ on a four week rolling over basis including the data for the preceding three months ‘for fair and equitable representation of true trends’. Barc, however, has chosen to completely undermine the government’s order, and in violation, is now proceeding with an opt-out option. Ratings are relative within a genre. The opt-out option is a direct contravention and renders completely redundant the MIB direction of three-month ratings. It is a way to conceal even recent historical data,” NBF said.
The association argued that the decision to withhold data will deprive advertisers of complete clarity on how news viewership had been during the dark period and will hinder the post-evaluation of their campaigns. “News channel viewership is measured in market share terms. Any channel opting out disrupts the true representation of the market share. Barc by providing an opt-out option is doing an extreme disservice to the entire industry including advertisers and advertising agencies as well.”
Voicing concern regarding the date of ratings release, NBF noted that the MIB order directing the ‘immediate’ release of ratings came on 12 January. Releasing the data on 17 March will not give a ‘fair and transparent picture of the actual viewership.’
“Even if the audience data is released on a four-week rolling average basis on 17 March, final TRPs will skew the average since it would only reflect a one-off major event of the assembly elections and the ensuing counting day to five states, including Uttar Pradesh. The day chosen for the resumption of ratings will not give a fair and transparent picture of the actual viewership across the stakeholders – trusted viewers, advertisers and advertising agencies.”
In an earlier letter dated 28 January, NBF had urged Barc to resume TV ratings for willing news channels, starting 3 February. Its member news channels had, in fact, demanded the release of ratings for the entire blackout period of 16 months.
“Even during the dark period – October 15 2020 until date – audience data is being collected and tabulated for all genres including those with a lesser sample size than news channels. So, in all fairness, it should be released as they are, with immediate effect and as directed by the MIB,” stated the letter dated 9 February.
The NBF has also questioned Barc’s silence on the systems that have to be put in place to correct the impact of landing pages, which is a major concern for the industry. “Barc needs to openly declare the outliers and the measures that are being taken to prevent the spike in ratings due to landing pages,” it observed.
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.
