MUMBAI: Network18 said its TV news network delivered strong growth in revenues driven by leadership in key markets as its channels continue to be number one in the Hindi, English and Business news genres.
Network18 Media & Investments reported consolidated revenues of Rs 3,239 crore for the quarter ended June 2023, up 142 percent year-on-year (YoY) driven by the performance of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on JioCinema.
The company said its TV news network delivered a 26 percent growth in revenues driven by leadership in key markets as its channels continue to be number one in the Hindi, English and Business news genres. However, the firm said that the advertising environment continued to be soft despite an improvement in some pockets.
The highlight of the quarter was JioCinema, which set new benchmarks for IPL streaming. Nearly 450 million viewers tuned in to JioCinema to watch IPL, delivering a total of 17 billion video views with an average watch time of more than 60 minutes per user per match. In fact, JioCinema’s IPL advertising revenue was higher than that of TV’s, the company said.
The company said its profit for the period was Rs 29 crore, down 25.6 percent from Rs 39 crore in the same quarter last year.
“The year has started on a blockbuster note with our digital initiatives delivering phenomenal results,” said Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman of Network18. “We have made some key leadership hirings recently which will help the Group push through to the next phase of growth and help us reach our ambition of becoming the largest and most
admired media-tech company of the country.”
The entertainment segment saw operating revenues grow 184 percent from a year ago to Rs 2,839 crore. This segment has Viacom18’s 38 channels, JioCinema and AETN18’s two infotainment channels. TV18’s entertainment portfolio had a viewership share of 10.1 percent in the non-news genre during the quarter, as per the exchange filing.
On the back of strong performance of IPL on JioCinema, Viacom18’s revenue nearly tripled, the company said. The platform recorded the highest-ever number of advertisers on IPL, attracting more than 13 times the number of advertisers on TV, it added.
This segment also saw a tripling of operating costs compared to a year ago driven by the sports vertical. Excluding its impact, there was a modest growth in cost on account of entertainment content launched on JioCinema, it added. The entertainment vertical reported an operating EBITDA loss of Rs 49 crore compared to a Rs 62 crore
profit a year ago.
