News Broadcasting
Online content spend in the US nears $1 billion
MUMBAI: This is good news for those wondering about the health of paid content on the net. The Online Publishers Association (OPA) in the US has released its Paid Content U.S. Market Spending Report covering Q1 and Q2 of 2005.
The study, conducted by comScore Networks, determined that consumer spending for online content in the US grew to $987 million in the first half of 2005, an increase of 15.7 per cent over the same period last year. For the first time ever, in Q2 of 2005, quarterly sales of content topped half a billion dollars.
Spurred by growth in online music sales, the entertainment/lifestyles category overtook personals/dating to become the leading paid content category. Consumers spent $264.8 million on the category in the first half of the year. Personals/Dating grew to $245.2 million in the first half of 2005, while business/investment content remained in third place with spending at $159.1 million.
The entertainment/lifestyles category was by far the fastest-growing paid content category in the first half of 2005, up 44.8 percent over the same period last year. However, after registering steady declines during the first half of last year, the research category also surged back with a 33.8 per cent year-over-year increase, the second-largest percentage gain among all categories. The games and personal growth segments were also up significantly, by 22.5 per cent and 19.4 per cent, respectively.
OPA president Michael Zimbalist says, “Consumers are turning to the Web for entertainment more and more, and as they do sales of content continue to rise. We suspect this trend will continue as new products such as the Video iPod and other mobile devices play greater roles in digital content distribution.”
Single purchase sales, as opposed to subscriptions, continued to rise. In the first half of 2005, single purchases accounted for 20.1 perc ent of total online content sales, up from 15.4 per cent in 2004. Single-purchase sales in the entertainment/lifestyles category, alone, accounted for $114.9 million in revenue in the first half of 2005.
Out of a total US online population of 171.0 million in the second quarter of 2005, 19.4 million paid for online content, up 15.6 per cent from the 16.8 million who paid for content online in Q2 2004. The 15.6 per cent growth in paid-content consumers in Q2 2005 over Q2 2004 is substantially greater than the growth of the US Internet population during the same time period (11.9 per cent).
Founded in June 2001, the Online Publishers Association (OPA) is an industry trade organisation whose mission is to advance the interests of high-quality online publishers before the advertising community, the press, the government and the public. Members of OPA represent the standards in Internet publishing with respect to editorial quality and integrity, credibility and accountability
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.
