ALTBalaji direct subscriptions twelve-month revenue at Rs 52.39cr ; Original show library at 90+

Balaji Telefilms announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and twelve-months ended 31st March 2022.

ALTBalaji remains one of OTT’s most consistent hit content creators adding 13 shows in the twelve months taking the overall library to 90+ shows. The Company sold 3.88mn subscriptions during twelve months ending 31st March 2022. This excludes subscribers on partner apps where the content continues to do well. The Company continues its strategy to drive deeper audience engagement by creating content that is targeted at mass India seeking differentiated stories. The platform has over 90+ shows and some of the hits launched in Q4Fy22 includes Lock Upp which garnered immense popularity and became the highest watched reality show in OTT space within a very short span and crossed 500+ million views.

At the same time, the engagement time stands at 66 mins, with watch time at 15.75 billion in minutes. Video views stand at 1.29 billion cumulative till date.

During the twelve months TV business produced 863+ hours of content across 7 shows for 4 broadcasters. 2 new exciting shows have been lined up and should commence shortly.

Movie business continued to make good progress in completing its productions given that normal operations were fully resumed on account of easing of restrictions. Further, with the relaxations implemented in terms of re-opening of cinema theatres, the theatrical distribution business is steadily on its way to regain momentum and this has accordingly allowed the Company to pursue its monetization strategies for completed productions in terms of theatrical launches as well as deals for direct to digital. 7 movies are planned for release in Fy23 and Pre-locked exiting deals on few movies. As part of its strategy the Company continues to control investments in movies and pursue pre sales and co-production deals where feasible.

Mrs. Shobha Kapoor, Managing Director, Balaji Telefilms Limited said, “The relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions and norms in this financial year allowed us to operate at our optimum efficiency levels. ALTBalaji continues to drive subscription growth and we added 3.88mn subscriptions during the twelve months. We added 13 shows in the twelve months which included the highest watched reality show Lock Upp in OTT space signalling the reach of the business. We continue to have strong controls on the cash spend while driving overall profitability including some strong strategic content sharing deals which allows us to further our growth.
Our TV business has shown good recovery in terms of production hours and we hope to improve this momentum as 2 new shows will commence. In the movie business, production for some exciting projects is at various stages of completion. We closely monitor the availability of theatrical releases and direct to digital launches. Overall, the year has been good and expected to continue the momentum.”

Operational and financial highlights

• ALTBalaji total subscriptions sold in FY22 were 3.88 mn. Direct subscription revenues at Rs 52.39cr vs Rs 54.05 cr.
• ALTBalaji 90+ shows live on the platform.
• TV business continued at normal in twelve months with 863+ hours of production across 7 shows and a strong pipeline with exciting shows for the year.
• Movies current pipeline includes 7 exciting projects with some of the top leading actors and directors of the country.
•  Overall financial performance for the twelve months :
  • Group revenues at Rs 337cr of which ALTBalaji contributed Rs 102cr
  • Group EBITDA loss at Rs 121cr and Loss after tax at Rs 133cr

BCS Bureau