News Broadcasting
Print beats TV, radio; Twitter most credible digital news medium: Ormax report
Mumbai: Print media continues to lead with a credibility index of 62 per cent, followed by television (55 per cent) and radio (54 per cent). Social media platform Twitter is still the most credible digital medium for news, according to media analytics and consulting firm Ormax Media, which launched the third edition of its ‘Fact Or Fake?’ report on Tuesday.
Traditional media have higher news credibility than digital media, though most digital media have seen a marginal improvement in their credibility in this track. Twitter witnessed a drop in its credibility index over time: 57 per cent (September 2020) to 47 per cent (April 2021) to 42 per cent (December 2021). Furthermore, The Media Credibility Index is unchanged since the last track (65 per cent), highlighting that fake news continues to be a huge concern amongst the Indian news consumers, said the report.
The report measures the credibility of various news media, as well as the perception around ‘fake news,’ through a survey of 2,000 news consumers across 15 states in India. The first edition was released in September 2020, followed by the second edition in April 2021.
“Fake news, and lack of news credibility in general, continues to be a growing concern globally. Almost two out of three Indians see fake news as a problem, and that should be a major cause of worry for all news companies,” stated Ormax Media founder and CEO Shailesh Kapoor. “We launched this report in 2020 to enable more informed conversations on this topic. In the subsequent editions, we plan to study these indices by languages, to understand if there’s a difference in news credibility between Hindi, English and other major Indian languages.”
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.
