The TV news business of media giant Network18 clocked a revenue of Rs 337 crore in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023-24, which is 26 percent higher as against Rs 266 crore reported in the year-ago period.
The surge in revenue, which defies industry trends, has been registered "despite continued weakness in the overall advertising environment", the company said in a release.
"The growth is despite 5 percent YoY decline in news industry inventory consumption," it added.
News18, one of the company's flagship news channels, recorded growth powered by the increase in viewership shares and a strong focus on IP-events led advertising revenue, the release noted.
Also Read | Network18 Media & Investments Q1 revenues jump 142% to Rs 3,239 cr
The overall growth in Network18's TV news business was underpinned by ad revenue growth, which was driven by the "strong viewership gains that the network has achieved over the last year," the company said.
"Network advertising inventory increased while the genre declined. The network also saw a strong traction in monetisation of IP-led events,” it added.
TV18 News network's all-India viewership share in the news genre crossed 12 percent, the release stated, adding that News18 India, CNN News18 and CNBC TV18 led the viewership charts in respective genres.
News18 India commands 15.6 percent viewership share in the Hindi genre as well as the top position in evening primetime. CNN News18 is the "number one English news channel" with 33.4 percent market share in the genre, it claimed.
CNBC TV-18 continues to be the "undisputed leader in the English Business News genre" with over 80 percent overall share and more than 90 percent viewership share during the market hours, the company added.
News18 regional channels are "number one in five key markets including UP/Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, MP/Chhatisgarh", making the news network top choice of viewers in the Hindi speaking markets, it further stated.
With 20 domestic channels, TV18 is the "biggest news network in India" with highest weekly reach and widest presence across Indian languages, the company said, adding that the news network reaches 180 million consumers on a weekly basis.
Disclaimer: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.
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