Consolidated operating EBITDA jumped 16% to Rs 279 crore in Q4 FY21 as against Rs 240 crore in Q4 FY20. Operating EBITDA margin improved to 20.7% in Q4 FY21 as compared to 16.9% in Q4 FY20. The Q4 result was announced made after market hours yesterday, 20 April 2021.
The group debt sharply reduced to Rs 893 crore in March 2021, from Rs 1,775 crore in March 2020.
Entertainment operating margin are stood at 19% during Q4 FY21 while News margins rose to its highest ever levels of 27% in Q4 FY21, led by 5% Y-o-Y (year-on-year) revenue growth. The consolidated revenue ex-film production remained flat Y-o-Y despite deferral of award shows.
Entertainment advertising ex-live-events (which were deferred) has grown in high single digits, as recovery from COVID-19 was cemented with a full roster of original programming. The resumption of two channels on Freedish and strong performance of properties like Bigg Boss and Dance Deewane continues to drive up viewership and monetization. While TV News ratings remained under blackout since October 2020, the News channel portfolio was largely unaffected as it grew across revenue-streams, including virtual events.
Domestic subscription revenue grew as a result of improved tie-ups in TV and digital (both B2B and B2C) offset stress in International segment. Subscription revenue remained largely resilient to COVID-19 impact, growing 1% Y-o-Y in FY21.
The News channel bouquet has posted strong ad-growth. Hindi continues to be the driver of growth, while Regional losses have sharply reduced led by lagged revival of regional economies. Despite competition from free-to-air (FTA) networks, margins continued to ascend throughout FY21 in tandem with ad-revenue revival.
The Hindi GECs (General Entertainment Channels) continued to grow led by ad-revival, high-impact content and improved ratings. Deferral of key award shows was partly offset by Legends Cup cricket aired on Colors Cineplex and Voot. Regional channels are witnessing a steady recovery in both rankings and monetization. Kids channel grew strongly, while Youth and English continued to face genre pressures. Movie channels across Hindi and Regional are scaling up. EBITDA includes impact from initiatives launched more than a year ago but are in gestation, mainly Colors Tamil and Voot. Voot and pay products Voot Select and Kids have demonstrated strong traction, with Voot Select being the fastest to reach 1 million B2C subscribers in its first year.
Adil Zainulbhai, the chairman of TV18 Broadcast, said: The group has successfully dealt with the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic, and posted much improved profitability in a difficult year. Our brands have continued to grow in strength and salience during this period. This bears testament to our business process resilience and innovation in adversity; factors which have proved critical and will continue to remain of prime importance as we navigate any future challenges. Our plans to invest in digital growth and our resolve to excel in television remain constants amidst a dynamic business environment.
TV18 Broadcast, a subsidiary of Network18 manages its primary business of broadcasting. TV18 runs the largest news network in India, spanning business news, general news and regional news channels.
Shares of TV18 Broadcast rose 0.73% to end at Rs 27.55 on Tuesday. The market is shut today (21 April 2021) on account of Ram Navami.
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