ITV

Category: Regional

  • No changes were observed in the Tamil segment in BARC data week 47

    No changes were observed in the Tamil segment in BARC data week 47

    MUMBAI: In the Bengali space, Aakash Aath and Colors Bangla swapped their third and fourth positions in BARC data week 47. Oscar Movies Bhojpuri emerged as the new player in the market by securing fifth position in the Bhojpuri space. Star TV retained its first position in the Malayalam market. Star Pravah and Colors Marathi interchanged their second and third position in the Marathi segment. No changes were observed in the Tamil segment. Inthe Telugu space, Star Maa retained its first position.

    Bangla

    Zee Bangla and Star Jalsha continued to be on first and second position with 341281impressions '000s and 306895 impressions '000s respectively. Aakash Aath and Colors Bangla swapped their third and fourth positions with 70369 impressions '000s and 62076 impressions '000s respectively. Jalsha Movies retained its fifth position with 54391 impressions '000s.

    Bhojpuri

    Big Ganga, Bhojpuri Cinema, Bhojpuri Dhamaka Dishum, and Housefull Action retained their first, second, third and fourth positions with 41018 impressions '000s, 36234 impressions '000s, 12978 impressions '000s and 7430 impressions '000s respectively. Oscar Movies Bhojpuri emerged as the new player in the market by securing fifth position with 3066 impressions '000s.

    Kannada

    No changes were observed in this segment. Colors Kannada, Zee Kannada, Udaya TV and Udaya Movies continued to be on first, second, third and fourth positions respectively with 432688 impressions '000s, 397867 impressions '000s, 221721 impressions '000s and 194712 impressions '000s. Colors Super emerged as the new player in the market by securing fifth position with 139019 impressions '000s.

    Malayalam

    Asianet, the Malayalam general entertainment channel from Star TV retained its first position with 268962 impressions '000s. Flowers TV, Mazhavil Manorama, Surya TV and Asianet Movies stood at second, third, fourth and fifth positions with 106161 impressions '000s, 93434 impressions '000s, 81846 impressions '000s and 68645 impressions '000s.

    Marathi

    Zee Marathi continued to be on the first position with 393374 impressions '000s. Star Pravah and Colors Marathi interchanged their second and third positions respectively with 150376 impressions '000s and 141146 impressions '000s. Zee Talkies and Zee Yuva retained their fourth and fifth positions with 118868 impressions '000s and 44237 impressions '000s respectively.

    Tamil

    No changes were observed in the Tamil space. Sun TV, Zee Tamil, Star Vijay and KTV and Adithya TV retained their first, second, third and fourth positions respectively with 924931impressions '000s, 503690 impressions '000s, 477806 impressions '000s, 396159 impressions '000s and 110022 impressions '000s.

    Telugu

    Star Maa retained its first position with 636790 impressions '000s. ETV Telugu, Zee Telugu, Gemini TV and Gemini Movies stood at second, third, fourth and fifth positions respectively with 502893 impressions '000s, 502117 impressions '000s, 461255 impressions '000s and 211530 impressions '000s.

  • A mother’s resolve to protect her child from deceptive evil forces – COLORS Bangla presents, NISHIR DAK

    A mother’s resolve to protect her child from deceptive evil forces – COLORS Bangla presents, NISHIR DAK

    MUMBAI: It is believed that a mother can defy even death to safeguard her child. Nishir Dak is one such story that showcases immense courage and undying will of a mother who will go to any lengths to save her daughter from the evil spirit – Nishi.

    Nishir Dak or Call of the Night spirit is a very common paranormal belief in Bengal. A spirit that lures its victim into the unknown by calling out to him in a familiar voice. Tethering between reality and the paranormal world, the show promises to send shivers down the spine with its near-to-life storytelling. Starting Monday, December 3 at 8:30pm, the show will keep viewers on the edge of their seats and jolt them through this journey. 

    Commenting on the new show, Rahul Chakravarti, Business Head – COLORS Bangla & Odia said, “Supernatural shows have a well-established fanbase amongst viewers, but the poignant storyline and mystical elements in Nishir Dak, will go beyond the conventional fanbase, appealing to all viewers. At COLORS BANGLA, quality content has always been our focus, and we continue to push the boundaries by bringing in only the best to our viewers. Bringing Nishir Dak at the 8:30 pm slot, the channel presents viewers a refreshing storyline that will appeal to all thrill seekers.”

    Talking about the show, Sahana, Creative Director, SVF Television said, "Nishir Daak is a story of war between good and evil. It is the story of Tara, the blessed child and her fight against the Dark Force, Nishi. The spooky look of Nishi has been worked upon for months as has been the details of each character. The show will unravel elements of fear, suspense, supernatural incidents and ultimate win of good over evil and dark spirit that will keep viewers hooked.”

    Nishir Dak narrates the story of the five-year-old abandoned and scared Tara played by Guddi who finds protection in the caring arms of Sreemoyee. Played by Tumpa Ghosh, Sreemoyee’s maternal instincts cajole her to adopt Tara and protect her from all that may come to harm. Unknown to the world, Tara’s fate is eclipsed by the curse of evil spirits as a necromancer – Agharnath is determined to sacrifice Tara to attain immortality. Making a grand return to the small screen, Sauriti Banerjee portrays the role of Nishi, is Agarnath’s evil myrmidon tasked to bring Tara to him. Completing the blockbuster ensemble cast of the show, Subhankar Saha plays the role of Rudra.

  • Media Worldwide launches Bangla Talkies

    Media Worldwide launches Bangla Talkies

    MUMBAI: Music channel network, Media Worldwide Ltd has announced the launch of an all new channel Bangla Talkies.

    The music channel network launched with Sangeet Bangla in the year 2005, a Bengali music television channel. Since its inception, Media Worldwide has grown to a 5-channel network with Music India, Sangeet Bangla, Sangeet Bhojpuri, Sangeet Marathi and now Bangla Talkies added to the portfolio.

    Bangla Talkies will be a back to back Bengali music channel with 100 per cent exclusive content available on no other channel. It will be airing all time bangla hits with a collection never ever seen on any Bengali music channel.

    Media Worldwide Ltd co-founder Mahendra Soni said, “I am delighted to announce the launch of our latest channel in the Media Worldwide network called Bangla Talkies. It is with immense pleasure that I speak of the growth story of Media Worldwide from its inception to having 5 channels under its brand name today. Media Worldwide envisions providing wholesome entertainment of the vibrant music and film industry to a country of over a billion people in the language, ethos and culture which we all celebrate and are proud of.”

  • Broadcasters see regional adex space growing

    Broadcasters see regional adex space growing

    MUMBAI: Now that the Hindi fervour has died down, broadcasters and advertisers have latched on to the regional segment. It's no wonder that the adex in the space is expected to grow as well.

    According to the global ad growth forecast of GroupM, India’s adex is expected to grow at 14.2 per cent compared to the global growth average of 3.9 per cent in 2019 and is likely to change. Indian adex has grown by 13.2 per cent in 2018 as per estimates by the media agency network. Moreover, according to the KPMG report 2018, regional and Hindi GECs continued to be the leading genres in terms of advertisement expenditure in FY18. However, the adex on Hindi GECs declined by 9 per cent in FY18 as compared to an increase of 5.4 per cent in adex on regional channels, outlining the overall growth of the regional market in India.

    Throwing light on the Tamil and Marathi genre, they saw a marginal decline of 2 per cent and 9 per cent respectively while other major regional languages such as Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Malayalam and Oriya, saw a growth in their contribution to the overall adex in FY18. This indicates that other regional languages are picking up quick.

    In Februrary 2018, Viacom18 entered the Tamil GEC market with the launch of Colors Tamil, with an availability across 11 million households in Tamil Nadu and 22 hours of weekly original content at launch.  

    Commenting on the same, Viacom18 head regional entertainment Ravish Kumar said that part of it could possibly be caused by the FTA channels which have come up in Hindi. The viewership has moved to them and that has led to margin dilution as opposed to margin accretion. “On the regional space, you must have seen a lot of consolidation on the top end so where the strong are getting stronger and the weak are getting weaker, more margins are analysed which normally means that the ability to command high rates are high.” He added that it is backed up with a lot of investment in formats like reality, movie premiers or events which typically tend to command higher rates.

    He further added that the growth in regional space is in double digits. Commenting on the decline in Tamil and Marathi, Kumar said that the ratings of regional channels have only increased steadily over the years and short term ups and downs are expected.

    The other factors that would aid adex growth are big ticket events such as several state elections, government advertising and cricketing events. FMCG continues to contribute 51 per cent to the total television spends followed by telecom 12 per cent and auto 8 per cent that helped reach a growth of Rs 820 crore in television adex in 2017. Hindi GECs, including FTA, contributed 28 per cent of overall television adex and Hindi is by far the largest contributor to television adex.

    As per the report, Times Network MD and CEO MK Anand said, “2018 will be a good year for adex overall. The economy has more or less come to terms with the earlier disruptions. We don’t expect any major new policy changes since it’s an election-eve year. And not to forget, the 2017 base is a depressed one. So growth will be decent.”

    Speaking about the Bengali cluster, Zee Bangla had recently refreshed its channel’s campaign by observing a wide surge in the viewership off late. Meanwhile, in an interview with Indiantelevision.com, ZEEL business head for Zee Bangla and Zee Bangla Cinema Samrat Ghosh said that in terms of ad space, it has observed a good amount of contribution to the national players as well as the local players and it sees a lot of opportunity in West Bengal in the GEC space in terms of viewership. “As I have already said that the Bengal TV viewership is growing at a CAGR of 5 per cent whereas the ad expenditure is growing at 13 per cent.”

    Adding more relevance to Ghosh’s point, ZEEL cluster head regional markets Amit Shah said that the total Bengali TV ad market is pegged at Rs 1000 crore with 90 per cent of the spends going towards Bengal GECs. “National advertisers are seeing a lot of merit in choosing Bengal for their incremental purpose where the national brand is concerned. Now, most companies divide the country into zones. According to that division, East zone in most cases is growing faster than the rest of the country which itself means that there is some good momentum in the market.”

    Whereas, in terms of Kerala market ZEEL CMO Prathyusha Agarwal said that South GECs is a larger universe with larger audience. “It actually contributes 33 per cent viewership of the network and 23 per cent of the adex share. Hence, there is scope to grow there. The total adex in the Kerala market is estimated to be Rs 650-700 crore.”

    As per the reports, with increasing focus on quality content in the regional markets, the production costs also saw an increase in FY’18. The production cost of a single original episode in the southern languages ranged between Rs 1.75-2 lakh and the acquisition price for a single ready dubbed Hindi series episode was between Rs 35,000-50,000 per episode. The proportion of local advertisers in regional channels ranges from 40-60 per cent, with the remaining being national advertisers, and this mix is skewed in favour of local advertisers for regional GECs outside the top three to four.

    Star India south business MD K Madhavan said, “The content costs saw an increase in FY18 on account of significant improvements in the quality and production value of regional content. For non-fiction properties like Big Boss Tamil, the content costs were significantly higher, an indicator of the quality that audiences are now expecting.”

    It remains to be seen what does the year 2019 have to say to the broadcasters about adex in the near future.

  • Regional becoming the focus for festive advertising

    Regional becoming the focus for festive advertising

    MUMBAI: The last quarter of the year is the best season for everyone. The festive rush not only excites consumers but even brands and advertisers. Television viewership increases and the overall growth in advertising also witnesses an uptake during the festive season. Especially today when regional space is growing by leaps and bounds, broadcasters enjoy traction across channels in terms of viewership.

    Holidays and special programming during festivals, such as Dussehra and Diwali, lead to increased viewership on TV, making it the right time for these advertisers to catch the attention of their target audience. Regional affinity also means using local languages for communication, which makes the brand more relevant and more relatable. An industry expert said that it is expected to be a healthy overall growth of around 10-12 per cent during these occasions.

    Having looked at the advertiser appetite for the festive season, we now set to explore the viewership on festival days. The first stop is the region wise contribution to festivals celebrated in the Hindi speaking markets across the year. According to the BARC data 2018, Maharashtra, UP / Uttarakhand followed by Guj / D&D / DNH and MPCG and are the biggest contributors to viewership on festival days. Festival viewership is on the rise in 2018 as compared to 2017. For 2018, Holi and Janmashtami viewership in HSM markets have increased by 19 per cent and 29 per cent respectively.

    Hindi is the most preferred choice by the audiences that contributes 70 per cent of total viewership. Marathi and Bangla channels stack up next in viewership after Hindi channels.

    Bangla channels in the 2017 festive season grew at 3 times the pace of the previous year. Leading national broadcasters have upped their investments in the south zone where content is driven by language. The multi feed channel strategy led by the kids’ genre seems to be working, as the viewership by kids increases due to the schools being shut during festivals. Share of English channels on festivals has dropped over the years.

    According to reports, festive seasons contribute 40 per cent of annual sales as companies spend heavily on promotions to make the best use of the biggest shopping opportunity of the year. Starting with Ganesh Chaturthi and Onam, it witnesses a boost during Diwali, followed till Christmas which accounts almost 40 per cent of overall advertising expenditure every year.

    Now, what’s interesting is, as per the reports, there’s a sharp dip in ads immediately after the festive season. In 2015, ad spots on TV, in the period post-Diwali, dropped by 13 per cent. In 2016 and 2017 it dropped by 22 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.

    With the current festive season ongoing, brands are yet again milking the season well. With discounts, offers and sale season at its peak, the sector is at its best.

  • Zee Kannada unveils new brand proposition

    Zee Kannada unveils new brand proposition

    MUMBAI: Zee Kannada has unveiled a new brand identity and launched its HD version. The launch took place in a grand ceremony at the Zee Kutumba Awards 2018.

    Based on the insights from extensive consumer research, Zee Kannada understood that the Kannadiga woman has always been nurturing and caring, but her canvas of expression for ages was limited to a homemaker. The network has revealed its new brand proposition, 'Bayasid'dha Bāgilu Tegiyōṇa', which translates to “Open Doors to Possibilities”, to inspire viewers, especially women, to take initiatives and rise above circumstances to craft their own destiny.

    Zee Kannada business head Raghavendra Hunsur said, “Over the last 12 years, Zee Kannada has earned the dominance of being the entertainment hub in the Kannada television market. With a refreshed brand purpose, we strive to inspire our viewers to break their barriers and look beyond their limits to achieve the unachievable. Synonymous with the Kannadiga pride, Zee Kannada will stimulate women with progressive and onward-looking entertaining content, featuring bold and determined characters that echo the channel’s new brand image. We are bringing new shows and extending our prime time shows on weekends to amplify the viewing experience. Our fiction shows will be taking dramatic turns to bring alive the brand proposition and the journey going forward is going to be very exciting and inspiring.”

    He added, “We are also glad to announce on this occasion the launch of Zee Kannada HD, which was much desired by our viewers and we are hoping to enhance their content viewing experience further with the HD channel.”

    Echoing the new brand positioning of Zee Kannada, the channel will undergo a transformation with the key existing fiction and non-fiction shows. Kamali, Brahmagantu, Jodi Hakki, Subbalakshmi Samsara, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Season 15, and Shree Vishnu Dashavatara will witness significant plots that would bring alive the brand promise. A new fiction show launch is scheduled for later this year – Paru, the story of a poor girl falling in love with a rich boy and having to overcome limitations in a home that thrives in a strong class conflict scenario.

    As part of this campaign, Zee Kannada will bring to life its refreshed brand promise with a brand film that showcases a housewife who breaks the limits in her mind and learns how to ride a two-wheeler, to get her daughter to her tuition classes on time; how her husband is supportive of this decision of hers and how this new opportunity contributes to the betterment of the family, forms the crux of the film. The background score to the film has been sung by Bombay Jayshree.

    Zee Kannada refresh is accompanied by a brand-new logo, and a refreshed look for the channel on-air, as well as off-air. Zee Kannada’s new logo and packaging is based on the theme of radiance that transforms, bursting with inspiring energy, enthusiasm and warmth.

    The campaign breaks with an extensive multimedia plan, unfolding across television, trade, print, radio, outdoor, mobile, cable, digital and on-ground events, for over 8 weeks, covering the length and breadth of Karnataka – all 30 districts, including 8 major towns, ensuring a top-of-mind recall in the minds of the audience.

  • Viacom18 announces new appointments to boost regional cluster

    Viacom18 announces new appointments to boost regional cluster

    MUMBAI: Viacom18 has announced a series of senior level hires for its regional TV cluster, bolstering its creative and content capabilities ahead of its plans to fortify its position across markets.

    Viacom18 head regional TV network Ravish Kumar said, “Regional is a big growth driver for Viacom18 as a network. The challenge, as well as the opportunity, lies in the diversity that regional as a space demands. While the different businesses of the organisation synergise to produce great content, each region and role require talented and committed people who understand the nuances typical to their regions. Each of the leaders, who have joined our regional entertainment space, is a stalwart in his/her space and role. I am excited that together, we can further strengthen our offering to our discerning viewers.”

    Deepak Rajyadhakshya has been appointed as Colors Marathi head. He has more than 18 years of experience in broadcast and entertainment, ranging across creative and business roles. He joined Viacom18 from the Zee Network where he headed the business for Zee Marathi before moving internally to spearhead the mainline Hindi GEC Zee TV. In his current capacity he will report to Viacom18 business head Marathi entertainment Nikhil Sane.

    Colors Tamil has two pivotal roles filled up with the inclusion of Raj Kannan as head, programming and Radha Ramamurthy as head, ideation. Kannan is an eloquent writer and speaker with 27 years of media experience in multi-channel content strategizing and content creation. Prior to joining Viacom18, he was working with the Vikatan Media Group as its brands and themes editor-in-chief where he played a distinctive part in handling the entire gamut of business in print and visual mediums. 

    Ramamurthy has 11 years of professional expertise in ideating and executing televised shows and events, brand building, marketing strategy and communications across diversified industries – Media, FMCG and Retail. She helps businesses connect with clients and consumers in novel and productive ways by bringing about mutually profitable interactions between these intersectional groups. Prior to joining Viacom18 she was working with Vikatan Media Group as their head of events and brand connect. She has also worked with Zee Tamil, Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd and Spencer’s Retail in the past. At Viacom18 both will be reporting to Colors Tamil business head Anup Chandrasekharan.

    For Colors Bangla, the network has appointed Aratrika Bhaumik as head, ideation. With 13 years of experience, Bhaumik has worked for more than a decade at Star India at the national as well as regional bases. 

    Also, Jayanta Bhattacharya has come onboard as head, OAP for Colors Bangla. With 16 years of experience, Bhattacharya moves in from Zee Bangla where he oversaw promo ideation. At Colors Bangla, Bhaumik and Bhattacharya will be in charge of scaling up the channel’s offerings under the guidance of Colors Bangla and Colors Odia head creative and content Suvonkar Banerjee.

    Previously working as the marketing head at the ABP group, Biswarup Das has joined Viacom18 as head marketing for Colors Bangla and Colors Odia. With 17 years of work experience under his belt, Das will spearhead the brand marketing and strategy for the channels and will work towards enhancing the strategic brand framework, brand architecture, and experience in the field. He will report to Viacom18 Bangla and Odia entertainment business head Rahul Chakravarti.

    In the Kannada Entertainment space, Abhaya Simha has been appointed as head –digital for Kannada Entertainment. Simha is a film director and a screenwriter. An alumnus of FTII – Pune, Abhaya’s debut venture, He has also worked with Star Suvarna and Prajavani and is a visiting faculty at many prestigious colleges across South India. At Viacom18, he will be responsible for incubating original concepts and shows in the Kannada language for VOOT. In his current capacity he will report to Viacom18 Kannada entertainment business head Parameshwar Bhat.

    For the cluster’s Gujarati space, Darshil Bhatt has joined as the programming head for Gujarati entertainment. Bhatt has 11 years of experience in the media industry. In his last stint with 94.3 MY FM as programming head he was responsible for leading and managing music, content, client solutions, brand marketing, programming, digital and production for 3 major stations. At Viacom18 he will be responsible for increasing the visibility and perception of the Gujarati entertainment vertical of the network. He will report to Kumar.

  • Sun TV moots 50% interim dividend as numbers jump in Q2

    Sun TV moots 50% interim dividend as numbers jump in Q2

    BENGALURU: Sun TV Network Ltd (Sun TV) reported improved year-on-year (y-o-y) standalone numbers across all important parameters for the quarter ended 30 September 2018 (Q2 2019, quarter or period under review) as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year (Q2 2018). The company reported 13.8 percent higher y-o-y standalone total income in the quarter under review at Rs 811.67 crore as compared to Rs 713.13 crore in Q2 2018. Standalone operating revenue increased 10.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 749.55 crore in Q2 2019 from Rs 675.90 crore in Q2 2018.The board of directors of the company has declared an interim dividend of 50 percent (Rs 2.50 per equity share) for the quarter under review as compared to100 percent or Rs 5 per equity share of face value of Rs 5 each in the immediate trailing quarter Q1 2019. This means that during the six month period ending 30 September 2018 (H1 2019), the company has declared dividends to the extent of 150 percent.

    The company has stated in its earnings release that standalone subscription revenue at Rs 311.27 crore was up 21.33 percent y-o-y.
     

    The company’s standalone profit after tax or PAT in Q2 2019 improved 23.4 percent y-o-y to Rs 351.32 crore as compared to Rs 284.67 crore in Q2 2019.

    Sun TV standalone EBITDA in Q2 2019 was Rs 553.97 crore (70.5 percent of operating revenue), 11.8 percent higher as compared to Rs 495.69 crore (63 percent of operating revenue) in Q1 2018. Total comprehensive income or TCI for the quarter under review was up 23.4 percent y-o-y at Rs 351.38 crore as compared to Rs 284.73 crore in Q2 2018.

    Total Expenditure (TE) during the period under review reduced 1.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 278.04 crore as compared to Rs 283.96 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

    Operating expense in Q2 2019 incresed 40.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 90.11 crore from Rs 64.08 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Employee Benefits Expense in Q2 2019 reduced 5.1 percent y-o-y to Rs 73.47 crore as compared to Rs 77.39 crore in Q2 2018. Other expenses (OE) in the Q2 2019 reduced 16.5 percent to Rs 32 crore as compared to Rs 38.34 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
     

    SunRisers Hyderabad adds to operating profits of Sun TV
     

    Sun TV paid 16.6 percent lower IPL Franchisee Fees in H1 2019 at Rs 71.33 crore as compared to Rs 85.48 crore in H1 2019. Sun TV’s IPL franchise had turned operationally profitable as per the notes in Sun TV’s financial statement  for Q1 2019. The company has included income of Rs 386.28 crore from Sun Risers Hyderabad and costs incurred on it of Rs 187.20 crore in its H1 2019 numbers. Corresponding numbers for Sun Risers Hyderabad for the year ago half year (H1 2018) were income of Rs 143.20 crore and costs of Rs 165.82 crore.

  • Zee Telugu launches new fiction show – Prema

    Zee Telugu launches new fiction show – Prema

    MUMBAI: In-line with Zee Telugu’s recent brand refresh that encourages women to take an initial step to make big difference in their lives, the channel is launching a new fiction show called Prema. The story of an independent woman, Prema, who is the sole earning member of her family due to circumstances, has further obligations coming her way. The ownership that Prema exhibits for all challenges that come her way is the reason viewers are bound to be engrossed with the launch starting 5th November at 8 PM, only on Zee Telugu and ZeeTelugu HD.

    Peter and Laxmi are a happily married pair with a 3-year old daughter. Unlike Laxmi, Peter hails from a poor family. Though being an inter-caste marriage, everything runs well until Peter and Laxmi lose their lives in an accident, leaving Peter’s sister, Prema in charge of their daughter. Prema (played the popular actor Princy, marking her first project with Zee) who aspires to become a singer, is the only breadwinner of her family and earns a living by singing in a church. Laxmi comes from a rich family with a step-mother (Indira) and a step-sister (Shivagni) who are the master-minds behind planning Laxmi’s death to own her property. Laxmi’s family misunderstand Prema for a thief and defame her in a family event due to Prema’s alcoholic father’s habit of embezzlement. Having his doubts on Prema, Laxmi’s brother, Pranay (played by Nirupam Paritala, who has worked in Gruhapravesam and Mooga Manasulu earlier) decides to take responsibility of the daughter, being unaware of Indira and Shivagni’s (played by Sravani, popularly known for her role as Samanya in America Ammayi) plan. Watch the story unfold as Prema and Pranay individually fight for the right to possession of the daughter against all family odds.

    With the launch Prema, Na Kodalu Bangaram will be moved to 2:30 PM and Bava Maradallu will be telecast at 6:00 PM starting 5th November.

  • SITI Networks declares superlative growth on quarterly and y-o-y basis

    SITI Networks declares superlative growth on quarterly and y-o-y basis

    MUMBAI: SITI Networks Limited (BSE: 532795, NSE: SITINET), an Essel Group company, with 55Mn+ consumers and presence across 580+ locations in India, has released its Consolidated Financial Results for Q2FY19, ending September 30, 2018, showcasing superlative growth across all metrics, both quarterly and year-on- year.

    SITI’s Operating EBITDA grew 2.52x over second quarter of last fiscal, a 24% quarterly growth, and the highest in last 10 quarters to Rs. 682 Mn. SITI’s Operating EBITDA Margin also expanded by 2.1x to 18.2% in Q2FY19.

    Subscription revenue surged ~ 1.25x to Rs. 2,548 Mn in Q2FY19, aided by the strong growth in Digital Subscription ARPU, which leapt 19%. This ARPU growth is across DAS phases, with SITI’s strong presence in Phase 3 and 4 showing 27% and 43% growth respectively.

    On quarterly basis, SITI has demonstrated a significant growth on all the financial metrics. Operating EBITDA has jumped by 1.24x while Operating Margins expanded 150 bps over the previous quarter. Subscription Revenue registered a sharp growth of ~19% sequentially over the last quarter. With consistent focus on last mile operations, SITI achieved subscription collection efficiency of 95%.

    In the quarter ending September 2018, SITI continued its new customer acquisitions by adding 3 lakh new Digital Subscribers, with current Active Subscriber base at 11.75 Mn. SITI has launched PlayTop, its 1st Hybrid Set Top Box, in line with its “Customer First” strategy. SITI will be introducing a range of innovative converged offerings over the coming quarters.

    SITI announced its partnership with Paytm, India’s largest digital payment company to provide multiple digital payment options to its customers and attractive cashback benefits in select areas. SITI Networks’ has also made Paytm’s digital payment facility available to its 24,000+ distribution partners across the country who can make online payments through various modes on the SITI Networks website.

    Hon’ble Supreme Court has paved way for the introduction of the new tariff order. Provisions of the order are aimed to increase transparency, and create a level playing field. In preparation for successful implementation of the Tariff Order, SITI has been working on Smart Tiered Packaging and has undertaken significant technological and process enhancements while ensuring training and education for all stakeholders.

    While commenting on the results, Mr. Rajesh Sethi of SITI Networks Limited mentioned –

    “SITI Q2FY19 performance has been strong and phenomenal with all round growth across all operational metrics. 2.52x growth in Operating EBITDA and 2.1x expansion in the margins is a testament to strong operational focus of the team. SITI’s Digital Subscriber ARPU went up by 19% and Subscription Collection efficiency improved to 95% in this quarter. This ARPU leap has been broad-based across the country to ensure consistent growth in Subscription Income in the coming quarters.

    SITI has always been the leader in innovation for its customers and partners. This quarter, we launched SITI PlayTop, our 1st Hybrid Set Top Box. This has been received extremely well by our customers and partners, and we intend to roll out more such boxes over the coming quarters. Taking our Customer First commitment ahead, SITI has partnered with Paytm to bring multitude of digital payment solutions for our customers. We are working with various partners across the spectrum to bring benefits of convergence to our customers.

    New Tariff order enables customers to subscribe channels of their choice and brings pricing parity across various platforms. This is very positive move for the long term ARPU growth of the ecosystem. SITI is fully prepared to implement the Tariff Order and well aligned to drive EBITDA and Margins expansion based on our Profitable Growth Strategy.”