Consumer prices softened marginally in the March quarter in India, though the economic sentiment remained weak. This impacted advertising revenues, Network18 said in its earnings release (pdf).

During the quarter, the advertising inventory—the total amount of space available for ads—in the news segment fell 10% from the same quarter in the previous year, it said.

Struggles in television advertising

Overall, the Indian media and entertainment sector grew 20% to $26.2 billion in 2022, which is 10% higher than the pre-pandemic levels, said a FICCI-EY report released yesterday.

With consumers moving to digital media channels, less funds are being earmarked for TV—in 2022, it grew by mere 2% as opposed to 30% in digital advertising.

“Subscription revenue continued to fall for the third year in a row, experiencing a 4% de-growth due to a reduction of five million pay-TV homes and stagnant consumer-end revenue,” the report said.

While online news subscriptions generated $14.7 million, newspaper ad revenues grew 13%. However, for many newspaper companies, it is still tough to generate ad revenues through digital channels, the report said.

📬 Sign up for the Daily Brief

Our free, fast, and fun briefing on the global economy, delivered every weekday morning.