Network18 Media Q2 FY25 Results: Net Loss Rises to Rs 152.31 Crore | Company results

“With a 6% increase in revenues from information activities and continuous improvement in margins. Overall profitability was influenced by sports and digital investments in Viacom18,” the company said in its profit and loss statement.

Total expenditure increased by 1.64 per cent to Rs 2,243.13 crore in the September quarter.

In the second quarter of FY 2024-25, Network 18 posted total revenues of Rs 2,059.35 crore.

The partner of Network18 Media & Investments is the Independent Media Trust, the sole beneficiary of which is Reliance Industries. It owns 20 TV channels, 42 TV channels, OTT platform JioCinema and a film studio.

In September, the company's news segment revenue grew 5.9 per cent to Rs 445 crore.

This was “primarily driven by growth in advertising revenues across the digital segment across all platforms. Television advertising was weak this quarter as industry advertising volume in the news genre fell 20 percent. News' share of overall inventory spend also declined by a sharp 200 basis points year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter,” the report said.

Its revenue from the entertainment segment declined 5.4 percent to Rs 1,339 crore.

“Operating income for the quarter declined 5 percent, primarily due to lower revenues from the film segment,” it said, adding: “In the second quarter of fiscal year 24, Viacom18 Studios released two big-ticket films, with no releases in the quarter, with revenue of Rs 330 crore The money had an impact.”

JioCinema continues to be the “fastest growing SVOD platform” with 16 million paid subscribers, while Viacom18 TV viewership grew 100 basis points quarter over quarter.

Moreover, during the quarter, the NCLT approved “complex scheme of merger of the company's subsidiaries, namely TV18 Broadcast and e-Eighteen.Com (E18) with the company dated April 1, 2023. The scheme came into effect from October 3, 2024.” – we read.

“The merger creates India's largest platform-agnostic news media powerhouse, with a broad reach across languages ​​and a simplified corporate structure,” it said, adding that it “also gives shareholders of the 3 companies the opportunity to participate in the group's media business through a listed entity.”

TV18 has a network of around 60 channels in India offering news, entertainment and sports genres.

The merger of the companies will create opportunities for operational synergies, cost optimization and better revenue generation, he added.

Adil Jainulbhai, CEO, Network18, said: “We are delighted to have completed the merger of our news businesses. We are ideally positioned to have a strong portfolio of TV channels and digital platforms across the country and its linguistic diversity. India's most preferred news network.

Earlier, Reliance Industries announced the merger of its media assets with the Indian unit of global media giant The Walt Disney Co, creating the country's largest media empire worth over Rs 70,000 crore.

The deal has already received regulatory approvals from fair trading regulators NCLT, CCI and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.