News Broadcasting
Times Now narrows gap with Republic TV, again
BENGALURU: Over the last few weeks, a see-saw ratings battle is on between the two of the leading Indian English news channels – the Arnab Goswami-led Republic TV that has held a pole position for over a quarter of a year since its launch, and its nearest competitor and the ratings king it dethroned – Times Now.
For week 32 of 2017 (Saturday, 5 August 2017 to Friday, 11 August 2017), according to Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) weekly list, of the top five news channels in the English News genre – All India (U+R): NCCS AB: Males 22+ Individuals, the weekly difference in impressions between the two channels has dropped to 7,000 with Republic TV in the lead.
Earlier, in week 30 of 2017,the difference in the ratings of the two channels had dropped to just 2,000 impressions. Republic TV was ahead with 1.074 million weekly impressions to Times Now 1.072 million impressions in week 30 of 2017. The gap then increased in week 31 of 2017 to 29,000 with Republic TV garnering 1.058 million weekly impressions to Times Now’s 1.029 million impressions.
BARC data indicates that Republic TV was ahead of Times Now in week 32 of 2017 with 1.124million weekly impressions to Times Now weekly impressions of 1.117 million. India Today Television maintained the third place that it has been holding over the past few weeks of 2017 with 0.407 million weekly impressions followed by CNN News 18 with 0.268 million weekly impressions at fourth place and NDTV 24×7 with 0.243 million weekly impressions at fifth place.
In the meantime, both the top channels continued their on air chest thumping battle, slicing and dicing BARC data to the numbers that make them appear the best in the genre. While Times Now quoted relative share as a yard stick to show that it was far ahead of Republic TV, the latter bandied figures for prime time to claim that it was far ahead of Times Now.
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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.
