What is happening in Indian broadcasting industry -September 2023

What is happening in broadcasting
Ad revenues: FMCG ad volume on linear TV grew 6% year-over-year in the first half of calendar year 2023, and the second half is expected to be robust, led by the festive season. However, Q3FY24 could see some diversion of spending to sports given the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

Subscription revenues: TRAI plans to float a consultation paper on over-the-top (OTT) platforms and the I&B ministry is likely to introduce the Broadcasting Services Regulation (BSR) Bill 2023, which will include OTTs. Also, the Government has clarified that OTTs will not be clubbed with teleservices, thus, alleviating concerns around potential revenue-sharing claims.

Other news: Disney India’s potential buyers list includes RIL. Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) adjourns hearing on Punit Goenka’s appeal to 27th Sept’23. Viacom18 won TV and digital rights for BCCI’s bilateral cricket matches held in India at a rate lower than that paid by Disney in the previous cycle. A petition has been filed against Star India by the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) to cease free cricket streaming for the ICC World Cup.

What is happening in the movie exhibition
‘Gadar 2’ and ‘Jawan’ boost GBO collections in Q2: ‘Gadar 2’ is now the 2nd highest-grossing Hindi movie in India, with domestic GBO INR 6.1bn. ‘Jawan’ is now the 3rd highest-grossing Hindi movie in India with a domestic GBO INR 5.3bn till date. PVR Inox achieved its ‘highest monthly admissions and box office of all time in August ’23. In Aug’23, PVR Inox had 19mn admits with GBO revenue of INR 5.32bn. While Sept’23 (1st half) was dominated by ‘Jawan’, we note a slew of releases from 22nd Sept’23 including ‘The Great Indian Family’(YRF), ‘Expendables’, ‘Sukhee’, ‘Fukrey 3’ and ‘The Vaccine War’.

The notable content line-up in Q3: Upcoming releases in Hindi include ‘Mission Raniganj’, ‘Animal’, ‘Ganpath’, ‘Tejas’, ‘Sam Bahadur’, ‘Tiger 3’, ‘Yodha’, ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Dunki’. Regional releases include ‘Salaar’, ‘Tiger Nageshwara Rao’ and ‘Saindhav’. English releases include ‘The Marvels’, ‘Wonka’ and ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’.

For full report click: Media Bulletin Sep’23. ICICI Securities