TV18 reports Rs 653.5 cr consolidated revenues in Q2 FY17

TV18 Broadcast has reported consolidated revenues (including proportionate share of joint ventures considered for segment reports) of Rs 653.5 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2016, compared to Rs 608.5 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. This represents a growth of 10 per cent after factoring in the change in status of Prism TV (regional entertainment channels). Prism TV was consolidated as a subsidiary till July 31, 2015 and became a joint venture effective August 1, 2015. The FY17 half yearly consolidated revenue stood at Rs 1,260.2 crore, up from Rs 1205.2 crore last year.

During the quarter, the group remained in investment mode to position it well for the future. The Information and Entertainment bouquet was revamped with new launches, talent pool beefed up and accent was placed on creating/ curating high quality content for both TV and Digital media.

Segment loss before Interest and Tax on a consolidated basis, including the performance of JVs stood at Rs 3 crore for the quarter vis-a-vis segment profit of Rs 24.7 crore in Q2 FY16. Excluding the impact of new initiatives and one-time expense, the segment profit for the quarter stood at Rs 70.1 crore.

The consolidated revenue as per Ind AS (accounting the JVs under Equity method) for Q2 FY17 stood at Rs 239.8 crore, compared to Rs 227.7 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. After factoring in the change in status of Prism TV from subsidiary to JV from August 1, 2015, on a like for like basis, the growth in revenue is 22 per cent. Operating loss on a consolidated basis under Ind AS was Rs 10.8 crore, as against Rs 9.1 crore in Q2 FY17. Excluding the impact of new initiatives, the operating profit for the quarter is Rs 21.2 crore.

Commenting on the Q2 FY 17 results, Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman, TV18, said, “We are excited about our priorities and momentum in both linear TV and digital businesses. We are positive that our aggressive investments into upgrading and expanding our bouquet across information as well as entertainment shall boost revenue growth and drive profitability in due course.”

Q2 Highlights

The group continued to push innovative and high quality content, and also spread its wings into regional markets via new channels. In keeping with fast-changing content consumption patterns, the group also strengthened its digital outreach.

In the Entertainment space, Viacom18 launched its second regional entertainment channel in the Kannada market, branded as Colors Super, in July 2016 to further strengthen its pole position. MTV Beats, a 24x7 music television channel, has replaced MTV Indies during Q2 FY17.

Voot, the OTT platform launched in Q1 FY17, has garnered more than 10 million app downloads with over 15 million monthly active users across mobile and web. Rishtey Cineplex, a Hindi movie channel launched in May 2016, strengthened its position during the quarter.

The aggregate impact on the operating loss of the new initiatives of Viacom18 considered in the consolidated segment results is Rs 34.1 crore.

During the quarter, Prism TV (regional entertainment channels), a joint venture between TV18 and Viacom Inc. USA, was merged with Viacom18 pursuant to the Scheme of Arrangement approved by the order of the Bombay High Court on August 12, 2016.The consolidated segment results for the quarter includes a one-time expense relating to merger (including stamp duty) of Rs 7 crore.

FYI TV18, a lifestyle programming channel from the AETN18 stable, was commercially launched on July 4, 2016. The channel incurred an operating loss of Rs 9.2 crore during the July-September quarter.

In the Information space, the three regional news channels – namely, News18 Kerala, News18 Tamil Nadu and News18 Assam/NE – that were launched during the first quarter of the current year, stabilised during the quarter and expanded their reach. These three new channels incurred an operating loss of Rs 22.8 crore during the quarter.