MAM
FY-16: UFO Moviez ad revenue 35 percent up
BENGALURU: Indian digital cinema distribution network and in-cinema advertising platform, UFO Moviez Limited (UFO) reported a 35.3 percent growth in advertising revenue for the year ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year). The company reported advertising revenue of Rs 157.8 crore in FY-16 as compared to Rs 116.7 crore in the previous year. Average advertisement minutes sold per show per screen increased to 4.15 (FY-15 – 3.36) minutes during the year. Theatrical and In-Cinema advertisement (consolidated excluding new businesses) revenues grew by 18.6 percent to Rs 567.1 crore (FY-15 – Rs 478.3 crore). Consolidated revenues improved by 19.4 percent to Rs 572.1 crore (FY-15 – Rs 479.3 crore)
Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
(a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.
Let us look at the other numbers reported by UFO Moviez
Total Expense in FY-16 increased 17.5 percent to Rs 464.70 crore from Rs 395.45 crore in FY-15. Ad revenue share (expense) in FY-16 increased 27.2 percent to Rs 47.15 crore from Rs 39.39 crore in the previous year. Visual Print sharing expense in FY-16 increased 22.9 percent to Rs 73.36 crore from Rs 63.31 crore.
The company’s expense towards purchase of digital cinema equipment and lamps in the current year increased 62.7 percent to Rs 66.0s crore as compared to Rs 40.59 crore in FY-15.
Company speak
“Fiscal 2016 was another successful year for UFO as our financial results exceeded expectations across all metrics,” said UFO Moviez founder and managing director Sanjay Gaikwad. “Our confidence in our advertisement growth strategy has further strengthened. We continued to generate strong cash flows, allowing us to return value to our shareholders through dividends. We are excited about the potential of our advertisement platform and committed to deliver growth ahead aiming at unlocking further value for shareholders.”
“UFO delivered record revenue and profitability with consistent growth year on year for the last 5 fiscal years,” said Kapil Agarwal, Joint Managing Director. “Our theatrical business continues to deliver stable results and we remain strategically focused on driving growth through advertising. Momentum from advertisements continued in fiscal 2016 with advertisement sales exceeding 35 percent growth achieving record levels. As we enter fiscal 2017, we remain confident in our momentum and see tremendous opportunity and exciting prospects for the company.”
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
