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Tag: Radio Mirchi

  • Radio Mirchi gets I&B nod to purchase Oye FM

    Radio Mirchi gets I&B nod to purchase Oye FM

    MUMBAI: Radio Mirchi FM’s mother company Entertainment Network (India) Limited (ENIL) has received the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry’s nod to purchase TV Today Network’s (TVTN) four radio stations, which owns 104.8 FM Oye.

     

    This includes the company’s radio business in Amritsar, Jodhpur, Patiala and Shimla.

     

    The purchase will be subject to fulfilment of conditions specified by I&B Ministry, execution of relevant documents with TVTN and completion of all other relevant formalities.

     

    It can be noted that ENIL had signed the non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with TV Today Network for the purchase of seven radio stations. However, on 13 February, 2015 and 8 May, 2015, I&B Ministry declined its approval on the grounds that the proposed sale by TVTN and proposed purchase by ENIL is not in conformity with the FM Radio Guidelines.

     

    With this approval, the shares of ENIL saw a hike of close to 17 per cent in intraday trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to touch a life high of Rs 849 on 22 July.

  • Star to air Pro Kabaddi League across 8 channels in 5 languages; ropes in 10 sponsors

    Star to air Pro Kabaddi League across 8 channels in 5 languages; ropes in 10 sponsors

    MUMBAI: Kabaddi! Kabaddi! Kabaddi! The age old Indian game of Kabaddi is back on Star Sports and in its second season, the Pro Kabaddi League is bigger and better.

     

    What’s more, Star India has roped in as many as 10 sponsors for the second season, which will be telecast across eight of its channels in five languages. This time round, Star has also increased the pool of players to 25 from 14 last year.

     

    Additionally, Star is also mulling to hold the tournament twice a year, with the next tournament scheduled as early as January 2016.

     

    After creating history in the first edition by garnering cumulative reach of over 435 million, the second season of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League is set to kick start from 18 July, 2015. Official broadcaster and one of the stakeholders in the tournament, Star Sports has held on to the title sponsorship in the second season too but has managed to bundle in a host of associate sponsors.

     

    The List of Sponsors:

     

    While the title sponsorship remains with Star Sports, the eight associate sponsors on board are:  TVS, VIP Frenzie, Bajaj Electricals, Thums Up, State Bank Of India, Flipkart, Government of India Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Mahindra Jeeto. On the other hand, Radio Mirchi has associated with Pro Kabaddi as radio partners, whereas Britannia is the referee partner.

     

    Star Sports head Nitin Kukreja said, “Kabaddi is back and so are the players. They are bigger, better, fitter, stronger and raring to go. We are increasing the pool of players and making it 25 this year compared to 14 of last. We have a set of international players coming in specially from Iran, which is India’s closest competitor in Kabaddi at a global level. In terms of broadcasting too we are going to reach to a larger audience this time with eight channels covering the event in five different languages. Enhanced graphics, analytics and the newly introduced in-vision commentary will make sure that the viewer experience is much more inclusive in season 2.”

     

    Kukreja further added, “At Star, we are committed to reinvent the great Indian sport of Kabaddi and set it in today’s context. The task is to make the game relevant and aspirational for the millions of young and passionate fans across India. Our objective this season is to make Star Sports Pro Kabaddi bigger and better in terms of play, broadcast and reach.”

     

    Mashal Sports director Charu Sharma, who came up with the idea after watching and covering live Kabaddi matches in 2006 Asian Games, was of the opinion that Pro Kabaddi has added ‘Pride and Respect’ to the honest and homegrown sport. He said, “The primary motive behind creating a league such as Star Sports Pro Kabaddi was to showcase the spectacular athleticism of the top players and give these players their due. The new international competitive and sophisticated face of the game, was appreciated equally by all sects of society, with an absence of a rural and urban divide. When it came to following Kabaddi, everybody was equally drawn to it. I have no doubt in my mind that armed with the continued commitment and encouragement extended by the federation, the team owners, the media and of course the Star Network, all of us can look forward to another blockbuster soon.”

     

    Broadcast expansion, Multi Lingual Feed

     

    Pro Kabaddi will reach out to a huge global audience by reaching over 109 countries. The tourney will be relayed in five different languages namely Hindi, English, Kannada, Telugu and Marathi.

     

    Revenue Model

     

    The money generated from ticketing goes to the home franchise and is the prime source of revenue for team owners. Apart from that, the revenue also comes from sponsorships as brands buy spots on various parts of the jerseys. Additionally, broadcaster Star Sports also pays a certain percentile to the franchises. The first edition of the tournament was not monetized as it was an experimental move. Moreover, Kukreja tells Indiantelevision.com that even in the second season monetization is not the prime focus, “Going forward we might explore various opportunities and launch other possible add-ons but at this point of time we want to give viewers an exquisite experience and that’s our main focus,” he said.

     

    Team Owners’ Reaction

     

    Team owners are buoyed by the progress so far. A franchise owner on condition of anonymity asserted, “Pro Kabaddi League is the most secure venture to invest in and in my opinion many have already drawn level. We will definitely break even this year. It will keep going to newer heights as Star and Mashal Sports are leaving no stones unturned. Sustainability is out of question and this year we plan to reach 60 crore (600 million) viewers. In the first year we were calling brands and pitching but this year there is a long queue waiting for us and that shows just where we’re headed.”

     

    Future roadmap

     

    Another team owner said that the tournament will be organised twice a year. “Fans won’t have to wait for one whole year anymore. The next season will be hosted in January 2016 and there are even possibilities of having a women’s Kabaddi league. So Kabaddi will no longer be a once-a-year sport. Moreover, more editions will popularize the sport and enhance participation, which automatically opens up more scope of revenue generation. So I believe we will have good time ahead if we manage to keep the flair alive and not let corruption play spoilsport.”

     

    After the unprecedented success in the first edition, it remains to be seen if Pro Kabaddi season two manages to successfully live up to expectations.

     

  • FY-2015: Radio industry numbers the best as yet?

    FY-2015: Radio industry numbers the best as yet?

    Has the Indian radio industry put in its best performance as yet? Preliminary conclusions based on the results filed by a few of the listed and segments of listed companies seem to indicate so, as do extrapolations of data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that is as yet available until Q3-2015.

    Note (1): (a)100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    (b) The author has taken the liberty to introduce two new measures – average revenue per radio station and average operating profit per station. These are rough yardsticks and may not necessarily be indicative of a station or a network’s performance, because factors such as geography and market conditions within the area of operations are among many other factors that will also determine performance.

    CAGR since FY-2012 is likely to be between 11 and 12%: TRAI data

    As per data from TRAI, radio advertisement revenue has been increasing every quarter. Please refer to Fig A below, which shows ad revenue for a 15 quarter period starting Q1-2012 (quarter ended 30 June, 2012) until Q3-2015 (quarter ended 31 December, 2014). Ad revenue of Rs 450.95 crore for Q4-2015 has been calculated using the average percentage increase between Q3 and Q4 over three years (FY-2012, FY-2013 and FY-2014) – this works out to 1.76 per cent.

    Ad revenue of Rs 487.34 crore for Q4-2015 (quarter ended 31 March, 2015) is the projected revenue by the linear trend line in Fig A-1, which is based on the revenue of the first three quarters of FY-2015. This shows a growth of 19.75 per cent over FY-2014. This figure is quite close to the average (simple) revenue growth of 19.93 per cent by the six sample companies whose figures have been considered later in this report. (At the time of filing this report, TRAI had not released data for Q4-2015. It must also be pointed out that TRAI has been releasing ad revenue data for lesser than the licensed number of radio stations, as indicated in the second line of the X axis in Fig A below.)

    The trend line in Fig A indicates that ad revenue is increasing linearly. The figure also indicates that the radio industry has had its lowest quarter in terms of ad revenue in Q1, progressively increasing in Q2 and Q3, with the highest ad revenue in Q4 in FY-2012 and FY-2013. There could be various reasons for this and some that come to mind are that Q4 is the fag end of the financial year and advertisers use this very local medium to push through sales and attain year end targets for better margins. It could also mean that some advertisers already consumed a major portion of their ad budgets and are using the low cost alternative for grabbing consumer attention. However, in FY-2014, Q4-2014 ad revenue was lower than Q3-2014 by 1.02 per cent. Assuming the same trend is followed this year too, the projected ad revenue for Q4-2015 works out to about Rs 438.63 crore.

     

    Based on the lower projected figure of Rs 438.63 crore, projected ad revenue for FY-2015 works out to Rs 1636.03 crore, and hence 16.29 per cent more than the Rs 1406.82 crore in FY-2014. Ad revenue in FY-2014 had grown 17.36 per cent from Rs 1198.77 crore in FY-2013. Since 2012, the industry’s ad revenue has shown a CAGR of 11 per cent if one were to consider the lower projected ad revenue of Rs 438.63 for Q4-2015.

    If we consider Q4-2015 ad revenue as Rs 450.95 crore indicated in Fig A above, revenue for FY-2015 is Rs 1648.35 crore and CAGR works out to 11.21 per cent between FY-2012 and projected FY-2015 ad revenue.

    If we consider the projected ad revenue for Q4-2015 as Rs 487.34 crore, then projected revenue for FY-2015 is Rs 1684.74 crore and CAGR between FY-2013 and FY-2015 (proj), works out to 11.82 per cent.

    As mentioned above, based on TRAI quarterly ad revenue data, total ad revenue works out to Rs 1406.82 crore for FY-2014 and the average ad revenue per station as Rs 5.92 crore for 237.5 stations. Please note that TRAI data for Q1-2014 and Q2-2014 was for 237 stations and for Q3-2014 and Q4-2015 for 238 stations and hence a not very accurate median of 237.5 stations has been used to calculate the average ad revenue per station for FY-2014 above. 

    Based on the projected ad revenues for FY-2015 of Rs 1636.03 crore, Rs 1648.35 crore, 1684.74 crore for 241 stations, the corresponding projected average ad revenues per station works out to Rs 6.79 crore, Rs 6.84 crore and Rs 6.99 crore respectively.

    Let us look at how a few radio groups performed:

    Note (2):  (a) This report considers PAT posted by two radio companies (ENIL – Radio Mirchi, 32 radio stations; Jagran Prakashan – Radio City – 20 radio stations)  and their operating results, along with operating results of DB Corp (My FM, 17 stations), B. A. G Films (Radio Dhamaal, 10 stations) and HT Media (Fever FM, 4 stations).

    (b) EBIDTA numbers for ENIL (Mirchi) have been calculated by adding the depreciation to the total income from operations and subtracting the total expense from the result, assuming that ENIL reports interest in finance charges separately.

    The numbers in the charts below cover just 89 FM broadcasting stations of six sample companies of the total of 241 or 36.93 per cent. 

    It is interesting to note that Radio Mirchi with just 32 stations (13.5 per cent of total number of stations of 237 in FY-2014 as per TRAI) contributed revenue of Rs 384.49 crore to a total ad revenue of Rs 1406.82 crore in FY-2015, or 24.77 per cent of total ad revenues of the industry, that is assuming that all of Radio Mirchi’s total income from operations is ad revenue.

    Another great performer, Music Broadcast Private Limited (MBPL, now a part of the Jagran Prakashan group), Radio City with 20 stations (or 8.44 per cent of the total number of stations in FY-2014 of 237 as per TRAI) reported revenue of Rs 160.53 crore or 11.41 per cent of the ad revenue for FY-2014 as per TRAI data, again assuming that all of Radio City’s total income from operations is ad revenue.

    Of course, some of these companies/segments also have revenue streams other than radio advertisement, for example, Radio Mirchi conducts the Mirchi Music Awards every year and must also be reporting sponsorship revenue, but considering that many, and especially Radio Mirchi, My FM, Radio City and Fever FM are parts of some of the biggest professionally-run media houses in the country, these entities will be able to leverage a reasonable amount of money from other streams. A few of the entities also have internet radio stations that have turned quite popular, more so among the Indian diaspora.

    Y-o-y, Q2-2015 was the best quarter in terms of revenue for five (except Radio City, whose numbers for Q1-2015 and Q2-2015 were not available at the time of writing of this report) of the six entities. Combined Q2-2015 revenue for the five entities was Rs 157.12 crore, 20.05 per cent more than the Rs 130.88 crore in Q2-2014. If one were to neglect the loss reported by Oye FM and Radio Dhamaal during the quarter, then the operating profit/PAT for My FM, Radio Mirchi (PAT) and Fever increased by 80.56 per cent as compared to the previous year.

    Income of the six entities

    Combined Operating Income of the six sample companies in this report grew 17.34 per cent in FY-2015 to Rs 886.05 crore from Rs 738.05 crore (52.46 per cent of the total ad revenue as per TRAI for FY-2014). As mentioned above, the simple average growth in revenue for the six companies was 19.93 per cent. Please refer to Fig B below.

    The highest growth was by BAG Films Radio Dhamaal with a revenue growth of 47.09 per cent in FY-2015 to Rs 7.48 crore (0.86 per cent of Operating Income of the six sample entities in this report in FY-2015) from Rs 5.09 crore (0.69 per cent of Operating Income of the six sample entities in this report in FY-2014). Oye FM grew the least – its operating income increased 0.64 per cent to Rs 15.48 crore (1.79 per cent of Operating Income of the six sample entities in this report in FY-2015) from Rs 15.38 crore (2.08 per cent of Operating Income of the six sample entities in this report in FY-2014). My FM, Radio Mirchi and Radio City showed double digit growth in operating income in FY-2015 of 20.68 per cent, 14.04 per cent and 30.42 per cent respectively, while Fever FM’s operating revenue grew 6.72 per cent in FY-2015 as compared to FY-2014.

    Operating Results -PAT and Margins of the six entities

    Combined Operating result – of the six entities – operating profit grew 33.07 per cent to Rs 260.43 crore in FY-2015 from Rs 195.71 crore in the previous year. Four of the six sample entities reported growth in operating profit in FY-2015 as compared to FY-2014, while the other two reported lower operating loss in the current year (FY-2015) as compared to the previous year.

    Please refer to Fig C and Fig C1 below.  Radio Mirchi’s operating profit in FY-2015 of Rs 145.34 crore (55.81 per cent of combined operating profit of six entities in FY-2015) was 16.59 per cent more than the Rs 124.66 crore (63.7 per cent of combined operating profit of six entities in F-2014). Its operating margin in FY-2015 improved marginally to 33.15 per cent from 32.42 per cent in the previous year. Radio Mirchi’s operating margin was the highest for both the years among the six entities considered in this report.

    Radio City’s operating profit in FY-2015 increased 52.3 per cent to Rs 64.86 crore (24.9 per cent of combined operating profit of six entities in F-2015) from Rs 42.60 crore (21.77 per cent of combined operating profit of six entities in FY-2014 FY-2014). Its operating margin improved to 30.98 per cent in FY-2015 as compared to the 26.54 per cent in the previous year.

    My FM reported a 51.89 per cent growth in operating profit to Rs 31.23 crore (11.99 per cent of operating profit-reported by the six sample entities in this report in FY-2015) from Rs 20.56 crore (10.51 per cent of operating profit-PAT reported by the six sample entities in this report in FY-2014). Its operating margin increased to 32.57 per cent from 25.88 per cent in FY-2014.

    Fever FM’s operating profit grew 37.07 per cent to Rs 29.21 crore (11.22 per cent of operating profit-PAT reported by the six sample entities in this report in FY-2015) from Rs 21.31 crore (10.89 per cent of operating profit-PAT reported by the six sample entities in this report in FY-2014). Its margin increased to 29.39 per cent from 22.88 per cent.

    It may be noted that ENIL (Radio Mirchi) reported profit after tax of Rs 105.97 crore (24.2 per cent of Total Income from Operations or TIO) in FY-2015, which was 26.99 per cent more than the Rs 83.45 crore (23.32 per cent of TIO) in the previous year. Further, Radio City also reported a doubling of PAT in FY-2015 to Rs 42.95 crore (20.51 per cent of TIO) from Rs 21.45 crore (13.36 per cent of TIO) in FY-2014.

    Results per station

    As mentioned above, these measures are rough yardsticks and may not necessarily portray a true picture of a station or a network’s performance.

    The average revenue per station for all the 89 radio stations of the six entities in this report grew to Rs 9.73 crore in FY-2015 from Rs 8.29 crore in the previous year. The average operating result per station based on EBIDTA for all the companies increased to Rs 2.93 crore in FY-2015 from Rs 2.20 crore in the previous year.

    Please refer to Table A below for details of the six entities. Fever FM reported the highest revenue per station in both FY-2015 and FY-2014 at Rs 24.84 crore and Rs 23.28 crore respectively. The next highest revenue per station was Radio Mirchi with 32 stations and revenue of Rs 13.70 crore and Rs 12.02 crore in FY-2015 and FY-2014 respectively.

    Radio City’s average revenue per station improved to Rs 10.47 crore in FY-2015 from Rs 8.03 crore in the previous year, when it was lower than the average revenue per station of the six entities in this report.

    Fever FM also reported the highest operating profit per station at Rs 7.30 crore in FY-2015 as compared to the Rs 5.33 crore per station in FY-2014. The next highest on this parameter was Radio Mirchi. On considering its standalone EBIDTA for FY-2015 at Rs 145.34 crore based on the numbers reported by the company on the bourses, Radio Mirchi’s average operating profit per radio station works out to Rs 4.54 crore. For FY-2014, Radio Mirchi EBIDTA was Rs 124.66 crore and its average operating profit per station was Rs 3.90 crore. Radio City’s average operating profit per station works out to Rs 3.24 crore in FY-2015 as compared to the Rs 2.13 crore in FY-2014.

    Conclusion

    As per the FICCI-KPMG Media and Entertainment 2015 report (FICCI M&E 2015 report), the radio industry saw a phenomenal growth of 17.6 per cent in 2014. The report pegs the radio industry size for 2014 in India at Rs 1720 crore (Rs 7.24 crore average revenue per station on a base of 237.5 stations). With the implementation of phase III, FM radio will reach 85 per cent of India’s territory, further adding the medium as an important part of advertisers’ plans because radio is likely to be a cheaper alternative due of its reach. More stations are also likely to result into stronger regional networks.

    Although, phase III auctions have been curtailed to just 135 stations in 69 cities and further delayed to the latter half of fiscal 2015, the industry feels that phase III could herald a new era for radio in India. 

    The FICCI M&E 2015 report says that growth in 2014 could be attributed to several reasons that include new upcoming sectors like e-commerce and industries such as real estate, retail and lifestyle products. As per the report many of the players reached 100 per cent inventory utilisation and hence hiked ad rates. There seems to a welcome change for the industry, which saw advertisers shift focus from nationwide brand building to more local focused promotional targeting, feeding on the strength of radio as a medium. Content innovation also contributed to the strong performance by many players. The general elections of 2014 also saw election spends finding its way to the radio industry with spends of around 12 to 15 per cent of ad budgets as opposed to the normal one to three per cent. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on All India Radio through his show ‘Mann ki Baat’ has gained a lot of attention for the medium.

    Challenges continue to hound the industry with smaller and standalone stations feeling the pressure of rising cost structures, measurement and royalty fee issues and the rising threat of the digital media eating into the radio ad budget pie. The good news is that now advertisers see radio as an integral part of their media plans, not just an add-on expense head.

    So while FY-2015 is the best year yet for the radio industry so far, but the future is far brighter for the industry and its ecosystem, delays in phase III could dim the brightness, though.

  • FY-2015: ENIL PAT up 27% at Rs 105.97 crore

    FY-2015: ENIL PAT up 27% at Rs 105.97 crore

    BENGALURU: Indian private FM player Entertainment Network (India) Limited (ENIL) reported 27 per cent increase in profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 105.97 crore (24.2 per cent of Total Income from Operations or TIO) in FY-2015 (year ended 31 March, 2015, current year) as compared to the Rs 83.45 crore (21.7 per cent of TIO) in the previous year. The company has entered the Rs 100 crore PAT club this year.

     

    PAT in Q4-2014 increased by 20.1 per cent to Rs 25.52 crore (20.5 per cent of TIO) as compared to the Rs 21.24 crore (18.6 per cent of TIO) in the corresponding year ago quarter, but was 22.3 per cent lower than the Rs 32.86 crore (28.1 per cent of TIO) in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    Notes: (1) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    (2) The numbers in this report are standalone unless stated other wise.

     

    ENIL’s TIO in FY-2015 increased 14 per cent to Rs 438.48 crore as compared to the Rs 384.49 crore in FY-2014. TIO in Q4-2015 increased 8.8 per cent to Rs 124.43 crore as compared to the Rs 114.42 crore in Q4-2014 and was 6.5 per cent more than the Rs 116.79 crore in Q3-2015.

     

    Let us look at some of the other numbers reported by ENIL:

     

    ENIL total expense (TE) in FY-2015 at Rs 326.02 crore (74.4 per cent of TIO) was 11.8 per cent lower than the Rs 291.64 crore (75.9 per cent of TIO) in FY-2014. TE in Q4-2015 at Rs 98.06 crore (78.8 per cent of TIO) was 7.9 per cent more than the Rs 90.87 crore (79.4 per cent of TIO) and was 21.8 per cent more than the Rs 80.53 crore (69 per cent of TIO) in the trailing quarter.

     

    ENIL paid 7.7 per cent higher license fee in FY-2015 at Rs 21.79 crore (five per cent of TIO) as compared to the Rs 20.24 crore (5.3 per cent of TIO) in the previous year. License Fee in Q4-2015 increased 5.1 per cent to Rs 4.23 crore (3.4 per cent of TIO) as compared to the Rs 4.03 crore (3.5 per cent of TIO) in the corresponding year ago quarter and was seven per cent more than the Rs 3.96 crore (3.4 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2015.

     

    The company’s marketing expense in FY-2015 at Rs 75.76 crore (17.3 per cent of TIO) was 24.6 per cent more than the Rs 60.82 crore (15.8 per cent of TIO) in FY-2015. Q4-2015 marketing expense at Rs 31.57 crore (25.4 per cent of TIO) was 4.1 per cent lower than the Rs 32.91 crore (28.8 per cent of TIO), but was 54.2 per cent higher than the Rs 20.47 crore (17.5 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2015.

     

    Employee Benefit Expense (EBE) in FY-2015 at Rs 82.76 crore (18.9 per cent of TIO) was 10 per cent more than the Rs 75.22 crore (19.6 per cent of TIO) in the previous year. EBE in Q4-2015 at Rs 20.98 crore (16.9 per cent of TIO) was 9.4 per cent more than the Rs 19.17 crore (16.8 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2014, but 1.1 per cent lower than the Rs 21.21 crore (18.2 per cent of TIO) in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    ENIL managing director and CEO Prashant Panday said, “It’s a very happy feeling for all Mirchi folks that the company they created has entered the Rs 100 crore PAT club! Our sustained focus on cost management as well as better sales in our radio, TV properties, and activations businesses has helped reach this milestone. We see the future even brighter with Phase-3 auctions coming up next month. This opportunity to expand is coming after nearly 10 years and we plan to make the most of it. Overall, Mirchi remains the strongest brand in radio with a 33-35 per cent share of the revenue market in its cities and a listenership lead across most of its 32 cities.”

  • Q3-2015: Radio companies y-o-y operating results up 49.7%; YTD up 61.9%

    Q3-2015: Radio companies y-o-y operating results up 49.7%; YTD up 61.9%

    BENGALURU: Q3-2015 has been a great quarter and 9M-2015 even better for the radio industry as is evident from the PAT /Operating results posted for six radio groups representing 90 radio stations or 36.7 per cent of the 245 private FM radio stations universe under phases I and II in India. 

     

    This report considers PAT posted by two radio companies (ENIL – Radio Mirchi, 33 radio stations; Jagran Prakashan – Radio City – 20 radio stations) that equals 53 radio stations or 21.6 per cent of the current total universe in the country and 58.9 per cent of the radio stations considered here. If one were to consider only the operating results of these companies, the operating profitability numbers would be even higher. Also, figures for Radio City are not exact and have been rounded off, as is evident from the figures mentioned by Jagran Prakashan in its various filings with the bourses and investor presentations.

     

    Operating results for radio segments of three of the four other companies – DB Corp (My FM-17 stations), B.A.G Films (Radio Dhamaal, 10 stations) and HT Media (Fever FM, four stations) have shown improvement, with TV Today’s Oye FM (six stations) being only one that has shown income de-growth but has reported a reduction of operating loss from Rs 2.90 crore in Q3-2014 to a lower loss of Rs 1.94 crore in the current quarter.

     

    There is a deviation in this report from normal practise – PAT numbers of the two companies that have indicated them separately have been combined with the operating results of the other four companies here to arrive at the total numbers considered here, which makes this not completely an apples to apples story. 

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

     

    Total income reported by the six radio groups for Q3-2015 at Rs 233.60 crore was 18.7 per cent more y-o-y as compared to the Rs 196.76 crore. Operating Profit/PAT for Q3-2015 at Rs 67.83 crore was 49.7 per cent more as compared to the Rs 45.30 crore reported for Q3-2014. 

     

    For 9M-2015, income reported by the six groups for radio operations was Rs 631.05 crore, which was 19.2 per cent more than the Rs 529.44 crore in 9M-2014, while Operating Profit/PAT in 9M-2015 at Rs 151.73 crore was 61.9 per cent more than the Rs 93.72 crore reported for last year’s corresponding nine month period.

     

    Q3-2015 and 9M-2015 growth rates of revenue and PAT/results reported by these companies are also definitely better than those reported for FY-2014 (year ended 31 March, 2014) when compared to FY-2013 (year ended 31 March, 2013). For FY-2014, combined revenue reported by the six radio groups was Rs 739.64 crore, which was 12.2 per cent higher than the Rs 659.23 crore in FY-2013. PAT/Operating result for FY-2014 was Rs 154.22 crore, which was 46.3 per cent more than the Rs 105.45 crore in FY-2013. 

     

    It must be pointed out here that the biggest player in terms of revenues as well as performance in this list of six radio players is ENIL or Radio Mirchi. In Q3-2015, ENIL’s revenue of Rs 116.98 crore formed 50.1 per cent of the total revenue of Rs 233.60 reported by all the six listed players in that quarter and its PAT of Rs 32.84 crore is 48.4 per cent of the performance (PAT/Operating profit reported) by the six players.

     

    ENIL’s income and PAT in Q3-2015 were 18.7 per cent higher and 40.9 per cent more than the income and PAT respectively reported by the company for the corresponding year ago quarter, albeit equal to and lower when compared to the six companies revenue and PAT that grew 18.7 per cent  and 49.7 per cent respectively.

     

    For Q3-2015, Radio Dhamaal showed the largest y-o-y revenue growth of 173.8 per cent to Rs 2.43 crore from Rs 0.89 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter while Radio City reported the largest growth in PAT of 147.8 per cent to Rs 17.10 crore in Q3-2015 from Rs 6.90 crore reported in the corresponding year ago quarter. As a matter of fact, Radio Dhamaal has shown a good a turnaround during 9M-2015 with an operating profit of Rs 1.12 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 2.08 crore in 9M-2014. 

     

    The lowest y-o-y growth in revenue was actually de-growth or fall in revenue of 8.5 per cent by Oye FM in Q3-2015 at Rs 4 crore as compared to the Rs 4.37 crore in Q3-2014. 

  • Q3-2015: ENIL reports 41 per cent higher q-o-q PAT

    Q3-2015: ENIL reports 41 per cent higher q-o-q PAT

    BENGALURU:  Indian private FM player Entertainment Network (India) Limited (ENIL) reported 40.9 per cent higher q-o-q PAT for Q3-2015 at Rs 32.84 crore (28.1 per cent of Total Income from Operations or TIO) as compared to the Rs 23.30 crore (22.4 per cent TIO) and 26.9 per cent more as compared to the Rs 25.88 crore (26.4 per cent of TIO) in the year ago quarter (Q3-2104).

     

    Notes:  (1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakhs = 10 million = 1 crore

     

    ENIL TIO in Q3-2015 at Rs 116.98 crore was 12.4 per cent more that the Rs 104.03 crore in the immediate trailing quarter and was 19.1per cent more than the Rs 98.21 crore (26.3 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014.

     

    Let’s look at the other numbers reported by ENIL:

     

    ENIL total expense (TE) in Q3-2015 at Rs 80.53 crore (68.8 per cent of TIO) was almost flat (down 0.4 per cent) as compared to the Rs 80.89 crore (77.8 per cent of TIO) in the previous quarter and was 18.3 per cent more than the Rs 68.38 crore (69.6 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014.

     

    The company’s production expense (Prod) in Q3-2015 at Rs 4.74 crore (4.1 per cent of TIO) was 5 per cent more than the Q2-2015 Prod cost of  Rs 4.52 crore (4.3 per cent of TIO) and was 7.9 per cent more than the Rs 4.39 crore (4.5 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014.

     

    ENIL paid 11 per cent higher license fee in Q3-2015 at Rs 5.84 crore (5 per cent of TIO) versus the Rs 5.27 crore (5.1 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015 and 11.9 per cent more as compared to the Rs 5.22 crore (5.3 per cent of TIO) in the corresponding year ago quarter.

     

    The company’s marketing expense in Q3-2015 at Rs 25.75 crore (22 per cent of TIO) was 8.5 per cent more than the Rs 23.73 crore (22.8 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015 and a whopping 85.9 per cent more than the Rs 13.85 crore (14.1 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014.

     

    Employee Benefit Expense (EBE) in Q3-2015 at Rs 21.21 crore (18.1 per cent of TIO) was 5.2 per cent more than the Rs 20.17 crore (19.4 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015 and was was 14.6 per cent more than the Rs 18.51 crore (18.8 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014.

     

    Other expense in Q3-2015 reduced 23 per cent to Rs 14.66 crore (12.5 per cent of TIO) from Rs 19.05 crore (18.3 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015 and was 20.1 per cent lower when compared to the Rs 18.34 crore (18.7 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014.

     

    “The bull-run in the radio business continues! A near 19 per cent revenue growth, matched by equally strong growth in EBITDA and PAT, is reflective of this. With Phase-3 auctions finally about to kick-off, the bull-run is expected to continue for the next three – five years. Our game plan for Phase-3 is aggressive, yet we are ever mindful of our profitability objectives,” said ENIL managing director and CEO Prashant Panday.

  • ENIL reports 42 per cent higher PAT for Q2-2015

    ENIL reports 42 per cent higher PAT for Q2-2015

    BENGALURU:  Indian private FM player Entertainment Network (India) Limited (ENIL) reported 42 per cent higher y-o-y PAT for Q2-2015 at Rs 23.30 crore (22.4 per cent of Total Income from Operations or TIO) as compared to the Rs 16.41 crore (19 per cent of TIO). PAT in Q2-2015 was 4.3 per cent lower than the Rs 24.35 crore (26.1 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015. For HY-2015, ENIL reported 32.2 per cent growth in PAT to Rs 47.65 crore (24.1 per cent of TIO) from Rs 36.33 crore (21.15 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.

     

    Notes:  (1) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

     

    ENIL Total Income from Operations (TIO) in Q2-2015 at Rs 104.03 crore was 11.6 per cent more than the Rs 93.26 crore in Q1-2015 and 20.2 per cent more than the Rs 86.55 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, TIO at Rs 197.63 crore was 15 per cent more than the Rs 171.78 crore in HY-2014.

     

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by ENIL

     

    ENIL total expense (TE) in Q2-2015 at Rs 80.89 crore (77.8 per cent of TIO) was 21.5 per cent more than the Rs 66.58 crore (71.4 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and 16.8 per cent more than the Rs 69.24 crore (80 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, TE at Rs 147.47 crore (74.6 per cent of TIO) was 11.4 per cent more than the Rs 132.38 crore (77.1 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.

     

    The company’s production expense in Q2-2015 at Rs 4.52 crore (4.3 per cent of TIO) was 9.5 per cent more than the Rs 4.13 crore (4.4 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and 11.2 per cent more than the Rs 4.06 crore (4.7 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. In HY-2015, production expense at Rs 8.64 crore (4.4 per cent of TIO) was 9.6 per cent more than the Rs 7.88 crore (4.6 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.

     

    The company paid 13.3 per cent higher license fee in Q2-2015 at Rs 5.27 crore (5.1 per cent of TIO) as compared to the Rs 4.65 crore (5 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and 13.2 per cent more than the Rs 465.1 crore (5.4 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, ENIL paid license fee of Rs 9.91 crore (5 per cent of TIO), which was 6.2 per cent more than the Rs 9.34 crore (5.4 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.

     

    The company almost doubled (up 1.97 times) its marketing expense in Q2-2015 to Rs 23.73 crore (22.8 per cent of TIO) from Rs 12.03 crore (12.9 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and increased it by 38.9 per cent from Rs 17.09 crore (19.7 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. Marketing expense for HY-2015 at Rs 35.77 crore (18.1 per cent of TIO) was 29.1 per cent higher than Rs 27.69 crore (16.1 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.

     

    Employee Benefit Expense (EBE) in Q2-2015 at Rs 20.17 crore (19.4 per cent of TIO) was 1.2 per cent lower than the Rs 20.41 crore (21.9 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and 8.7 per cent more than the Rs 18.55 crore (21.4 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. HY-2015 EBE was higher by 8.1 per cent at Rs 40.57 crore (20.5 per cent of TIO) than the Rs 37.55 crore (21.9 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.4

     

    Other expense in Q2-2015 rose 11 per cent to Rs 19.05 crore (18.3 per cent of TIO) from Rs 17.17 crore (18.4 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and was 12.4 per cent more than the Rs 16.95 crore (19.6 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. Other expense in HY-2015 rose 5.9 per cent to Rs 36.22 crore (18.3 per cent of TIO) from Rs 34.21 crore (19.9 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.

     

    “The radio sector has again turned out an impressive performance, not surprising considering that it accounts for more than 30 per cent of media consumption time, but gets only 5-6 per cent of advertising revenues. We believe radio will continue to grow faster than other media in the future as well. We are excited that the PM himself believes so strongly in radio, and hope that the Ministry of I&B under Mr. Arun Jaitley will quickly complete the auctions process commenced by Mr. Prakash Javadekar. Overall, we remain buoyant about radio’s prospects in the years to come,” said ENIL CEO Prashant Panday.

  • KBC ties up with Radio Mirchi for ‘Kaun Banega Lakhpati’

    KBC ties up with Radio Mirchi for ‘Kaun Banega Lakhpati’

    MUMBAI:  Back with a grand opening, Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) has not left any stone unturned to stay true to its tagline, ‘Yahan sirf paise nahi dil bhi jeete jaate hai’ .

     

     After a stellar opening in Surat, the channel has now joined hands with the leading radio station Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM for an exclusive on air contest ‘Kaun Banega Lakhpati’ in several cities across India.

     

    With this unique innovation, Sony Entertainment Television (SET) intended to bring their fans closer to the show through a different yet successful medium. Radio Mirchi gave listeners and KBC loyalists a chance to not only be part of the mega franchise but also be a double lakhpati.

     

    Speaking about this unique contest, SET senior VP and head  marketing Gaurav Seth said, “This unique contest with Radio Mirchi was specially conceptualised to give our viewers an opportunity to play this great game and engage with our show. Sitting on a hot seat is a dream come true for every viewer and this contest was the perfect platform for them. I am extremely happy at the overwhelming response that the contest has received.”

     

    For the contest, morning RJ’s floated questions from the previous night’s telecast episode on air inviting Mirchi listeners to answer. All they had to do to become a lakhpati was SMS the correct answer to the question. The first person to send across the message with the correct answer (Fastest Finger First) became eligible to be a contending participant in the radio show on that day. The shortlisted contestant was then asked a series of five questions. Prize money for correctly answering the first question was Rs 10000, for the second question it was Rs 25000, for third it was Rs 50,000, fourth was Rs 1,00,000 and finally by answering the fifth and final question the participant became eligible to win the bumper prize of Rs 2 lakh.

     

    Amongst many contest winners, Sultan Mohammedbhai Dalal won Rs 2 lakh on Hi Mumbai and Sunita Pokhriyal won Rs 1 lakh on Hi Delhi.

     

    Commenting on this, Radio Mirchi Mumbai cluster head Preeti Nihalani said, “KBC is one of the biggest and most admired shows on television. Radio Mirchi is delighted to associate with a show that is so close to the hearts of people around the country. The tie-up amplified the interest level of the TV audience as well as the radio listeners and gave them a chance to be a lakhpati sitting at home.  We received a tremendous response on air and appreciation from our listeners on Twitter and Facebook. This activity has definitely got the audiences closer to the show.”

  • Private FM – the new Indian teen: Down memory lane

    Private FM – the new Indian teen: Down memory lane

    A few days ago former radio jock and friend Vasanthi Hariprakash mentioned on her Facebook page that Radio City Bangalore (Bengaluru), that private FM radio in India had completed 13 years (started broadcasting on July 3, 2001) and hence entered its teens. Of course, Hariprakash or Sunshine girl as she was called, was an RJ on that very popular and only FM radio station in the country at that time, though not since its inception.

     

    How time has flown with changes galore in radio broadcasting in the country. Let me reminisce as an avid listener in this report ….

     

    Times of war stand out in a growing mind. My first vivid memories  of radio are those as a five year old boy – my uncle and my dad started sobbing at the news that came in from Tashkent – the man of peace – our then prime minister Lal Bahadhur Shastri had passed away there.  A few years later in December 1971, the excitement in my aunt’s voice as she breathlessly announced that Pakistan had called for a ceasefire of hostilities. I remember the negative comments that my fellow listeners doled out whenever we heard of Yahya Khan, Bhutto, Nixon and Kissenger on the radio during the days leading to and including and after the 1971 war. I remember vividly my friends cheering Mujibur Rehaman as All India Radio announced his arrest by the powers that were in Pakistan.

     

    How times have changed since then – I remember as a growing up boy in Mumbai glued to the transistor, as the small radio receiver with medium wave (MW) and short wave (SW) bands was colloquially known as. Radio was the only form of communication (one way) that most people of my generation grew up with. There was no television, no internet and no mobile phones.

     

    The voices of Amin Sayani and Hasan Rizvi are still very vivid in my mind. Binaca (later Cibaca) Geetmala on a Wednesday was an absolute must, as was the mandatory narration and exchange of dialogues on Monday morning at school of the capers of super crime solver Inspector Eagle and his sidekick Havaldar Naik the previous day.

     

    It is about the period in the 1970s’ that I remember how all of us – friends, cousins, parents, uncles, aunts, used to sit around the radio on Sunday, during breakfast waiting for Havaldar Naik’s peals of laughter, and later the early lunch while we eagerly listened to the one hour bit of a film sound track on Vivid Bharati. The afternoon hour every day of the week was reserved for western music, mostly classical over a quiet lunch on return from school before homework and Saturday night for Saturday Pop music on All India Radio. A few of the ad jingles are still so fresh – like the one that ran ‘Mummy, mummy Modern bread..’ or ‘Harvik, Harvik whistle pop khaie ye’.

     

    Cricket was another favourite that bound us all-parents, friends, teachers, principals and school mates, everyone wanted to know the score during recess and the physical training period. Many a time, a student escaped punishment when caught listening to cricket commentary during class hours on a small pocket radio by disclosing the latest ‘score’ to the teacher.  Like a mobile phone is banned today in most educational institutions, pocket radio too was actually a banned item in school –too much distraction, you see. Remember in those days it was five days test match cricket and the odd Ranji Trophy match that was aired on radio.  

     

    AFST or Bobby Talyarkhan, Ravi Chaturvedi, Joga Rao, Jasdev Singh, Suresh Sarayia, Raj Singh Dungarpur, Dicky Ratnagar and Anand Setalvad are the names that come to mind, when one speaks of radio cricket commentators. Vijay Merchant’s expert comments during the match were like manna from heaven for the cricket aficionado. His Sunday afternoon programme on Vividh Bharati ‘Cricket with Vijay Merchant’ was a must listen for cricket lovers.

     

     The short stint between 1993 and 1998, when the government sold time slots to private companies to run their programming is best forgotten. My memories of this period are vague – Times FM and Radio Midday are the only names that come to mind. There must have been the odd show that was great, but, not memorable.

     

    As I said, a lot has changed, including my city of residence. Bengaluru, the garden city is now more of a concrete jungle. SW and MW are suddenly strange words.  I listen to the radio only when driving or in a car as opposed to all day on a shared transistor, because the pocket radio required batteries which were too expensive to replace regularly. Rechargeable batteries were a rarity in those days. The pocket radio for a limited period of time had become a fashion statement, an item to show off.

     

    Music of my choice with great RJ talk is now doled out 24×7 on not just one or two sporadic stations, but among others on Radio Rainbow, Fever FM, Red FM and a completely international radio station Radio Indigo.  Kannada radio too has some lovely music and there are three stations that play Kannada music in Bangalore– Big FM, Radio Mirchi and Radio City which went Kannada a few years ago.

     

    Prithvi, Shraddha, Sriram, Rubina, Disha, Julius, Melodee Austin, Shagufta, Michelle, Nathan are the people that I listen to while driving. The good looking Danish Sait on Fever FM and Rakesh  with their funny impersonations have replaced Havaldar Naik’s peals, and radio shows such as Picture Pandey have replaced the mandatory movie soundtrack of yesteryear’s Vividh Bharati, but as I mentioned before, only if I happen to be in a car.

     

     In the Kannada radio space, the very pretty Nethra on Radio City and the so very intelligent Smitha on Mirchi along with Rapid Rashmi on Big FM are a treat to listen to for a person who has just started comprehending a bit of the lingo. I have seen and heard Mallishka perform, and that girl has what it takes, as does Mumbai’s Mirchi jock Jeeturaj.

     

    Hariprakash, along with Suniana Lal, Anjaan, Darius Sunawala, Suresh Venkat voices have joined those of Amin Sayani and Hasan Rizivi in my mind space – these jocks have stopped performing or perform during weekends as Darius does, or perform in other countries as Anjaan does.

     

    The current jocks, many of them not so young, for some are even mothers and fathers in their mid -thirties, sound so exciting, make their show great. It is often these guys that make or break the company that owns their stations, and are to some extent responsible for a film’s fate. Programming is a lot more exciting, and a separate job function by itself as opposed to the songs played on request by snail mail. Mobile phones have made it possible to request songs in real time. The jock talk and interactions make the radio an exciting entertainment option for the listener.

     

     Let us see what the new technology brings in. The third round of auctions should add a lot more stations to the country and create a lot more excitement in the industry that runs the most listened to medium in the world.

  • ENIL elevates Prashant Pandey as MD & CEO

    ENIL elevates Prashant Pandey as MD & CEO

    MUMBAI: Entertainment Network India Limited (ENIL) has elevated Prashant Pandey to managing director and CEO with immediate effect. Erstwhile the executive director and CEO, Pandey is one of the most illustrious names in bringing in the radio revolution in India and strengthening Radio Mirchi’s presence both nationally and internationally.

     

    In the new role, Pandey will continue to spearhead the team in maintaining Radio Mirchi’s leadership position in the country.

     

    An engineering graduate in Electronics & Communications and IIM Bangalore graduate, Pandey has been associated with the company since August 2000. Over the past 14 years Pandey has been able to take Radio Mirchi to an enviable position with revenues of Rs 385 crore and a PAT of Rs 84 crore in the 2013-14. Pandey has a total of 24 years of experience in industries ranging from advertising, banking, FMCG & Media. Prior to Radio Mirchi, he has worked with Citibank, Pepsi, HUL, Mudra, Modi Revlon. His areas of strength include marketing and sales, analytics and strategy and people management. He also served as a member of the Ministry of I&B committee on fighting piracy. He is a speaker at various industry forums.

     

    Pandey said, “It feels good to be recognised by the board.  I’m lucky to have the best team in the media industry working alongside as colleagues. I’ve always believed that the best of radio is still to come and the next five years will be a fabulous ride for anyone seeking professional success.”