Network18 Media & Investments Limited on Friday, October 30, reported a 9.4% year-on-year increase in consolidated operating revenue to ₹545 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, compared to ₹498 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
The topline performance came despite significant industry-wide headwinds, with advertising inventory consumption across the television news genre dropping approximately 13% year-on-year. The company attributed the decline to corporate advertising budgets remaining constrained by the ongoing West Asia conflict, weak monsoon conditions, and a prolonged television ratings blackout.
The reduction in corporate advertising was partially offset by strong demand for government-linked advertising across central and state government campaigns, public sector undertakings (PSUs), and political parties for the second consecutive quarter. Topline momentum was primarily driven by its content studio subsidiary, Colosceum, alongside growth in Connected TV (CTV) as an emerging revenue stream, while general advertising growth remained subdued.
Weekly television viewership ratings data continued to be suspended across the sector during the period. Ratings for the news genre have been paused for more than six months following a directive from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) in March at the start of the West Asia crisis, while ratings for non-news genres were halted in July amid the renewal process for the Broadcast Audience Research Council’s (BARC) licence under the Television Ratings Policy, 2026.
Consolidated operating EBITDA stood at ₹19 crore, improving from an operating loss of ₹0.5 crore in Q2 FY26. The operating EBITDA margin came in at 3.4%, compared to -0.1% a year earlier. Consolidated operating expenses rose 5.6% year-on-year to ₹526 crore from ₹498 crore.
Consolidated net profit after tax rose 28.4% year-on-year to ₹53.0 crore from ₹41.2 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year, supported by a ₹107.2 crore share of profit from associates and joint ventures. Consolidated net profit attributable to the owners of the company increased 27.3% to ₹51.8 crore, compared to ₹40.7 crore in Q2 FY26.
For the first half of the fiscal year (H1 FY27), consolidated operating revenue grew 9.9% to ₹1,061 crore from ₹966 crore in H1 FY26, while operating EBITDA rose to ₹26 crore from ₹4 crore.
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Network18 Q2 Results: Revenue growth of 9% despite industry headwinds; Operating EBITDA positive