Mumbai: Network18 Media & Investments Limited on Saturday reported a steady rise in revenue for the March quarter, outperforming a weak advertising environment for the TV news industry, aided by strong market positions and growth in new businesses.
The company posted consolidated operating revenue of Rs 616 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, marking a 9.7% year-on-year increase and a 14.2% sequential rise. The performance comes despite macroeconomic headwinds and a continued slowdown in advertising demand across the sector.
For the full financial year FY26, consolidated operating revenue grew 4.7% year-on-year to Rs 2,121 crore. Excluding the first quarter—impacted by a high base of election-related advertising in the previous fiscal—revenue growth stood at 7%.
The company stood out in an otherwise subdued market, with TV ad inventory consumption rising 4.5% year-on-year, even as the broader industry witnessed a decline of over 10%. The relative outperformance was driven by Network18’s strong channel portfolio and leadership across key markets.
During the quarter, Network18 hosted several flagship events, including ‘Rising Bharat’, ‘Indian Business Leadership Awards’, ‘Global Wealth Summit’ and ‘Forbes India Leadership Awards’, which contributed to revenue diversification.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter came in at Rs 30 crore, translating to a margin of 4.9%. For the full year, EBITDA remained largely flat as operating costs grew in line with revenue.
Network18 maintained its leadership position in the news segment, with TV viewership share rising 50 basis points year-on-year to 13.8%. It also retained its position as India’s largest digital news and information network, reaching over 350 million users monthly.
The company continued to lead in key TV markets such as Hindi, English, Marathi and Kannada, while strengthening its presence in Bengali and other Hindi-speaking regional markets. On digital platforms, it consolidated its dominance on YouTube, reporting a 90% year-on-year growth in video views—twice that of its nearest competitor.
New ventures, including Moneycontrol Fintech and Creator18, scaled up significantly during the year, both operationally and financially, supporting the company’s efforts to diversify its revenue streams.
Commenting on the performance, Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman of Network18, said: “We ended the year on a positive note despite the geopolitical crisis that the world finds itself immersed in currently. In a year marked by high news flow volumes, our network has taken the lead in delivering news over noise, consistently. We are happy with the progress made on the operating front during the year and the impressive scale-up of new businesses in a short time, that is helping us diversify our revenue base. We are focused on strengthening our core news business even as we expand our presence in adjacent categories.”
Network18 continues to be the leader in key markets – CNBC-TV18 (number one business channel with 63.3% share), News18 India (number one Hindi news channel with 12.8% share), and CNN-News18 (number one English news channel with 36.0% share). The network also has a strong performance in regional markets with leadership in Marathi (28.0% share) and strong positions in Kannada (22.5% share), West Bengal (21.2% share) and all the Hindi-speaking regional markets.
