iWorld
OTT subscribers up 20% this year to 424 million: Ormax’s report
Mumbai: Ormax Media has released the largest audience research study to size the OTT universe in India, titled The Ormax OTT Audience Sizing Report 2022. The research, based on a sample size of 13,500 across urban and rural India, was conducted from July to September 2022.
Ormax Media released select findings of the report, which reveal that the Indian OTT audience universe is currently at 423.8 million (or 42.38 crore) people. This translated into a penetration of 30 per cent, which means that three out of 10 Indians watched online videos at least once in the last month. The report breaks this universe down by gender, age, NCCS, pop strata, states, and cities.
Speaking about the need for the report, Ormax Media founder & CEO Shailesh Kapoor said, “India’s OTT audience universe has grown rapidly since 2018, with a boost during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. Now that we are in a more settled post-pandemic period, this annual report is an important reckoner for the OTT industry to understand how their audience base is growing and where this growth is coming from. Unlike other reports that rely on desk research, this report is based on primary audience research across India.”
The report also reveals that there are currently 119 million active paid OTT subscriptions in India, across 49 million paying (SVoD) audiences, i.e., an average of 2.4 subscriptions per paying audience member. 65 per cent of these paid subscriptions are from male audiences. The top six metros contribute only 10 per cent to India’s OTT universe but 33 per cent to total paid subscriptions in India. Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru are the top three, with more than 8.5 million active paid subscriptions each.
Speaking about the findings, Kapoor said, “A large share of the 20 per cent growth in audience base has come from rural India and small towns. The metropolises have reached saturation levels, with more than 79 per cent OTT penetration. Platforms will have to rely on smaller markets for the next phase of growth. From an SVoD perspective, the most significant finding has been that the average number of subscriptions has remained static at 2.4 per paying user. This data point holds immense strategic value, as it suggests that subscription growth will come from more people paying for subscriptions than the same people paying for more subscriptions”.
The full report is available by subscription for streaming platforms, production companies, media agencies, and other companies associated with the OTT category in India.
Gaming
Bluestone FY26 revenue rises to Rs 2,436 crore, turns profitable
Q4 profit at Rs 31 crore, full-year profit at Rs 13 crore vs loss last year.
MUMBAI: From sparkle to numbers, Bluestone seems to be polishing more than just jewellery this year. Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Limited reported a sharp turnaround in FY26, with revenue from operations rising to Rs 2,436 crore (Rs 24,364 million), up from Rs 1,770 crore (Rs 17,700 million) in FY25. The company posted a full-year profit of Rs 13 crore (Rs 131.79 million), a significant recovery from a loss of Rs 222 crore (Rs 2,218 million) a year ago.
Total income for the year stood at Rs 2,486 crore (Rs 24,860 million), compared to Rs 1,830 crore (Rs 18,300 million) in the previous year, reflecting both topline growth and improved operational momentum.
The March quarter, however, told a more nuanced story. Revenue from operations came in at Rs 681 crore (Rs 6,814 million), down from Rs 748 crore (Rs 7,486 million) in the year-ago period, though higher than Rs 461 crore (Rs 4,613 million) in the preceding December quarter. Net profit for Q4 stood at Rs 31 crore (Rs 311.81 million), compared to Rs 68 crore (Rs 688 million) a year earlier, but a clear reversal from a loss of Rs 51 crore (Rs 512 million) in Q3.
Margins were shaped by higher input costs, with raw material consumption rising to Rs 2,204 crore (Rs 22,043 million) for the full year, alongside employee benefit expenses of Rs 282 crore (Rs 2,824 million) and finance costs of Rs 210 crore (Rs 2,104 million). Other expenses came in at Rs 371 crore (Rs 3,715 million), slightly lower than Rs 393 crore (Rs 3,938 million) in FY25.
On the balance sheet front, total assets expanded to Rs 4,961 crore (Rs 49,610 million) as of March 31, 2026, from Rs 3,532 crore (Rs 35,322 million) a year earlier, driven largely by a surge in inventories to Rs 2,672 crore (Rs 26,718 million). Equity also strengthened to Rs 1,803 crore (Rs 18,030 million), nearly doubling from Rs 911 crore (Rs 9,107 million).
Cash flows reflected the cost of growth. Net cash used in operating activities stood at Rs 199 crore (Rs 1,990 million), while investing activities saw an outflow of Rs 239 crore (Rs 2,392 million). Financing activities, however, generated Rs 497 crore (Rs 4,971 million), helping the company end the year with cash and cash equivalents of Rs 108 crore (Rs 1,075 million), up from Rs 49 crore (Rs 487 million).
Earnings per share for FY26 came in at Rs 1.10, a sharp improvement from a negative Rs 79.74 in FY25, underlining the shift from losses to profitability.
With revenue scaling up, costs still glittering on the higher side, and profitability finally back in the black, BlueStone’s FY26 performance suggests a business mid-transition less about shine alone, and more about sustaining it.
