Network18’s TV news business has recorded a significant jump of 14 percent in revenue in the fiscal first quarter.
The largest TV news network in India registered a revenue of Rs 385 crore in Q1FY25, as compared to Rs 337 crore in the same quarter of FY24. It delivered industry-leading revenue growth during the general elections on the back of strong market positions across genres.
TV News portfolio delivered 30 percent advertising growth during the quarter. The network leveraged its leadership positions across key markets and election-linked advertising tailwinds to deliver industry-leading ad growth.
EBITDA for the quarter saw a turnaround as revenue grew 14 percent while costs were flat. The TV news network posted EBITDA of Rs 40 crore in Q1FY25, a remarkable 46 percent increase (YoY).
The news network’s All-India TV viewership share of 11.3 percent was 40bps higher on a quarter-on-quarter basis, driven by its unparalleled 360-degree coverage of general elections.
News18 was the preferred network of choice across the country, highlighted by the fact that the reach of the network on the counting day was 50percent higher than that of the IPL finale on TV.
The network maintained its leadership in key markets. CNBC-TV18 dominated as the top business channel with 66.2 percent viewership share, CNN-News18 held the number one spot in the English news segment with 35.8 percent share, and News18 India secured 13.5 percent viewership share.
The news network is also a leading force in covering state-level news through its portfolio of 14 regional channels. The network had leadership positions in three regional markets of UP/Uttarakhand, Bihar/Jharkhand and Gujarat. News channels in West Bengal, Rajasthan, Orissa, and Punjab/Haryana were strong number two players.
It continues to be the highest-reach TV news network in the country, reaching 200 million people every week.
Digital news business sees 34 percent growth
The digital news business of Network18 recorded a massive growth of 34 percent in Q1FY25. It registered a total revenue of Rs 109 crore as compared to Rs 81 crore for the same quarter in FY24.
Network18’s digital news portfolio saw a sharp jump in monthly unique visitors. With 250 million unique visitors, Network18 closed the reach gap with the leader to just 10 percent, compared to 50 percent + in March 2023.
Moneycontrol continued to be the number one player in terms of both reach and engagement metrics driven by its exhaustive coverage of all things related to economy and markets. All key engagement metrics like monthly page views, time-spent and sessions were 20 percent -70 percent higher than the nearest competitor.
Moneycontrol Pro crossed 8.1 lakh paid subscribers, strengthening its position as the number one subscription-based news platform in India and among the top 3 in Asia as per FIPP’s Digital Subscription Report.
News18.com established itself as the number one platform for non-English language consumers in India during the last quarter. The platform continued to expand its reach with editorial and product initiatives, which resulted in 50 percent growth in monthly average unique visitors on a quarter-on-quarter basis and 100 percent Y-o-Y growth in on-platform video views. News18’s mobile app saw a 2x increase in MAUs, and News18’s Connected TV app was launched for platforms like Android, Samsung Tizen and Firestick.
Firstpost’s coverage of international events with an Indian perspective continued to power reach and engagement through the quarter. The platform saw a 67 percent increase in monthly active users and page views since the launch of the revamped website. On counting day, the website’s traffic doubled compared to normal days and time spent grew 4x. Firstpost’s growth on YouTube continued to be impressive, with a subscriber count that had crossed the five-million mark.
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