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Tag: Adil Zainulbhai

  • Network18 turns up the volume on growth with a golden quarter

    Network18 turns up the volume on growth with a golden quarter

    MUMBAI: In a quarter where the media landscape was static at best, Network18 managed to change the channel to growth. The company’s second-quarter results for FY26 show that while much of the news industry wrestled with weak ad demand, Network18 found its own breaking news: a 7.2 per cent year-on-year rise in operating revenue, clocking Rs 477.2 crore in Q2 FY26, up from Rs 445.3 crore a year earlier and Rs 430.4 crore in the previous quarter.

    The bump came despite a 7 per cent dip in TV news inventory demand, hinting that the network’s improved pricing yields and robust market position helped it stay ahead of the curve. For an industry still feeling the aftershocks of cautious advertiser sentiment, Network18’s showing signals a quiet revival, one that could pick up further pace through Q3 and Q4.

    But the quarter wasn’t just about numbers, it was also about narrative. Cementing its leadership in regional news, Network18 acquired the remaining 50 per cent stake in IBN Lokmat News pvt. ltd. (IBNL) for Rs 25 crore, making News18 Lokmat a wholly owned subsidiary. The Marathi news powerhouse has seen strong revenue growth over the past three years and continues to reign supreme in the Marathi segment.

    For viewers, the move means a smoother experience across TV and digital; for the network, it’s another piece in the puzzle of regional dominance. “This acquisition strengthens our market-leading portfolio of national and regional news channels,” said Network18 chairman Adil Zainulbhai. “Our mission is to be the one-stop news destination for audiences across India.”

    Beyond news, the company is expanding into new frontiers. Moneycontrol, its flagship digital platform, has been building serious fintech muscle. Lending has emerged as a key growth engine, and its partnership with HDFC Bank, announced at the Global Fintech Festival 2025, adds further heft positioning Moneycontrol as India’s largest and most trusted financial destination.

    Meanwhile, Creator18, the network’s newest vertical, is crafting a future beyond headlines, one built on hashtags and human stories. The platform has already worked with over 1,000 creators, managing many exclusively, and is building what could become one of India’s largest creator ecosystems. From influencer campaigns to social-first storytelling, Creator18 is expanding Network18’s reach into lifestyle, culture, and commerce areas that increasingly shape public conversation.

    Network18’s 20-channel portfolio, which includes 14 regional channels, makes it the largest TV news network in India by both reach and viewership. And even as overall revenue growth for the first half of FY26 stayed broadly flat, the company’s tight cost control kept operating expenses steady, a sign of resilience in an uneven market.

    In an industry that thrives on breaking news, Network18 seems to have created some of its own from acquisition-led regional growth to digital diversification and creator-led storytelling. The message is clear: while others are still buffering, Network18 is already streaming into the future.

  • Network18’s Moneycontrol hits 10 crore visitors in October

    Network18’s Moneycontrol hits 10 crore visitors in October

    Mumbai: Moneycontrol achieved the milestone of surpassing 10 crore (100 million) unique visitors in October 2024, according to data from Google.

    Moneycontrol’s combination of stock markets data, financial tools, exclusive research on stocks and markets and business news that matters, backed by the power of transactions, has made it an irresistible proposition. Moneycontrol Pro, the platform’s premium subscription service, recently crossed one million subscribers, placing it among the world’s top 15. It has added cutting-edge features every few months to help savvy investors stay on top of markets. The Moneycontrol app is used by over 70 lakh ( seven million) active users per month and is growing rapidly.

    “This is a monumental milestone and Moneycontrol has broken the ceiling as India’s premier digital finance platform,’ said Network 18 chairman Adil Zainulbhai. “This achievement reflects high consumer confidence in the cutting-edge markets data tools and content we offer on Moneycontrol which help users invest their money more smartly.”  

    “The fact that over 10 crore people chose to use Moneycontrol in just one month is a great vote of confidence in the quality of our content and the value it adds for retail investors looking to make investment decisions,’ said Moneycontrol managing editor Nalin Mehta. 

  • Network18: mixed financial performance in Q2 FY 2025

    Network18: mixed financial performance in Q2 FY 2025

    MUMBAI: That the television industry is going through a rough phase has been talked about ad nauseum. Normally, the June-September quarter is subdued -especially in media and entertainment – with the monsoons setting in and most categories slowing down on their ad spends. But, in 2025, the spends were even further muted despite some tentpole properties being shown on television. Or at least that’s what the media pundits are saying. And this is reflected in the Q2 FY 2025 consolidated financials of the Reliance Industries-owned Network18 Media.

    Network18 Media’s losses have climbed to Rs 1520 million as against Rs 1190 million in the corresponding period of FY2024. Revenues too have marginally dropped to Rs  18,250 million (Rs 18,6600 million in Q2FY 2024). For Q2 FY2025, the company has tightened its belt and reduced its operational costs to Rs 10,670 million (Rs 12,380 million). However, its marketing, distribution and promotional expenses have climbed to Rs 5020 million (Rs 3,720 million); its finance costs have escalated to Rs 1,700 million (Rs 660 million).

    On a half yearly basis, the financials to 30 September 2024 look more respectable. H1 FY2025 profit is at Rs 490 million as compared to a loss of Rs 270 million in H1 FY 2022. The company has turned up a profit despite a drop in revenues to Rs 49,660 million (Rs 51,040 million). It has managed to put a handle on operational expenses which fell to Rs 33,690 million (Rs 36,040 million). However, its marketing, promotion and distribution costs have shot up to Rs 10,120 million (Rs 8,970 million). Employee benefit costs too have risen to Rs 7010 million (Rs 6650 million). Finance costs have more than doubled to Rs 3,200 million (Rs 1,340 million).

    The company said in the a press release posted on the Bombay stock exchange that the news portfolio revenue grew only six per cent primarily driven by growth in digital segment ad revenue across all platforms (Rs 4450 million against Rs 4220 million in Q2 FY 2024). TV advertising was soft during the quarter as industry advertising volumes for the news genre declined by 20 per cent YoY. News’ share in overall advertising inventory consumption also declined by over 200 bps YoY and QoQ.

    Its entertainment vertical  under Viacom18 saw a decline in operating revenue of five per cent during Q2 FY 2025  primarily due to the drop in movie segment revenue. In Q2FY24, Viacom18 Studios had released two big-ticket movies whereas there were no movies released this quarter, which had an impact of Rs 3300 million on the revenue. Growth in ad revenue was primarily driven by digital, across both sports and non-sports segment (Rs 4450 million vs Rs 4200 million). Entertainment TV revenue was shaved to Rs 13,390 million (Rs 14,160 million). This was largely offset by growth in subscription revenue (Rs 7,330 million vs Rs 5110 million) aided by new pricing as well as the increased monetisation of its sports portfolio.

    JioCinema’s recently launched SVOD plans witnessed strong traction and helped it become the fastest-growing subscription-based OTT platform in the country.

    The good news for the company is that The scheme of arrangement for the merger of Network18, TV18 Broadcast Ltd. (TV18) and e-Eighteen.com (E18) became effective on 3 October 2024.  The merger creates India’s largest platform-agnostic news media powerhouse with the widest widest footprint across languages, straddling both TV and digital.  

    The network has a monthly reach of over 350 million on TV and around 250 million monthly unique visitors across its digital portfolio. As consumers and advertisers increasingly gravitate towards omni-channel experiences across different aspects of their lives, having a deep and integrated presence across both TV and digital media will enable the merged entity to serve them better.  The combination of the businesses will result in operational synergies, cost optimization and opportunities for increased revenue realization.

    “We are happy to have completed the merger of our news businesses. With a strong portfolio of TV channels and digital platforms, covering the breadth of the country and catering to its linguistic diversity, we are ideally positioned to become the most preferred news network of India. We are committed to push boundaries of and lead the growth of the industry as we build on this strong foundation,” said Network18,chairman Adil Zainulbhai.
     

  • TV18’s news vertical registers 20 per cent revenue growth in Q2 FY24

    TV18’s news vertical registers 20 per cent revenue growth in Q2 FY24

    Mumbai: TV18 Broadcast Ltd has announced its results for the quarter ended 30 September 2023.

    Viacom18 becomes ‘the destination’ for sports in India

    Viacom18, in its quest to become the primary destination for sports in India, continues to  aggregate rights of leading sports properties. With acquisition of exclusive media rights for  the BCCI International and Domestic matches, it has become the home of India cricket. The  rights include international men’s, women’s, and other domestic first-class competitions like Ranji Trophy. Viacom18 acquired both the Indian sub-continent and global television and  digital rights for the next 5 years for Rs 5,963 crores.

    As the most loved sports in India, cricket (BCCI, IPL) will enable the Company to drive a  step jump in audience footfalls, especially on JioCinema, as live sports consumption  continues to pivot towards digital. Broadcast rights will strengthen the Company’s channel  bouquet and will enable it to broaden its broadcast content portfolio and serve quality content to all its viewers. With the new features launched during IPL, Viacom18 has enhanced the Indian viewer experience like never before, and it will continue to drive  innovations to delight its audience.  

    Viacom18 also added the Indian Super League, the highest level of the Indian football league  system, to its portfolio. With a constellation of marquee sports properties like IPL, WPL,  Olympics 2024, SA20, Major League Cricket (MLC), Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), NBA,  Diamond League, World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023, MotoGP, La Liga,  Ligue1, Serie A, Abu Dhabi T10, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and top BWF events,  Viacom18 has established itself as India’s #1 destination for sports.

    JioCinema takes the entertainment streaming game to the next level

    JioCinema is quickly scaling up as one of the leading streaming platforms for entertainment  content. The second season of India’s most popular reality show in a digital-exclusive  format, Bigg Boss OTT, became the biggest ever reality show on digital, with record  concurrency and voting during the finale. The season wrapped up with 100 mn viewers  consuming 30 bn minutes of content on smartphones and CTVs. User engagement was at  an unprecedented level with 5.4 bn votes logged through the season, highlighting the scale  and connect of the show with users. The grand finale was the most streamed live  entertainment event in India with 23 mn viewers and a peak concurrency of 7.2 mn. During  the 15 minutes live voting window for selecting top 2 finalists, 250 mn votes were received. • Popular network reality shows also saw an exponential growth in digital consumption. Khatron Ke Khiladi S13 saw 2x viewers and 1.5x video views compared to the previous  season and Roadies S19 delivered 7x viewers and 4x watch-time of the previous season. • Original shows released during the quarter also garnered wide reach and engagement.  Taali (starring Sushmita Sen) featured in ‘Top 10 OTT Originals of the Week1’ for more than  5 weeks in a row. The show reached a record 20 mn viewers in the first week of release.  Kaalkoot also featured among ‘Top 10 OTT Originals of the Week1’ for 3 weeks in a row  and was watched by 25 mn viewers.

    TV18 News Network maintains dominance in key markets; Entertainment network share  strengthened viewership share by 50 bps

    TV18 News continued to be the highest reach network in the country, reaching ~190 mn  people around the country every week. The network maintained its leadership position in  key markets with CNBC TV18, News18 India, and CNN News18 being the #1 channels in their respective genres. TV18 was also the leader in primetime in the Hindi speaking  markets, solidifying its position as the network of choice in the region. The network had  leadership in 5 regional markets, including UP/Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, MP/Chhatisgarh.  News18 Lokmat, the Marathi language channel, climbed viewership charts to become the  second ranked channel, driven by the programming initiatives launched over the past year.  

    TV network share increased by 50 bps to 10.5%, driven by the performance of Sports and  Movies channels. Colors was the #2 channel in primetime with 18% market share and exited  the quarter with 2 of its fiction shows featuring in the top 10 list. Colors Kannada continued  to be a strong #2 channel in the Kannada genre. Viacom18 Studios released Rocky Rani  Ki Prem Kahani and OMG 2 during the quarter, and both the movies were commercially  successful as well as critically acclaimed.

    Strong growth in revenue as the company continues to make investments in growth  businesses

    TV news network delivered a strong growth in advertising revenue despite the continued  weakness in advertising environment. Excluding government initiatives, the news industry saw  a decline in ad inventory consumption. News18’s revenue growth was underpinned by the  strong viewership share that the network has achieved over the last eighteen months which  has helped it to improve pricing across the network. TV18’s sharp focus on building IP events business has also helped it drive growth in revenue.

    Viacom18 saw a sharp growth in advertising revenue in Sports and Digital segments. Sports  revenue was driven by the two cricket series – West Indies vs India and India vs Australia. Digital revenue was led by original shows like Bigg Boss OTT, Taali, Kaalkoot and TV network shows like Khatron Ke Khiladi. Advertising demand in the entertainment broadcast  segment continues to be soft as spending by consumer goods companies and new-age clients remains weak.

    EBITDA declined as the business made investments in growth verticals – Sports and Digital.  Both these verticals require investments in the near term to build a strong consumer  proposition which will help the Company rise to the leadership position in the cluttered media  landscape. We are building a strong catalog of entertainment content which will leverage  the exponential increase in audience traffic that sports enables. Our endeavor is to make JioCinema the default destination for consumers across the country looking for quality  content.

    TV18 chairman Adil Zainulbhai said, “We continue to take giant steps towards building  the network of choice for Indian consumers. With India cricket rights, Viacom18 now has the  biggest portfolio of sports properties, making it the default choice for sports fans. Our news network  has fortified its positions across the markets which bodes well as we head into the festive season  followed by elections. Our focus continues to be on providing quality content to audience and as  India’s only network with presence across news, entertainment, and sports, we are in a unique  position to serve customers across the country and demographic cohorts.” 

  • Network18’s revenue up by 16.5% YoY at Rs 1657 cr in Q3 FY22

    Network18’s revenue up by 16.5% YoY at Rs 1657 cr in Q3 FY22

    Mumbai: Network18 Media and Investments on Tuesday announced the third-quarter results for FY 2022. The media company reported its highest ever EBITDA at Rs 373 crore with margins of 22.5 per cent. It reported the highest ever quarterly revenue of Rs 1657 crore up by 16.5 per cent year-on-year.

    Network18’s entertainment business margin was at 21.4 per cent and revenue was up by 16 per cent year-on-year. Its TV news business saw a sharp improvement in margin to 27.2 per cent and revenue was up by 13 per cent year-on-year.

    The company’s digital news revenue grew by 41 per cent year-on-year and margins were at 21.2 per cent. Its profit before tax rose by 31 per cent YoY to Rs 337 crore driven by growth in revenue, controlled operational expenditure and lower finance costs.

    “TV industry saw record high advertising volumes in the third quarter driven by strong consumer demand, increased spending by existing brands for a higher share of voice and new advertisers using the medium to widen their reach,” said the company in a statement.

    “domestic subscription revenue for the quarter was flattish YoY while international subscription revenue saw a decline. The implementation timeline of NTO 2.0 regulation was postponed during the quarter by the regulator to 1 April ’22 even as the litigation regarding its validity continued in the Supreme Court of India,” it further added.

    The company’s entertainment business portfolio under Viacom18 is expanding into sports broadcasting by acquiring rights to NBA, footballing events such as FIFA World Cup 2022, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Cinch Premiership, and other sporting events like ATP Masters Tennis, Abu Dhabi T10, World Boxing Championship and Road Safety World Cricket Series.

    Viacom18’s OTT platform Voot reported strong growth in its paid subscriber base during the quarter driven by the new season of Bigg Boss. The show garnered 15 billion+ minutes of watch time (AVOD+SVOD) with a daily TSV of 64 minutes during the quarter.

    The company noted its share of the entertainment network in the non-news genre was 11 per cent with Colors being the second best channel in the pay Hindi GEC genre.

    “We are building a strong and sustainable media franchise which not only delivers quality content to Indian audiences but also value to the shareholders,” said Network18 chairman Adil Zainulbhai. “Over the last few years, we have taken several significant steps which have helped us achieve the turn around on the profitability front and it is really encouraging to see the business now consistently deliver healthy margins, especially the digital news business which has been growing in a profitable manner. As we have seen over the last several years, content consumption is an integral part of consumers’ lives and there is a willingness to spend more time and money, provided they get access to quality content at an affordable price. Also, consumers are increasingly becoming platform-agnostic, with both TV and Digital growing simultaneously. Our endeavor is to cater to all consumers looking for news and entertainment content in their local languages, movies and leading sports events, on platforms of their choice.”

  • Network18 reports 53 per cent EBITDA growth in Q2 FY22

    Network18 reports 53 per cent EBITDA growth in Q2 FY22

    Mumbai: Network18 Media and Investments Ltd has announced its results for the second quarter financial year 2022. The media company reported that the consolidated EBITDA for the quarter grew 53 per cent year-on-year and operating margin at 18.2 per cent.

    The entertainment margin stood at ~19 per cent and excluding film business, revenue was up by 31 per cent YoY. The news margin stood at ~18 per cent and news business revenue was up by 18 per cent YoY. The revenues for digital news rose by 55 per cent YoY and margins at ~17 per cent. Profit after tax rose to ~ Rs 200 crore.

    The company reported that its entertainment broadcast business saw a strong performance in Hindi and select regional markets and that its share of the entertainment portfolio rose 90bps quarter-on-quarter to 11.8 per cent. “This was despite a marginal decline in the entertainment and overall TV viewership, which has now settled at the pre-Covid-19 levels,” it noted.

    It also reported that entertainment revenues surpassed pre-Covid-19 as ad volumes registered strong growth during the quarter. “Having already scaled to FY20 levels in Q1, ad revenue registered a strong growth (vs both FY21, FY20) during the quarter, driven by an action-packed programming calendar that strengthened the network’s viewership share,” the company said.

    According to the company, domestic pay-TV subscription revenue for the quarter was flattish YoY while international pay-TV subscription revenue remains under stress.

    The company confirmed that Viacom18 has acquired the rights to the next FIFA World Cup 2022 to be held in Qatar. It has also acquired rights to three of the five most-watched football leagues in the world – La Liga (Spain), Serie A (Italy), and Ligue 1 (France). It said, “Live sports on broadcast and digital platforms will complement the current entertainment offering and will strengthen the consumer value proposition of the network.”

    The company’s over-the-top platform Voot Select saw a sharp jump in paid subscribers during the quarter, which is attributed to the launch of “Bigg Boss OTT.” The show garnered more than 10 billion minutes of watch time (AVOD+SVOD) over a six-week period. The company reported that Voot was the fastest OTT to reach one million B2C subscribers.

    “This quarter has been quite remarkable, both from a macro as well as company’s point of view. The way the country came out of the grip of the second wave of Covid-19 was truly heartening and equally reassuring was the full-swing return of economic growth,” said Network18 chairman Adil Zainulbhai.

    “The outlook is looking quite promising from a medium-term perspective and this is good news for all our consumer-facing businesses. Our digital assets, both news and entertainment, got a lift during the pandemic and we continue to invest to leverage those gains. With expansion into the sports genre, we have taken a significant step towards scaling up our entertainment portfolio to the next level. This will help establish us as a truly integrated media company across broadcast, OTT, and content studio business spanning general entertainment, news, movies and sports,” he added.

  • Viacom18 appoints Jyoti Deshpande as CEO

    Viacom18 appoints Jyoti Deshpande as CEO

    Mumbai: Viacom18 on Thursday appointed Jyoti Deshpande as chief executive officer with immediate effect. She serves on the boards of Network18 and investee companies Balaji Telefilms and Saavn Media.

    In her new assignment, Deshpande will help bring synergies across all of Reliance’s media interests and investments and further equip the company to drive significant growth opportunities as the industry embraces digital transformation, said the statement.

    “Viacom18 is poised to grow as a truly integrated media company across broadcast, OTT and content studio business spanning general entertainment, movies and sports across languages,” said Network18 chairman Adil Zainulbhai. “Given Jyoti’s rich experience in the media sector around content, distribution and monetisation across traditional and emerging platforms, we believe she is best placed to lead the company and its operations.” 

    Deshpande brings over 27 years of experience in the media and entertainment business. Prior to this, she joined Reliance Industries in 2018 as president – media platform and content, after having successfully built a leading media company and pioneered its early disruptive entry into the OTT space. As a business leader in Reliance, Deshpande in the last three years, has leveraged her industry relationships to establish Jio Studios as a key player in the media value chain.

  • Viacom18 appoints Anil Jayaraj as CEO, sports

    Viacom18 appoints Anil Jayaraj as CEO, sports

    Mumbai: Viacom18 on Thursday announced the appointment of Anil Jayaraj as CEO – sports. He will be leading the media company’s foray into acquisition, broadcasting, and monetisation of sports properties. 

    In his most recent role, Jayaraj was with Star Sports as executive vice president responsible for ad sales, global syndication and cross-screen offer design and measurement. He led his team to deliver business performance across multiple sporting events including Indian Premier League, Cricket World Cup, Pro Kabaddi League, and Indian Super League.

    Previously, he worked at Pidilite Industries as chief marketing officer. Prior to that, he was at BP/Castrol for 16 years in sales and marketing roles based in the UK and India. Jayaraj has been a passionate follower of sports since childhood. He works as a mentor with various start-ups during his free time and conducts sessions/guest lectures on business and marketing at various B-Schools.

    Welcoming Jayaraj on board, Network18 chairman Adil Zainulbhai said, “As a leading media and entertainment network in India, Viacom18 has been dialing up its offerings to tap into whitespaces across platforms. We believe that sports is an important category in our promise to deliver wholesome entertainment to our over 800 million viewers across demographics and geographies. With his rich experience in identifying and building sporting events into high-value sportainment phenomena, Anil is aptly poised to lead our newest sports vertical.”  

    “Sporting events in India have evolved beyond just one or two games with increasing fandom amongst audiences towards newer competitive sports. This democratisation has created an unmatched opportunity for sportainment and I am excited to build Viacom18 network’s foray into sports as a category,” stated Jayaraj.

  • TV18 Broadcast reports Rs 115 crore Q2 net profit

    TV18 Broadcast reports Rs 115 crore Q2 net profit

    NEW DELHI: TV18 Broadcast Ltd has reported a net profit of Rs 115 crores for the quarter ended 30 September 2020, up from Rs 46 crore in the same quarter in the previous year.

    The consolidated operating revenue for Q2 21 fell 10 per cent y-o-y and stood at Rs 1,013 crore against Rs 1,127 crore for the same period in Q2 20.

    However, the consolidated operating EBIDTA grew by 56 per cent y-o-y to Rs 164 crore in Q2 21 against Rs 105 crore for the same period last year. Step-jump in EBITDA margins for both news and entertainment to healthy levels and H1 operating margins highest in four years despite Covid2019 drag; continue to improve y-o-y.

    Ad-revenues have rebounded as economic activity resumed with the lifting of lockdowns. News business’ advertising has fully recovered, as viewership has settled at a higher level and entertainment recovery near-complete. However, the year-on-year revenue reduced to single-digits now.

    Subscription revenues showed resilience and domestic subscription revenue has continued to rise. TV connections in commercial establishments and some low-end connections saw a temporary dip due to the pandemic; but multi-TV home connections have picked up. Distribution tie-ups across TV and digital continued to expand but international subscription witnessed pandemic-related stress.

    Cost controls have been implemented since last financial year and were accelerated during the pandemic. Broad-based cost controls have been implemented across business lines, including renegotiation of contracts and reining-in all discretionary expenses. Working capital optimisation, a tight leash on debt, and softer interest rates has resulted in major savings in finance costs, boosting profitability.

    Media consumption has settled at a higher plane in the face of receding Covid2019 impact. TV viewership had spiked to 1.5x of its usual levels at the beginning of lockdown, but has now settled at 1.1x as the economy gets unlocked. Digital media engagement too has received a smart fillip, across both news and entertainment. News genre has reverted to contributing eight per cent of TV viewership, vs 15 per cent during lockdown. Pay-TV has clawed back its share from free-to-air channels, as entertainment programming is back in full-swing.

    TV18 chairman Adil Zainulbhai said, “TV18’s broadcasting businesses have recovered from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to a very large degree. Our proactive measures on cost-control have resulted in much-improved profitability across both news and entertainment, despite certain market segments still suffering from pressures due to the Coronavirus. We have ensured business continuity through rejigging processes, innovatively revived alternative revenue streams, and focusing on aligning content distribution strategy with market opportunity. As we head into the festive season, the underlying trends on both viewership and monetization are supportive.”

    News bouquet (20 channels) was #1 by reach and had 8.7 per cent news viewership market-share.

    Entertainment bouquet (Viacom18’s 34 channels + AETN18’s 2 infotainment channels) share of TV entertainment rose to 10.7 per cent from a low of 9.1 per cent in Q1. By and large, entertainment viewership has improved sharply, led by ramp-up of original content production and telecast which had been shuttered during lockdown. Ad monetization is fast catching-up, with increased volumes of advertising ahead of the festive season leading to improving yields as well. Hindi general entertainment has fully revived as national advertising has ramped-up, while regional entertainment is following with a lag.  

    In the digital segment, Voot witnessed a significant improvement in MAUs as fresh content resumed. It enjoys the most loyal audience amongst broadcaster-OTTs, with average daily time spent per viewer of 52 minutes. The scale-up of the advertising-led section is driving a reduction in gestation losses.

  • Network18 reports lower loss on lower revenue due to Covid2019

    Network18 reports lower loss on lower revenue due to Covid2019

    BENGALURU: Mukesh Ambani’s Network18 Media & Investments Ltd (Network18) reported 34.5 percent decline in consolidated operating revenue for the quarter ended 30 June 2020 (Q1 2021, quarter or period under review) as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal (Q1 2020). Consolidated operating EBITDA for the quarter reduced 40.9 percent as compared to the corresponding period of the last year. The company reported lower consolidated loss of Rs 60.60 crore for Q1 2021 2020 as compared to loss of Rs 127.66 crore reported in the the corresponding year ago quarter.

    The company says in an earnings press release for Q1 2021 that the COVID2019 linked clampdown on spending by advertisers dragged ad-revenues sharply, especially on Entertainment. However, TV subscription revenue remained resilient, and Digital subscriptions have accelerated. The business strategy and operating methodology were re-engineered amidst a strategic review to address the current challenging environment.

    The company said further that the cost base was comprehensively reset across verticals, as the organisation embraced tech-solutions and a leaner, nimbler approach. Operating EBITDA dipped on account of the revenue drag. However, aggressive and broad-based cost-controls across business verticals limited the fall. Consolidated PAT improved YoY led by a decline in finance costs.

    Network18’s reported consolidated operating revenue in Q1 2021 and Q1 2020 was Rs 807.07 crore and Rs 1,242.12 crore respectively. Consolidated operating EBITDA for Q1 2021 and Q1 2020 was Rs 27.39 crore and  Rs 46.35 crore respectively.

    Network18 reports revenue from two streams – (1) TV18 Broadcast Ltd or TV18 which comprises of News (TV18 standalone) and Entertainment (Viacom18+AETN+Indiacast) and (2) Digital, Print and Others. It must be noted that Viacom18 and AETN18 are 51 percent entertainment subsidiaries of TV18, while distribution-arm Indiacast is a 50:50 JV of TV18 and Viacom18. TV18's 24.5 percent minority stake in Telugu entertainment associate Eenadu TV (Ramoji Rao group) is not included in the TV18’s numbers.

    TV18 Broadcast Ltd's numbers for Q1 2021

    TV18 Broadcast Ltd (TV18) consolidated revenue reduced 35 percent in Q1 2021 to Rs 776 crore from Rs 1,1,98 crore in Q1 2020. TV18 consolidated operating EBITDA declined 43 percent in Q1 2021 to Rs 44 crore from Rs 77 crore in Q1 2020.

    News (TV18 standalone) reported 27 percent decline in operating revenue for Q1 2020 as compared to Q1 2020.  TV18 standalone or News revenue declined in Q1 2021 to Rs 230 crore from Rs 298 crore in Q1 2020. Operating EBITDA for News (TV18 standalone) dropped 82 percent in Q1 2021 to Rs 4 crore from Rs 20 crore in Q1 2020. Its contribution grew to about 30 percent to the revenues of TV18 consolidated revenues in Q1 2021 from about 25 percent in Q1 2020.

    The larger revenue stream for TV18 is Entertainment, which had revenue drop of 39 percent y-o-y during the same period.

    Entertainment revenue was Rs 546 crore for Q1 2021 and Rs 899 crore in Q1 2020. Entertainment revenue also includes subscription revenue – the company reported 6 percent growth in subscription revenue for Q1 2021 to Rs 450 crore from Rs 424 crore in Q1 2020 Operating EBITDA for Entertainment dropped 29 percent during the quarter under review to Rs 41 crore as compared to Rs 57 crore in Q1 2020

    Print, Digital and others and intercompany eliminations (Others) numbers

    Print, Digital and others and intercompany eliminations (Others) operating revenue for Q1 2021 reduced 35 percent to Rs 31 crore from Rs 48 crore in Q1 2020. Operating EBITDA for Q1 2021 was a lower operating loss at Rs 17 crore as compared to an operating loss Of Rs 31 crore in Q1 2020.

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by Network18 for Q1 2021

    All numbers in this report are consolidated unless stated otherwise.

    Total expenditure in Q1 2021 declined 33.4 percent y-o-y to Rs 871.65 crore from Rs 1,307.87 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Marketing distribution and promotional expense during the quarter under review decreased 32 percent y-o-y to Rs 171.54 crore in Q1 2021 from Rs 252.13 crore in Q1 2020. Employee benefits expense in Q1 2021 reduced 18.1 percent y-o-y to Rs 222.91 crore from Rs 272.01 crore in Q1 2020. Operational costs in Q1 2021 reduced 48.3 percent y-o-y to Rs 297.04 crore from Rs 574.32 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. Finance cost declined 15.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 53.06 crore from Rs 62.91 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. Other expenses in Q1 2021 declined 11.4 percent y-o-y to Rs 88.19 crore from Rs 99.59 crore.

    Company speak:

    Network18 chairman Adil Zainulbhai said: “The quarter that went by was the most challenging period that the industry has witnessed in many decades. That we are emerging on the other side bears testimony to our ability to question and modify established ways of operating, realign priorities and maintain focus, all while keeping our workforce safe and our audiences engaged. Our staff and employees undertook a heroic effort to adjust to the challenges posed by the pandemic, and kept our channels and properties running. We are proud of the personnel that kept the show going amidst trying circumstances, especially for the News18 network that provided peerless coverage and relevant campaigns during the pandemic. As we resume original content production in Entertainment amidst tight protocols, we wish to thank our audiences who have stood by us over the years. Growing TV and Digital media consumption, a nimbler business strategy and further-strengthened core brands in our portfolio…..we believe this is indeed the new normal.”