News Broadcasting
News18 tops competition again, retains its status as most read platform
MUMBAI: News18 reigns supreme fourth-time in a row amongst multi-vernacular (Indian languages) news/information platform as it recorded the highest number of unique visitors amongst multi-vernacular (Indian languages) sites on Comscore mobile metrix November 2019 for the mobile web platform. According to the recently released data, the multi lingual platform retained its top rank with a 6 per cent increase in its unique visitors count accounting to more than 91 million unique visitors. In addition to this, News18 Punjab2 and News18 Telugu3 bagged the number one position amongst the Punjabi and Telugu news sites, respectively.
News18 enables its user’s access to their preferred language by providing news and live TV across 11 languages. The languages are Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Punjabi, Assamese and Urdu. The platform seeks to maintain its leadership position with a continuous growth of unique visitors in each of the above-mentioned respective regions. With constant growth and market dominance, retaining its position on top for the fourth time in a row, reflects the dedication of the platform to provide excellence and personalized content for the audience.
Network18 Digital COO- general news Mitul Sangani said, “We are delighted that our platform is widely read and consumed by our audience. As the leading multi lingual platform, it is our responsibility to provide our audience with relevant content and offerings that make for a valuable and insightful experience. We aim to maintain relationship with our audience by providing them innovative, original, and diverse content through our well-balanced reach and ace-quality news. We hope to meet the demands of our audience and will strive hard to maintain our position.”
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.
