Strong pricing power, reach drive Network18 growth; green shoots signal ad recovery ahead: Network18's Rahul Joshi

Network18 Managing Director Rahul Joshi

Network18 Media & Investments Ltd is gaining momentum despite a sluggish advertising market, helped by stronger pricing power and its growing dominance across national and regional news networks, Managing Director Rahul Joshi said in separate interviews with CNBC-Awaaz and CNBC-TV18.

Joshi said the group’s leadership across categories and its unmatched reach of 14.2 percent audience market share have reinforced its pricing power, enabling growth even in a tough advertising environment.

“There is an advantage of the leadership position, we are getting the advantage of pricing power,” he said.

On Wednesday, Network18 reported a 7 percent rise in standalone operating revenue to Rs 477 crore for the quarter ended September 30 from a year earlier, even as the broader television ad market remained subdued.

Joshi said that early signs of recovery in the broader economy -- helped by GST cuts and higher disposable income -- could further boost advertising revenues in the coming quarters.

Subscription revenue grows

Network18’s focus on diversifying revenue streams continued to strengthen. The company’s subscription business expanded strongly, led by Moneycontrol’s paid subscriptions. Moneycontrol Pro has surpassed one million users, while the recently launched Super Pro tier -- priced above Rs 2,500 per year -- has seen a robust start with high average revenue per user (ARPU).

“I think we should look at subscriptions as a way to grow in the future. And in places like Moneycontrol, we have to also look at transactions,” Joshi said.

Subscription and other alternative revenue streams now contribute about 30 percent of Moneycontrol’s income, demonstrating Network18’s growing reliance on non-advertising revenues.

“If you take only Moneycontrol, then 3-4 years ago, 100 percent revenue used to come from money control advertising. Today, we are already at 30-70 percent. Seventy percent comes from advertising and 30 percent comes from alternative sources of revenue,” he said.

The management expects the improving consumption outlook to sustain advertising recovery. Joshi said categories such as automobiles, FMCG, and consumer durables are already showing “green shoots”, and with more money in consumers’ hands following tax reductions and GST rationalisation, the momentum is likely to build through the festive and election quarters.

Regional leadership

Turning to the regional news market, Network18 acquired full ownership of its Marathi news joint venture with Lokmat by buying the remaining 50 percent stake in IBN Lokmat News Pvt. Ltd, making it a wholly owned unit. Joshi called Maharashtra a key growth market, adding that the Marathi segment remains among the most competitive but also among the most lucrative.

“The Marathi market is a very big one. We have been number one in this market for the past year. So, the combined impact of digital and television will be very good in this market as well.

The company continues to strengthen its presence in other major regional markets such as West Bengal, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, where it already has leading or strong No. 2 positions.

Network18’s broader digital ecosystem -- spanning Moneycontrol, News18, Firstpost, and CNBCTV18 -- now reaches 270 million monthly users, covering 62 percent of India’s digital audience. The group also dominated YouTube with over 13 billion video views during the quarter, reinforcing its digital scale.

News adjacencies

The company is also expanding beyond traditional news through creator-led and digital-first ventures. Its Creator18 platform now hosts 40 exclusive creators and has executed more than 300 brand campaigns in six months, expanding the group’s access to Gen Z and social-first audiences.

“We are focusing on news adjacencies, non-news businesses, which are content related, but not necessarily hardcore news as you and I understand it,” he said.

These efforts, along with initiatives such as Kadak for Gen Z news and MC Learn for financial literacy, reflect Network18’s push into news adjacencies -- entertainment, lifestyle, and creator ecosystems -- and its strategy of taking content to audiences across platforms, from television and digital to social media and on-ground events.

Disclaimer: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.