Network18 outpaces industry despite weak ad market: MD Rahul Joshi

Rahul Joshi, Managing Director of Network18, in an interview with CNBC TV-18 said that the company’s efforts to diversify beyond traditional news have helped it outperform the broader media industry despite a tough advertising environment. While industry revenues fell sharply, Netwaork18 reported 5–6% growth in the October-December quarter of 2025 (Q3FY26).

Joshi outlined how the company is reducing its dependence on traditional news, building alternative revenue streams through digital, subscriptions and creators, and navigating macro uncertainty as competition for advertising dollars intensifies.

Relatively speaking, compared to the 10% decline, industry-wide, Network18 has done better, with a 5% growth. I had two questions. There were all these goods and services tax (GST) cuts, etc., which were supposed to flow in and broadly help consumption and, of course, advertising, which is a derivative of that. Has that happened, or not happened? And there is a fair bit of macro uncertainty as we head into 2026. Will the relative outperformance stay if the industry conditions stay tough, going on?

I think what the government has been doing over the last year has helped media companies. But the advertising environment continues to be tough. And don't forget that today we are not only competing with media companies for advertising dollars, we are also competing with a whole host of other players in this space. There are e-commerce companies, there are quick commerce companies, so all of them are vying for advertising dollars. Combined with the news business, it has its own headwinds in the last couple of years.

So, the whole attempt at Network18 has been to look at ourselves as a content company, not merely as a news company. Of course, news remains a very integral part of our business, but we are looking beyond news content for growth, and that is what has really helped us this quarter, the October-December quarter of 2025 (Q3FY26), which was another tough quarter to grow at about 5–6%.

If you look at our entire portfolio, we have a solid portfolio. We are leaders in all our businesses—CNBC, CNBC Awaaz, CNN, News18; digital businesses, whether it is News18, Moneycontrol, Firstpost, or even Forbes. But ultimately, pricing power is one way to grow, and the other is to constantly look at alternate avenues of growth, alternate revenue streams. And that is what we've been able to do quite successfully. And we hope to accelerate these efforts in the coming quarters.

We have spoken about this in the past as well, traditional media companies and them facing a kind of movement away of dollars towards some of these new segments, new platforms, in that sense, new mediums, as you put it. So, to take Network18 as an example, 16 billion views on YouTube, two and a half times the nearest rival. But YouTube margins perhaps are a little lower than what you describe as linear TV, right? Is there a way to assert this lead in viewership and close the gap in terms of monetisation?

The thing is that we do have the viewership, we do have the views, we do have the reach, but some change in the algorithms of these media companies, YouTube, etc., can adversely impact our revenues. So, we have seen this in the past, in the last quarter, and this has happened in the past as well. So, the whole idea is that we do not remain --- we are a resilient company, we do not remain dependent on only a couple of revenue sources, but open up new sources of revenue.

So, like for instance, in Moneycontrol, we've gone into subscription in a big way. Moneycontrol Pro was a big success with 1 million paid subscribers. We've launched Super Pro, which is doing exceptionally well for us. And while Pro was priced at ₹1,000 per annum, Super Pro is priced at ₹3,000. It is three times the ARPU. So that has shown good results.

I think the way forward would be subscription. Our lending business, in the last quarter, has done well for Moneycontrol. That's another alternate source of revenue. So, the impact of all this has been seen in this quarter, which has resulted in growth when other companies are really struggling.

So, going forward, you will see more of this. You will see we will reduce our dependence on news further and look at other content ideas that will generate revenues and other formats that will open up new verticals and sources of revenue, like Creator18. If you take Creator18, the idea is very simple. We are in the business of content creators, and there are many creators today who are doing the same thing that we do. And we have tied up exclusively with 60 creators, and we are working with another few hundred more to bring them into our fold.

The idea is that these content creators use our platforms to do relevant stuff, and we use their audiences—younger audiences, Gen Z audience—and together grow this pie, and we can partake in the share in the revenue as well.

From an investor's point of view, globally, it's true that the news piece of a media business, perhaps multiples have been on the lower side. But how would you like investors to view Network18 with so much that is happening? I mean, just how do you think about this platform? If you can give us your thought process?

That's the point that I was making. We also do news, you know. We are trying to pivot the company into other content areas, which are not necessarily news. And also, please don't forget, the way you and I have understood news over the years is fundamentally changing. News is seen from a different lens by Gen Z, by a new set of audiences that are coming in. They think of explainers also as news. We would think of only breaking news; they would think of explainers.

There is this large infotainment segment that is coming up, which is not only attracting advertising, it is also attracting a lot of subscriptions. So, a lot of companies are attracting a fair amount of money in subscriptions, and that is all competing with us as well. So, we have to get into that space as well.

So, as we diversify our portfolio of content away from news into other areas of infotainment, and also into other areas, like creating tools for investors to be able to trade better, invest more smartly—these are things that were never, historically, a part of a news organisation.

So, we build these tools. We've got a proprietary research team that has helped us to open this whole subscription window. Lending is becoming a big vertical for Moneycontrol, and that's precisely because we are moving a content company into areas it had never previously tread into.

So, these are the things that we are going to continue doing over the next few quarters, and hope that we'll be able to monetise our brands better.

So many industries are changing, and you mentioned the lending business. The face of industries, and how many industries are being changed, and perhaps Network18 is keeping track. I mean, on the lending side, is the aim finally to become like a full-stack financial services provider? Would that be the broader vision?

So, I wouldn't go as far as that. I would say that we have in Moneycontrol 50–60 million unique visitors coming to us every month. They come to primarily consume content on our platform. I think there is a huge opportunity for us to convert this audience coming in and serve them many other different things.

While I'm talking to you, you are flashing the Network18 stock score on your screen. this is one thing that we have developed over the last few months. Every stock has a score today. It gives you an idea of the potential of that company going forward.

Now, there are many tools like this that we have developed, and these are all sooner or later behind a paywall. So, we can drive revenues using many tools that we have created for traders and investors to be able to trade better.

So, I would not say a full-stack financial services company—that is not where we are headed—but definitely a one-stop shop for everyone, for whatever money need that you may have, whether it is an investment of any kind, or your spending needs. So, we look at money 360 degrees and provide tools for you to be able to save better, spend more wisely, and, in the long run, be a smart investor.

You have renewed your partnership with CNN with a mandate for digital expansion. If you can give us a sense of what the thinking is, do you plan to compete more aggressively with the BBCs, the Al Jazeeras of the world and diaspora markets? What's the thinking?

This company, when it was started, started with some global brands like CNBC. Later on, added other brands like CNN and Forbes. These are partnerships which were meaningful 25 years ago but are more meaningful than ever today.

Today, the world is integrated. Our stock markets are intricately linked to what is happening globally. Tariff issues, whichever big issue you see in the country, have a global linkage. And unless you have a credible global partner, you will never be cutting-edge in what you do.

CNBC—We have completed more than 25 years of this amazing partnership. CNN—we just completed 20 years. We've renewed this partnership for another 10 years. I don't have to tell you how important global news is today. Geopolitics is dominating the airwaves across the country, and the CNN advantage, the CNN edge, really helps us with that.

Forbes, again, is another brand we partner with, and we've had a very successful partnership over the last 15 years. So, these are our relationships, and this time, CNN, we've been able to even extend it to digital in a meaningful way.

So, a whole lot of global content will also be available on our platforms—news18.com, etc.—which will really give credibility to our platform, new content, cand utting-edge global developments. So, yes, absolutely right.