Advertise on First Post: A Complete Guide to First Post Advertising Costs, Formats, and Booking in India

Firstpost.com quietly became one of the most underrated premium digital news destinations in India — and most media planners are still sleeping on it. Backed by Network18 and the Reliance Industries ecosystem, firstpost.com draws an audience that skews sharply toward educated, urban, English-speaking professionals between 25 and 44, which is precisely the demographic that most BFSI, automobile, and e-commerce brands are willing to pay a significant premium to reach. What surprises a lot of our clients when we first walk them through the numbers is that First Post advertising delivers comparable audience quality to some of the bigger news platforms, often at CPM rates that are noticeably more competitive.

Why Should Brands Advertise on First Post in India?

There is a version of this conversation we have had dozens of times at SmartAds — a brand manager walks in with a brief that says "premium English news audience, urban metros, decision-makers," and the instinct is always to go straight to the biggest names. What a lot of people miss is that Firstpost.com has been quietly building one of the most engaged news audiences in the country, particularly in the 25-to-34 age bracket which, according to audience data aggregated across multiple measurement tools, accounts for the dominant share of its readership. The platform's editorial positioning — sharp, opinionated, globally aware — attracts readers who are actively consuming content rather than passively scrolling, which translates into meaningfully higher engagement rates for display advertising and sponsored content alike.

The Network18 parentage matters more than most advertisers realise. Being part of an ecosystem that includes News18, CNBC-TV18, Moneycontrol, and a vast television network means that Firstpost operates with the kind of editorial infrastructure and distribution muscle that independent digital news platforms simply cannot match; the cross-platform amplification opportunities for brands are genuinely substantial. A BFSI client we worked with — a mid-sized private sector mutual fund house based in Mumbai — ran a simultaneous campaign across firstpost.com and Moneycontrol, and the frequency build across the two platforms within the same Network18 ecosystem gave them a reach efficiency that would have cost considerably more if they had tried to replicate it through independent programmatic buys.

On top of that, the India digital advertising market is estimated to cross twenty-one billion dollars in 2025, according to industry projections cited by IBEF and corroborated by the FICCI-EY Media Report; within that market, premium news platform advertising is growing faster than generic display because brand safety has become a genuine boardroom concern. Firstpost.com, with its moderated editorial environment and brand-safe content categories, offers advertisers something that open-web programmatic advertising simply cannot guarantee — context. When your automobile advertising appears alongside a well-researched automotive review or your FMCG advertising runs next to a lifestyle feature, the contextual relevance lifts both recall and click-through in ways that our campaign data consistently confirms.

What Is the Audience Profile of First Post?

Frankly speaking, the audience data on Firstpost is one of the strongest arguments for putting it on any media plan targeting urban India. The platform's readership skews approximately 70 percent male, which makes it particularly valuable for categories like automobile advertising, technology, financial products, and premium consumer electronics — categories where male decision-makers still drive a disproportionate share of purchase intent. The dominant age cohort sits in the 25-to-34 bracket, followed closely by 35-to-44, which means the platform is reaching people who are either at peak earning potential or actively building toward it; these are not passive browsers but readers with purchasing power and brand awareness that translates into actual buying behaviour.

Geographically, Firstpost's monthly active users concentrate heavily in the four major metros — Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Hyderabad — but the platform has meaningful penetration in Tier 2 cities as well, particularly among the upwardly mobile professional class that has migrated from smaller cities to work in technology and financial services. This pan-India reach with a metro-heavy concentration is exactly what brands in the BFSI sector or premium e-commerce advertising need; you are not paying to reach a general mass audience but a self-selected group of people who actively choose to read English-language news analysis. The Firstpost app advertising opportunity extends this reach further, because mobile accounts for the majority of digital news consumption in India — a shift that has been well-documented in successive Redseer Strategy Consultants reports on digital media behaviour.

What we tell our clients is that the audience quality argument for Firstpost is stronger than the raw numbers argument. The platform's monthly active users figure — which sits in a range that makes it a genuinely significant news media platform without being so large that your ad impression gets lost in a sea of low-intent traffic — is less important than the intent signal that comes with someone choosing to read a 1,200-word analysis piece on economic policy or a detailed automotive review. That reading behaviour is a proxy for decision-making intent, and for categories like BFSI advertising, automobile advertising, and premium e-commerce advertising, intent is everything.

What Are the Ad Formats Available on First Post?

The format options on firstpost.com are more varied than most advertisers expect when they first approach the platform, and the choice of format has a significant bearing on both the first post advertisement cost and the campaign outcome. Display advertising on Firstpost spans the standard IAB formats — leaderboard, medium rectangle, half-page, and skin/wallpaper units — which can be booked either directly through the Network18 sales team or through programmatic advertising channels via connected DSPs. The leaderboard and medium rectangle are the workhorses of banner ads on the platform; they deliver solid ad impression volumes and are well-suited for brand awareness campaigns where the objective is reach and frequency rather than direct response.

Beyond standard display advertising, Firstpost offers roadblock ad packages — which are among the most premium inventory options available on any digital news website in India. A roadblock ad on Firstpost essentially means your brand owns all the visible ad slots on the homepage or a specific section page for a defined time window, which eliminates competitive clutter entirely and creates a share-of-voice that is impossible to achieve through standard programmatic advertising. We have used roadblock ad placements for product launch campaigns — one automotive brand we worked with used a homepage roadblock on the morning of their new model announcement, and the brand visibility impact in terms of direct traffic to their microsite was measurable within the first two hours of the campaign going live.

Video ads represent the fastest-growing format category on Firstpost, driven by the platform's investment in original video content and the growth of its YouTube channel, which has crossed five million subscribers and is among the fastest-growing news channels on the platform. Pre-roll ads run before video content on both the website and the app, and these come in both skippable ads and non-skippable ads formats; the non-skippable ads command a higher CPV but deliver guaranteed view completion, which matters enormously for brand storytelling campaigns where the first five seconds are not enough to communicate the message. Native ads and sponsored content round out the format portfolio, offering a less interruptive, more editorial approach to brand communication that works particularly well for thought leadership and digital PR objectives.

How Much Does First Post Advertising Cost?

This is the question every client asks first, and to be honest, the answer requires some nuance because the first post advertisement cost varies considerably depending on format, placement, targeting parameters, and whether you are buying directly or through programmatic advertising channels. For standard banner ads — leaderboard and medium rectangle placements — the CPM on Firstpost works out to somewhere between ₹150 and ₹350 per thousand impressions on a direct buy basis, which is a number that tends to surprise first-time advertisers when they compare it to what they are paying for reach on open-web programmatic buys; the premium reflects the brand-safe, high-intent editorial environment rather than raw inventory volume.

For video ads, the CPV on pre-roll formats — both skippable ads and non-skippable ads — sits in the ballpark of ₹0.80 to ₹2.50 depending on targeting specificity and whether the buy is direct or programmatic advertising; non-skippable ads command the higher end of that range because view completion is guaranteed. The cost per click for CPC-based campaigns on Firstpost — which are more common for performance-oriented advertisers in the e-commerce advertising and BFSI advertising categories — typically works out to roughly ₹15 to ₹45 depending on audience targeting parameters and creative quality, which is competitive when benchmarked against premium news platform advertising alternatives. Roadblock ad packages, being the most premium inventory on the platform, are priced on a tenancy basis rather than CPM or CPC, and a homepage roadblock for a single day can be in the range of several lakhs depending on the time of year and demand — IPL season and budget announcement periods being the most competitive windows.

For brands asking about first post advertising cost for small business, the honest answer is that direct buying on Firstpost has historically been better suited to mid-to-large advertisers with monthly digital spends of at least two to three lakh rupees, because the minimum campaign commitments on direct deals tend to be meaningful. However, programmatic advertising access through connected DSPs has lowered the effective entry point considerably; a brand with a digital advertising budget of fifty thousand rupees can technically access Firstpost inventory through programmatic channels, though the targeting and placement control is less granular than a direct buy. At SmartAds, we often structure hybrid campaigns — a direct buy for premium placements like roadblock ad or homepage skin, combined with programmatic advertising for the frequency-building layers — which gives clients the best of both worlds without requiring an enterprise-level budget for the entire campaign.

What Targeting Options Does First Post Offer Advertisers?

The targeting architecture on Firstpost is considerably more sophisticated than what most advertisers assume when they think of news platform advertising India. Demographic targeting is available across age, gender, and income proxies, which allows brands to focus their ad impression delivery on the specific buyer profiles that matter most to their category; an automobile advertising campaign targeting male professionals between 30 and 45 can be set up with reasonable precision on a direct buy, and with even greater granularity through programmatic advertising using third-party data overlays. Geographic targeting is another strong suit — campaigns can be targeted to specific cities or states, which is particularly useful for brands with regional product launches or city-specific promotions in markets like Mumbai, Delhi, or Bangalore.

Contextual targeting is where Firstpost's editorial depth becomes a genuine competitive advantage for advertisers. The platform's content is organised into well-defined verticals — politics, business, sports, entertainment, science and technology, and more — which allows brands to align their ad impression delivery with content that is directly relevant to their product category. An e-commerce advertising campaign running around a tech product launch, for instance, can be contextually targeted to appear alongside technology and gadget content, which lifts both relevance and recall in ways that demographic targeting alone cannot achieve. Contextual targeting on a premium digital news website like Firstpost also serves as a brand safety mechanism, because you know exactly what kind of editorial environment your creative is appearing in.

Precision retargeting is available through programmatic advertising channels, which allows brands to re-engage users who have previously visited their website or interacted with earlier ad formats. This is particularly powerful for BFSI advertising and e-commerce advertising, where the buying funnel is long and the decision journey involves multiple touchpoints before conversion; a user who reads a financial planning article on Firstpost and then visits a mutual fund brand's website can be re-engaged with a tailored creative on their next Firstpost visit, nudging them further down the buying funnel. The combination of contextual targeting, demographic targeting, geographic targeting, and precision retargeting makes Firstpost a genuinely capable platform for full-funnel digital advertising campaigns, not just top-of-funnel brand awareness.

What Are the Benefits of First Post Video Advertising?

Video advertising on Firstpost deserves its own conversation, because the opportunity here is more layered than it appears at first glance. The platform's investment in original video journalism — including its flagship international affairs programming and its breaking news video coverage — has created a content environment where pre-roll ads are consumed by audiences who are genuinely motivated to watch the content that follows; this is fundamentally different from the passive video consumption that characterises much of social media video advertising, and the completion rates on Firstpost video ads reflect that difference. Our experience shows that non-skippable ads on Firstpost consistently deliver completion rates that outperform industry benchmarks for news platform advertising India.

The Firstpost YouTube channel represents an adjacent opportunity that is still underutilised by most advertisers. With over five million subscribers and a growth trajectory that makes it one of the fastest-expanding news channels on YouTube, the channel creates a second screen for video ads — brands can run pre-roll ads through Google Ads targeting the Firstpost YouTube channel specifically, which gives them access to the same high-intent news audience through a different distribution mechanism. The CPV on YouTube pre-roll ads targeting the Firstpost channel works out to roughly ₹0.30 to ₹0.80 depending on targeting parameters, which is meaningfully lower than direct video ad buys on the website; for brands with tighter budgets, this YouTube-first approach to Firstpost video advertising can be an efficient entry point. One retail client we worked with in Pune used exactly this strategy — YouTube pre-roll ads targeting Firstpost subscribers combined with a smaller direct display buy on firstpost.com — and achieved a cost per thousand impressions blended rate that was roughly forty percent lower than a pure direct buy would have delivered.

Skippable ads on Firstpost, while they carry the risk of early skip behaviour, offer a cost-per-view pricing model that makes them attractive for longer-form brand storytelling; you only pay when a viewer watches beyond the skip threshold, which means your spend is concentrated on genuinely interested viewers. The creative implication is significant — the first five seconds of a skippable ad on a news media platform need to earn attention differently than on entertainment platforms, because the Firstpost audience is in a news-consumption mindset rather than a passive entertainment mindset. We have seen this backfire when brands repurpose entertainment-platform creatives without adapting them for the news context; the hook needs to be information-forward rather than purely emotional to resonate with this audience.

First Post Banner Advertising: Formats, Sizes, and Performance

Banner ads remain the backbone of display advertising on Firstpost, and understanding the nuances of placement and format is what separates a mediocre campaign from a genuinely effective one. The above-the-fold leaderboard — the 728x90 or 970x90 unit that sits at the top of the page — commands the highest CPM within the banner ads portfolio because it is the first thing a reader sees before any scrolling occurs; on a platform where the average session duration is meaningfully longer than social media (because people are reading articles rather than swiping), above-the-fold placements deliver both high visibility and extended exposure time. The medium rectangle (300x250) embedded within article text is the other high-performing banner format, because it appears in the reader's natural line of sight while they are actively engaged with content.

Half-page units and wallpaper/skin placements are the premium tier within banner ads on Firstpost, delivering maximum brand visibility for campaigns where creative impact is the primary objective. A skin placement effectively wraps the entire page in brand imagery, which creates an immersive brand experience that is impossible to ignore; these are particularly effective for product launches, brand refresh campaigns, and high-stakes brand awareness drives where the cost per thousand impressions premium is justified by the creative impact. The CPM for skin and half-page placements is at the higher end of the Firstpost rate card, but the effective cost per brand interaction — when you account for the size, prominence, and dwell time of the format — often compares favourably to smaller but more numerous standard banner ads.

What a lot of people miss about banner advertising on firstpost.com is the importance of creative quality in a high-attention editorial environment. The Firstpost audience is reading carefully, which means they notice poor creative execution more acutely than a passive social media scroller would; we have consistently found that campaigns with well-crafted, contextually relevant creative outperform generic brand banners by a significant margin on this platform. At SmartAds, we always tell our clients that the creative brief for a Firstpost banner campaign should be written with the same care as a print advertisement — the audience is in a reading mindset, and the creative needs to respect that.

First Post Sponsored Content and Digital PR Opportunities

Sponsored content on Firstpost is, in our honest assessment, one of the most underutilised formats in the platform's inventory — and brands that have discovered it tend to guard the insight jealously. A sponsored content piece on firstpost.com sits within the editorial flow of the platform, carries the Firstpost brand's credibility by association, and reaches an audience that is actively in a content-consumption mode; the combination of editorial quality, platform authority, and audience intent makes it a uniquely powerful format for categories where trust is a purchase driver. BFSI advertising is the obvious beneficiary — a well-crafted sponsored content piece on financial planning or investment strategy, published on a platform with Firstpost's editorial reputation, carries an implicit endorsement that a banner ad simply cannot replicate.

Digital PR packages on Firstpost typically involve a combination of the sponsored content piece itself, social amplification through the platform's social media channels, and sometimes inclusion in the platform's email newsletter distribution — which extends the reach of the content beyond the website's organic traffic. The pricing for digital PR packages is negotiated on a case-by-case basis and is not publicly listed on a rate card, which means that working with a media agency India that has an established relationship with the Network18 sales team is genuinely valuable; the packages available through direct negotiation are often more comprehensive than what a brand would be offered through a cold inquiry. We have structured digital PR campaigns for pharmaceutical and healthcare clients where the sponsored content on Firstpost was paired with amplification through CNBC-TV18's digital properties, creating a cross-platform editorial presence that would have been impossible to replicate through standard display advertising.

The native ads format on Firstpost — which appears as recommended content within the article feed, styled to match the editorial look and feel — is a lighter-touch version of sponsored content that works well for driving traffic to a brand's own content hub or microsite. Native ads are priced on a cost per click basis, which makes them accountable and easy to optimise; the CPC for native ads on Firstpost typically works out to somewhere between ₹20 and ₹60 depending on category and targeting, which is competitive for a premium news media platform. The key distinction between native ads and sponsored content is depth — native ads drive the click, while sponsored content delivers the full brand story within the Firstpost environment itself.

How Does First Post Compare to NDTV, India Today, and Other News Platforms?

This is a comparison we are asked to make regularly, and the honest answer is that no single platform is universally superior — the right choice depends entirely on the campaign objective, the target audience profile, and the budget structure. NDTV has historically commanded a premium for its brand equity and its association with a particular segment of English-speaking, politically engaged urban India; the CPM on NDTV digital properties tends to be at the higher end of the news platform advertising India spectrum, and the audience skews slightly older and more establishment-oriented than Firstpost. India Today Digital, backed by the India Today Group's extensive print and television legacy, offers strong reach particularly among the 35-plus professional demographic and benefits from deep cross-platform integration with its magazine and television properties.

Firstpost's competitive positioning relative to these platforms is built on a combination of editorial distinctiveness, Network18 ecosystem integration, and what we have found to be a more competitive first post ad rates structure for comparable audience quality. The platform's audience skews younger than both NDTV and India Today Digital — the 25-to-34 dominance is a genuine differentiator for brands targeting millennials with purchasing power — and its editorial voice, which is sharper and more opinion-forward than traditional news outlets, attracts readers who are more likely to be early adopters and category influencers. Hindustan Times Digital, Times of India Digital, and other large news platforms offer significantly higher raw traffic volumes, but the CPM premium on Firstpost reflects audience quality rather than quantity; for brands where reach-at-any-cost is not the objective, the quality argument for Firstpost is compelling.

To be fair, there are campaign types where Firstpost is not the optimal choice. Mass-market FMCG advertising that needs to reach the broadest possible audience at the lowest possible cost per thousand impressions is better served by the sheer scale of Times of India Digital or Hindustan Times Digital. Regional language campaigns are not Firstpost's strength — the platform is primarily English-language, which limits its utility for brands targeting vernacular audiences in markets outside the English-literate urban professional segment. The strategic recommendation we make at SmartAds is to treat Firstpost as a precision instrument within a broader digital media mix rather than a standalone solution; it performs best when it is doing the job of reaching a specific, high-value audience segment while other platforms handle mass reach.

What Industries Get the Best ROI from First Post Ads?

The categories that consistently deliver the strongest return on investment from First Post advertising are the ones whose target audience most closely matches the platform's reader profile — and that alignment is more specific than most media plans acknowledge. BFSI advertising is the clearest fit: mutual funds, insurance products, credit cards, stockbroking platforms, and banking services are all targeting the same 25-to-44 urban professional demographic that Firstpost has built its readership around, and the contextual environment of a financial and political news platform creates a natural receptivity to financial product messaging. We have seen BFSI campaigns on Firstpost deliver cost per lead figures that are competitive with Google Ads search campaigns — which is a remarkable benchmark for a display advertising channel.

Automobile advertising is another strong performer on Firstpost, particularly for premium and mid-premium vehicle categories where the target buyer is an informed, research-driven professional who reads automotive reviews and industry news before making a purchase decision. The platform's automotive coverage is detailed and credible, which means that automobile advertising appearing in and around that content reaches buyers who are actively in the research phase of the buying funnel — a far more valuable moment to intercept than reaching the same person while they are watching entertainment content. E-commerce advertising for premium product categories — electronics, fashion, home décor, and travel — also performs well, particularly during sale events when the Firstpost audience's high purchasing power translates into above-average order values.

Technology brands, edtech platforms, and B2B software companies find Firstpost's audience particularly receptive because the platform's readership over-indexes on technology adoption and professional development interest. One edtech brand we worked with — targeting working professionals in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore who were considering upskilling programs — found that their cost per registration from Firstpost digital advertising was roughly thirty percent lower than from comparable news platform buys, which they attributed to the platform's audience being in an active self-improvement mindset when consuming content. FMCG advertising on Firstpost is more selective — it works well for premium FMCG categories like personal care, health supplements, and premium food and beverage, but mass-market FMCG advertising is better served by platforms with broader demographic reach.

How to Book a First Post Ad Campaign Step by Step

The process of booking ads on First Post follows two distinct paths depending on whether you are pursuing a direct buy or a programmatic advertising approach, and understanding the difference matters for both campaign control and cost efficiency. For a direct buy — which is the appropriate route for premium placements like roadblock ad packages, homepage skins, sponsored content, and digital PR — the process begins with a brief submitted to the Network18 digital sales team, which covers campaign objectives, target audience, preferred formats, flight dates, and budget range. The sales team responds with a proposal that includes specific placements, estimated ad impression delivery, and first post advertisement rates; this proposal is negotiable, particularly on volume and multi-format packages, which is where having a media agency India relationship with the Network18 team creates genuine value.

For programmatic advertising access to Firstpost inventory, the process runs through connected DSPs — platforms like DV360, The Trade Desk, and others that have integrated Network18 inventory. This route is faster to activate, requires no minimum commitment conversation with a sales team, and offers more granular audience targeting through third-party data overlays; the trade-off is less control over specific placement positions and a slightly higher effective CPM once DSP fees are factored in. For brands asking how to advertise on Firstpost with a smaller budget, the programmatic advertising route is the practical answer — it allows access to firstpost.com inventory without the minimum spend thresholds that direct buying typically implies.

Creative specifications for First Post ads follow IAB standard guidelines for display formats; video ads require MP4 format with specific bitrate and resolution requirements that vary between the website and the app. The approval timeline for standard display advertising creative is typically 24 to 48 business hours once the creative files are submitted in the correct specifications; sponsored content pieces require editorial review and may take three to five business days from submission to publication, which means campaign timelines need to account for this. At SmartAds, we manage the entire booking and trafficking process on behalf of our clients — from brief to live campaign — which eliminates the back-and-forth that can delay campaign launches when brands try to navigate the process independently.

How Are First Post Ad Campaigns Tracked and Measured?

Campaign execution on Firstpost is supported by standard digital advertising measurement infrastructure, which means the tracking and reporting capabilities are familiar to anyone who has run digital advertising campaigns on other premium news platforms. Ad impression delivery is tracked through the platform's own ad server, and third-party verification through tools like DoubleVerify, Integral Ad Science, or MOAT can be integrated for campaigns where independent viewability and brand safety measurement is a client requirement — which, frankly speaking, it should be for any campaign above a certain budget threshold. Viewability benchmarks on Firstpost are generally strong relative to open-web programmatic advertising, because the editorial environment and page layout are designed for content consumption rather than ad stuffing.

Performance metrics for display advertising campaigns — including ad impression counts, click-through rates, cost per click, and viewability rates — are available through campaign dashboards that can be accessed directly or shared as scheduled reports. For video ads, the reporting extends to view completion rates, CPV, and quartile analysis (what percentage of viewers watched 25 percent, 50 percent, 75 percent, and 100 percent of the video), which is essential for optimising creative performance across skippable ads and non-skippable ads formats. Return on investment measurement for brand awareness campaigns typically relies on brand lift studies, which can be commissioned through third-party research vendors and measure shifts in aided recall, brand consideration, and purchase intent among exposed versus unexposed audience segments.

What our experience shows is that the most common measurement gap in First Post advertising campaigns is the failure to connect ad impression data to downstream business outcomes — website visits, lead form completions, or purchase events. Setting up proper UTM tracking on all click-through URLs, integrating with Google Analytics or equivalent web analytics platforms, and establishing clear attribution windows before the campaign launches are non-negotiable steps in campaign execution for any performance-oriented advertiser. We always build a measurement framework before a campaign goes live — defining what success looks like in terms of both media metrics (CPM, CPC, viewability) and business metrics (cost per lead, return on investment) — because without that framework, the post-campaign conversation becomes a debate about numbers rather than a genuine assessment of campaign value.

Is First Post Advertising the Right Choice for Your Brand?

The question of fit is one that deserves an honest answer rather than a sales pitch. Firstpost.com is a genuinely excellent advertising environment for brands whose target audience overlaps with the platform's core readership — urban, English-speaking, educated professionals between 25 and 44, concentrated in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore but with meaningful pan-India reach through the app and digital channels. For those brands, First Post advertising offers a combination of audience quality, editorial brand safety, format variety, and Network18 ecosystem integration that makes it a compelling addition to any digital media plan. The first post ad rates, while not the cheapest in the market, represent fair value for the audience quality and placement environment being delivered.

For brands whose primary objective is mass reach at the lowest possible cost per thousand impressions, Firstpost is probably not the right primary vehicle — but it can play a valuable supporting role in a broader digital advertising mix, delivering the premium urban professional segment while other platforms handle mass reach. The first post app advertising opportunity is particularly worth evaluating for brands targeting mobile-first advertising India audiences; the app experience is clean, the ad formats are well-integrated, and the mobile-first advertising India trend means that a growing share of Firstpost's most engaged readers are coming through the app rather than the desktop website. Firstpost digital advertising packages — whether direct or programmatic — are flexible enough to accommodate a range of campaign objectives and budget sizes, which means the platform is accessible to more advertisers than its premium positioning might suggest.

To be honest, the brands that get the most from First Post advertising are the ones that approach it with a clear audience strategy rather than a generic reach objective. If you know that your buyer is a 30-year-old finance professional in Bangalore who reads English news analysis in the morning on their phone, Firstpost is one of the best places in the Indian digital advertising ecosystem to find that person at a moment of genuine attention. If your brief is "reach everyone," there are cheaper ways to do that — but if your brief is "reach the right people with the right message in the right context," First Post advertising belongs on your media plan.

Frequently Asked Questions About First Post Advertising

Q: What is the cost of advertising on First Post in India?

The first post advertisement cost varies significantly by format, placement, and buying method. For standard banner ads on a direct buy basis, the CPM works out to somewhere between ₹150 and ₹350 per thousand impressions, depending on placement position and targeting parameters; above-the-fold and homepage placements command the higher end of that range. Video ads on a CPV basis are priced in the ballpark of ₹0.80 to ₹2.50 per view, with non-skippable ads at the premium end. CPC-based campaigns typically see cost per click figures ranging from roughly ₹15 to ₹45. Roadblock ad packages and homepage skin placements are priced on a tenancy basis and can run into several lakhs per day for premium time windows. Programmatic advertising access to Firstpost inventory through DSPs may offer lower effective CPMs but with less placement control.

Q: What ad formats are available on Firstpost.com?

Firstpost.com supports a wide range of digital advertising formats. Display advertising options include leaderboard (728x90, 970x90), medium rectangle (300x250), half-page units, and wallpaper/skin placements. Video ads include both skippable ads and non-skippable ads pre-roll formats, available on both the website and the app. Roadblock ad packages allow brands to own all visible ad inventory on a page for a defined period. Native ads appear within the content feed in an editorial style. Sponsored content and digital PR packages involve full editorial pieces published within the Firstpost content environment, often with social and newsletter amplification. The Firstpost app supports mobile-specific formats including interstitials and in-feed display units, which are increasingly important given the platform's mobile-first advertising India audience profile.

Q: How do I book an ad on First Post?

There are two primary routes to book ads on First Post. The direct buying route involves submitting a campaign brief to the Network18 digital sales team, receiving a proposal with specific placements and first post advertisement rates, negotiating the package, and then trafficking creative materials once the deal is confirmed. This route is appropriate for premium placements, large budgets, and campaigns requiring specific placement guarantees. The programmatic advertising route involves accessing Firstpost inventory through connected DSPs, which allows faster activation, more granular audience targeting, and lower minimum spend thresholds. Working with a media agency India that has established relationships with the Network18 sales team and DSP partnerships can significantly streamline the booking process and may unlock better rates and packages than a direct brand inquiry would receive.

Q: What is the CPM rate for First Post banner ads?

The CPM for First Post banner ads on a direct buy basis works out to roughly ₹150 to ₹350 per thousand impressions, depending on placement position, targeting specificity, and campaign volume. Above-the-fold placements — leaderboard and homepage positions — command higher CPMs than below-the-fold or article-embedded positions. Highly specific audience targeting, such as demographic targeting layered with geographic targeting to specific cities like Mumbai or Delhi, will push the CPM toward the higher end of the range. Programmatic advertising access to Firstpost banner inventory may offer lower headline CPMs, but the effective cost per thousand impressions after DSP fees and the impact of less precise placement control should be factored into the comparison.

Q: What is the minimum budget required to advertise on First Post?

For direct buying, the practical minimum campaign budget for a meaningful First Post advertising campaign is in the range of two to three lakh rupees, which is the threshold at which the Network18 sales team typically engages with direct deal negotiations. Below that level, the programmatic advertising route is more practical — technically, a brand can access Firstpost inventory through programmatic channels with a campaign budget of fifty thousand rupees or less, though the reach and frequency at that level will be limited. For sponsored content and digital PR packages, the minimum investment is typically higher, reflecting the editorial production and amplification components of the package. First post advertising cost for small business is most manageable through programmatic advertising channels or through a media agency India that can aggregate smaller budgets across multiple clients to negotiate better terms.

Q: How many monthly active users does First Post have?

Firstpost.com's monthly active users figure places it among the significant English-language digital news websites in India, with readership concentrated in urban metros — Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore being the top markets — and a growing base of Tier 2 city readers accessing the platform through the Firstpost app. The platform's YouTube channel has crossed five million subscribers, which represents an additional audience touchpoint for video advertising. While precise monthly active users figures are not publicly disclosed by Network18 on a regular basis, the platform's scale is sufficient to deliver meaningful reach within the urban English-speaking professional demographic, particularly when combined with the broader Network18 digital ecosystem reach.

Q: What targeting options are available for First Post advertisers?

First Post advertising supports demographic targeting (age, gender, income proxy), geographic targeting (country, state, city — including specific targeting for Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and other major markets), contextual targeting (by content section or article category), and device targeting (desktop versus mobile, operating system). Through programmatic advertising channels, additional targeting layers are available including third-party data overlays for interest and behaviour targeting, precision retargeting of website visitors and app users