TV18 Q1FY19 Results: Consolidated Operating Revenue grew 11% to Rs 1,088 crore
The net loss for the quarter ended June 30 2018 has reduced by 50% to Rs 7 crore, as compared to last year's net loss of Rs 14 crore
TV18 Broadcast Ltd has reported a consolidated operating EBITDA of Rs 39 crore in Q1FY19, despite the impact of losses from Colors Tamil.
Business-as-usual EBITDA margin for entertainment business improved significantly, and losses in the regional news also reduced. Consolidated operating revenues stood at Rs 1,088 crore, with a growth of 11 per cent YoY (on a comparable basis).
Also, the net loss for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 has reduced by 50 per cent to Rs 7 crore as compared to last year’s net loss which was Rs 14 crore.
Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman of Network18, said, “Our television channels reach out to 700 million people across the country, making every 1 in 2 Indians our consumer. We have 53 domestic channels across news and entertainment, making us a formidable player. The improving advertising environment and our rising viewership are positives, as we continue investing into growing our offerings across genres.”
Key Declarations
1. The industry environment has been recovering and advertising is on an upswing in general. The sentiment has been positive as growth revives in the new financial year, tempered in part by macro factors such as hardening interest rates and a depreciating INR.
2. TV18 posted 11 per cent total revenue growth on a comparable basis. Subscription revenues for the entire bouquet grew 10 per cent YoY. Advertising and other revenues benefited from the improving industry environment and the full-portfolio offering.
3. TV18’s news bouquet (20 channels) is #1: News viewership share rose to 10.3 per cent. TV18’s news bouquet gained viewership share (driven by Hindi and regional channels) to emerge as the top news network in India. Business news maintained its growth by virtue of its industry-leading position, and general news continued to be driven by the stellar performance of the Hindi news channel.
Regional news revenues grew smartly after a prolonged weakness; led by improved channel performance, integrated approach (including branding) and tailwinds from government/election-related spending.
Infotainment has been growing well too, helped by History TV18’s new HD feed and digital extensions. All these led to an overall improvement in profitability, especially as losses in regional news fell sharply YoY on a fairly stable cost-base.
4. Viacom18 bouquet’s (30 channels) share of entertainment viewership rose to 11.4 per cent: Colors ended the quarter as the leader in the pay-GEC charts in urban. Regional GECs in Marathi and Kannada gained, while Gujarati and Bengali too saw much-improved monetization. A solid show by kids channels and MTV Beats offset genre weakness in English entertainment and youth viewership.
5. Business-as-usual; margins more than doubled: Entertainment topline growth has been constrained by lower hours of non-fiction programming and lesser film premieres compared to the base quarter, and a late start for season 3 of marquee franchise ‘Naagin, which has been the number one fiction show. The tweaks in programming have resulted in an improvement in EBITDA margins for the business. Adjusting for the Rs 34 crore losses of Colors Tamil in Q1, business-as-usual margins for entertainment have expanded from sub-4 percent to 8.3 percent.
Business-as-usual EBITDA margin for entertainment business improved significantly, and losses in the regional news also reduced. Consolidated operating revenues stood at Rs 1,088 crore, with a growth of 11 per cent YoY (on a comparable basis).
Also, the net loss for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 has reduced by 50 per cent to Rs 7 crore as compared to last year’s net loss which was Rs 14 crore.
Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman of Network18, said, “Our television channels reach out to 700 million people across the country, making every 1 in 2 Indians our consumer. We have 53 domestic channels across news and entertainment, making us a formidable player. The improving advertising environment and our rising viewership are positives, as we continue investing into growing our offerings across genres.”
Key Declarations
1. The industry environment has been recovering and advertising is on an upswing in general. The sentiment has been positive as growth revives in the new financial year, tempered in part by macro factors such as hardening interest rates and a depreciating INR.
2. TV18 posted 11 per cent total revenue growth on a comparable basis. Subscription revenues for the entire bouquet grew 10 per cent YoY. Advertising and other revenues benefited from the improving industry environment and the full-portfolio offering.
3. TV18’s news bouquet (20 channels) is #1: News viewership share rose to 10.3 per cent. TV18’s news bouquet gained viewership share (driven by Hindi and regional channels) to emerge as the top news network in India. Business news maintained its growth by virtue of its industry-leading position, and general news continued to be driven by the stellar performance of the Hindi news channel.
Regional news revenues grew smartly after a prolonged weakness; led by improved channel performance, integrated approach (including branding) and tailwinds from government/election-related spending.
Infotainment has been growing well too, helped by History TV18’s new HD feed and digital extensions. All these led to an overall improvement in profitability, especially as losses in regional news fell sharply YoY on a fairly stable cost-base.
4. Viacom18 bouquet’s (30 channels) share of entertainment viewership rose to 11.4 per cent: Colors ended the quarter as the leader in the pay-GEC charts in urban. Regional GECs in Marathi and Kannada gained, while Gujarati and Bengali too saw much-improved monetization. A solid show by kids channels and MTV Beats offset genre weakness in English entertainment and youth viewership.
5. Business-as-usual; margins more than doubled: Entertainment topline growth has been constrained by lower hours of non-fiction programming and lesser film premieres compared to the base quarter, and a late start for season 3 of marquee franchise ‘Naagin, which has been the number one fiction show. The tweaks in programming have resulted in an improvement in EBITDA margins for the business. Adjusting for the Rs 34 crore losses of Colors Tamil in Q1, business-as-usual margins for entertainment have expanded from sub-4 percent to 8.3 percent.
