Mumbai: Media sources have revealed that Bodhi Tree Systems, co-founded by Uday Shankar and James Murdoch, has increased its ownership in Viacom18 by an additional 2.89 per cent.
The acquisition, valued at Rs 953.23 crore, has elevated Bodhi Tree Systems’ stake in Viacom18 to 15.97 per cent.
Uday Shankar, who joined the Viacom18 board in April, is reportedly working on assembling a fresh leadership team, according to reports.
Mumbai: On Tuesday, Network18 Media & Investments announced its financial results for the quarter that ended 30 September, 2022. Amidst a challenging macro environment, the company reported that its consolidated revenue from operations rose to Rs 1,549 crore (year-on-year) as against Rs 1,387 crore in the corresponding quarter of the preceding fiscal. They have reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 28.84 crore.
Total expenses were at Rs 1,592 crore, up by 33.88 per cent in Q2FY23, as against Rs 1,189.04 crore earlier. The network’s consolidated operating Ebitda fell 87 per cent year on year to Rs 32 crore in Q2FY23, from Rs 253 crore in Q2FY22.
According to a regulatory filing, TV news revenue was down three per cent YoY in the second quarter, owing primarily to a decline in advertising revenue. News ad inventory declined by 10 per cent at industry level and the drop was even higher for the network as they continued to optimise inventory on key channels. However, the impact on revenue was much lower as the scale-up of events-led monetisation partially offset the loss of display advertising.
TV18’s entertainment portfolio had a viewership share of 9.9 per cent in the non-news genre in Q2FY23. Its full-portfolio offering across national, regional, niche, sports, infotainment, and digital has diversified revenue streams and makes it future-ready.
Network18 continued to invest in content, marketing, and distribution initiatives in order to lay a solid foundation for long-term growth, resulting in a 34% increase in operating costs.
Growth in revenue was primarily driven by the movie segment, as ad revenue was flat due to the subdued advertising environment. Adjusting for the impact of the withdrawal of Colors Rishtey from DD FreeDish, ad revenue grew in the high single digits on a YoY basis, despite the challenging environment.
Operating expenses increased by 15 per cent (excluding film production) due to increased content and marketing spending. The higher number of hours (TV and digital), higher episodic costs, and increased spending in regional markets all contributed to the increase in content costs.
The business’s profitability suffered as advertising revenue fell short of expectations, despite content investments helping us strengthen our ratings in certain markets.
In addition, increased investments in digital and a drop in Colors Rishtey ad revenue also impacted Ebitda.
Viacom18 Studio’s Laal Singh Chaddha and Shabaash Mithu received a mixed response from Indian theatre-going audiences but received great traction in international markets and on digital platforms.
Key highlights:
TV18’s CNN News18 and News18 India join CNBC TV18 as undisputed leaders in the English and Hindi markets, respectively.
News18 Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, and Himachal is the first channel launched by a major news network to cover the region.
Colors fortifies the number two position in the Hindi GEC segment.
Viacom18’s proposed transaction with Bodhi Tree and Reliance got CCI approval.
Network18 chairman Adil Zainulbhai said, “The first half of the fiscal has been challenging for most sectors. However, we believe that this phase should only be a minor bump in the long runway for growth. Our presence across the full spectrum of content segments and platforms places us in a unique position to leverage the combined strengths of our assets. We have set clear objectives for our different business segments and are working on executing our plans in that direction. Despite the macro environment being less than ideal for growth currently, we continue to make investments which will help us create a strong foundation for the long term and will hold us in good stead as growth returns.”
Mumbai: Network18 Media & Investments on Tuesday announced its financial results for the quarter ended 30 June, 2022. The company reported that its consolidated revenue from operations rose to Rs 1,340 crore year-on-year, amidst a challenging macro environment. It has witnessed 10 percent growth. During the same period, the company posted a 67.52 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 39.46 crore.
According to a regulatory filing, Network18’s net profit stood at Rs 121.51 crore during the April-June period a year ago. However, its total expenses were Rs 1,349.78 crore, up 24.88 percent from Rs 1,080.79 crore during the same period last year.
Network18’s entertainment business revenues grew 13 per cent in Q1 FY23 despite its free-to-air Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) going off DD FreeDish.
Digital News revenue continued to grow at a fast pace, said the report, but added that “TV News revenue was flat YoY despite multiple state elections in the base quarter.”
TV18’s news channels established strong positions in key markets with CNBC TV18, CNN News18 ranked #2 and News18 India ranked #1, #2, and #3 (refer: source) in their genres, respectively.
During the quarter, three dedicated sports broadcasting channels were launched by Viacom18- Sports18, Sports18 HD and Sports18 Khel.
On digital media rights for IPL
Viacom18 has acquired the non-exclusive rights to digitally streaming of 18 matches in every season of the Indian Premier League in the Indian sub-continent for the seasons starting from 2023 to 2027.
“After announcing a deal with Bodhi Tree and Reliance, Viacom18 made a giant leap towards building a compelling digital consumer proposition by acquiring the Indian subcontinent exclusive digital rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL),” read the statement.
Highlights for Q1 FY23:
Network18 chairman Adil Zainulbhai said, “First quarter of FY23 has set the tone for the journey that we have undertaken towards making Network18 as India’s leading destination for content. The big development for us this quarter was the acquisition of exclusive digital rights of IPL. With strong tailwinds favouring digital consumption, it gives us a perfect opportunity to scale-up our OTT offering. Coupled with the partnership with Bodhi Tree and Reliance, it will enable our entertainment business to grow to a multiple of what it is today. We are also working towards creating a 360 degree news offering with depth and breadth, which not only gives the user seamless experience across platforms, but also optimises for relevance. We are laying down strong foundations on which our businesses can continue to grow for the foreseeable future.”
Source: BARC, All India, News genre, TG:15+, Wk 23’22 to 26’22
Source: BARC, All India, Non-news genre, TG: 2+, Wk 14’22 to 26’22
Source: BARC, All India, TG: 2+, Wk 23’22 to 26’22
Mumbai: Uday Shankar and James Murdoch’s private investment company Lupa Systems has announced that it is forming Bodhi Tree, an investment platform that will be financially supported by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).
This new venture is designed to invest in media and consumer technology opportunities in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on India. It will be run by Murdoch and Shankar as co-chairs, combining decades of experience influencing the region’s media landscape and emerging consumers. QIA will be committing up to $1.5 billion in Bodhi Tree’s vision being pursued by Murdoch and Shankar.
“Bodhi Tree will leverage technology to provide disruptive solutions that drive transformational outcomes in sectors with deep consumer engagement – including media, education and healthcare – to positively impact millions of consumers across the region. Bodhi Tree will be investing at scale to achieve these outcomes,” said the statement.
“We are very pleased to announce Bodhi Tree,” said Murdoch and Shankar. “Opportunities abound to scale exciting businesses in India and the broader Southeast Asia region. Our continued focus on investing and building relationships in these regions comes from our deep conviction in the long-term growth of these economies and the incredible power of these consumers, as these sectors are transformed by technology.”
“QIA is proud to play a key role in bringing Bodhi Tree to reality,” said QIA CEO Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud. “QIA is investing in the technology and media space and India is a key market for us. QIA looks forward to backing Bodhi Tree as they drive forward their growth plans in the future.”
James Murdoch was the chief executive officer of 21st Century Fox between 2015 and 2019. Uday Shankar is the former chairman and CEO of Star India and former president of Walt Disney Asia Pacific.
In January, media reports indicated that Murdoch and Shankar were in talks with ViacomCBS and Reliance Industries to pick up a 40 per cent stake in Viacom18, the entertainment network jointly owned by TV18 and ViacomCBS.