Network18 Media and Investments Ltd on 16 July reported a consolidated revenue from operations of Rs 3,141 crore for Q1 FY25, primarily driven by Sports and News segments, while the firm’s digital portfolio grew in reach and engagement.

Network18 said its unit Viacom18 continued to make investments in the Sports and the News segments to lead growth in the foreseeable future. The company said that both these segments are in the build-out phase, and have yet built a strong brand and consumer recall in a short time.

JioCinema delivered a record digital IPL viewership during the quarter. IPL 2024 reached 620 million viewers, a growth of 38 percent on-year. “It also witnessed a sharp increase in engagement, with audiences spending a total of more than 350 billion minutes watching the most popular annual sports spectacle, 50 percent-plus higher than last season,” the company said in a statement.

On the other hand, Network18 group’s digital portfolio of brands fortified leadership positions during the quarter, with a sharp jump in monthly unique visitors. “With about 250 million unique visitors, Network18 closed the reach gap with the leader to just about 10 percent, compared to 50-plus percent in March 2023,” said the statement.

Its property Moneycontrol remained the number one player in both reach and engagement. “All key engagement metrics like monthly page views, time-spent and sessions were 20-70 percent higher than the nearest competitor,” it added.

Network18’s TV network viewership share increased marginally by 10 basis points on-year to 10.2 percent during the fiscal first quarter. While, TV news portfolio clocked 30 percent-plus advertising growth in the period. TV News EBITDA for the quarter saw a ‘sharp turnaround’ in the April-June quarter, swinging into Rs 40 crore profit from Rs 6 crore loss a year ago as the costs remained flat. Revenue rose 14 percent on-year to Rs 385 crore.

The company’s Digital News business saw a strong 34 percent on-year growth in revenue to Rs 109 crore during Q1. EBITDA for the quarter declined marginally as costs grew at a higher pace than revenue, it said.

On July 10, the shareholders and unsecured creditors of Network18 Media & Investments, TV18 Broadcast and e-Eighteen.com approved the proposed merger between these companies. The company is waiting for NCLT and other approvals to complete the transaction.

“I would like to thank the shareholders of Network18, e-Eighteen.com and TV18 for wholeheartedly approving the merger. Their faith inspires us to do even better as we continue in our journey of creating a media powerhouse. We truly believe that this merger will be a stepping-stone for us to build a long and lasting legacy,” said Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman of Network18 Media and Investments Ltd.

Disclaimer:Network18 and TV18 – the companies that operate news18.com – are controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.