News Broadcasting
Network18 launches India’s local news portal www.News18.com
MUMBAI: News from India goes deeply local in the latest online news website from Network18: News18.com. India’s first web, mobile and tablet service to focus on news at the state and city level, News18.com was launched on January 26.
Available on the web, on mobile phones and tablets, and as downloadable apps for iOS and Android devices, News18.com currently covers seven states: Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It will expand to the remaining states of the country over the next 18 months.
News18.com draws on the unparallelled local news-gathering expertise of the ETV network of news channels, whose Hindi services cover these seven states. The deep reach of ETV News into every corner of these states generates a rich and unique stream of news, updated by the minute.
People can now follow all of these news reports, in the form of engaging video clips, instant updates, and snappy text stories, on News18.com. Local news will break fast – and first - on News18.com, and in-depth coverage of local developments and issues will keep users fully informed about their home state and city.
Highlighting the importance of local news, Lakshmi Narasimhan CEO, Web18 said, “News18 is a completely fresh approach to covering news online. With Internet penetration and smartphones users galloping in tier 2 & 3 towns, it is important to provide a convenient platform to consume news. This is the information century, with content consumption at an all time high. For somebody living in Bihar or Rajasthan it is no longer sufficient to simply know what is happening in Delhi. News18 brings you closer to your world and gets you news that truly matters to you.”
Arunava Sinha, Head, IBNLive.com & News18.com is confident that readers will enjoy the interactive user-experience of the site. “News18.com will give readers a totally fresh and unique content experience. Watching live TV on the mobile and on the dektop, keeping track of the latest developments through live tickers and smart app alerts, sharing the news of one’s choice with friends on Facebook and Twitter – users will be able to do it all.”
By taking local news beyond its borders and making it available everywhere, News18.com turns the local into the national and international. And with its availability of computers, tablets and mobiles – the first online news offering from India to be available on all three devices from day one – it brings local news within easy reach of people wherever they are.
The Network18 Group is a media and entertainment company with interests in television, Internet, films, e-commerce, magazines, mobile content and allied businesses. Through its subsidiary ‘TV18 Broadcast Ltd.’ [BSE: 532800, NSE: TV18BRDCST], the group operates news channels - CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNBC-TV18 Prime HD, CNN-IBN, IBN7 and IBN-Lokmat (a Marathi regional news channel in partnership with the Lokmat group). TV18 also operates a joint venture with Viacom, called Viacom18, which houses a portfolio of popular entertainment channels – Colors, Colors HD, MTV, Comedy Central, Vh1, Nick, Sonic, Nick Jr./Teen Nick and Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the group’s filmed entertainment business.
TV18 has also forayed into the Indian factual entertainment space through A+E Networks | TV18 (a joint venture between A+E Networks and TV18 Broadcast) and operates HistoryTV18. TV18 and Viacom18 have also formed a strategic joint venture called IndiaCast, a multi-platform ‘content asset monetization’ entity that drives domestic and international channel distribution, placement services and content syndication for the bouquet of channels from TV18, Viacom18 and other broadcasters. Through ‘Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.’ [BSE: 532798, NSE: Network18], the group operates its digital, publishing and e-commerce assets including moneycontrol.com, ibnlive.com, in.com and firstpost.com.
‘Network18’ also operates e-commerce properties like HomeShop18 and bookmyshow.com and publishes Forbes India, the nation’s first local edition of a foreign news magazine title, in collaboration with Forbes Media. In addition, through ‘Network18’, the group operates Network18 Publishing, a player in the special interest publishing space. ‘Network18’ has investments in Yatra, Stargaze and other Capital18 portfolio companies.
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.
