Fiction
Balaji Telefilms reports Q3 and nine-month FY25 financial performance
MUMBAI: Balaji Telefilms Ltd has announced its financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended 31 December 2024.
Financial Highlights
* The group reported revenue of Rs 93.2 crore in Q3 FY25, with consolidated nine-month revenue at Rs 386.8 crore.
* EBITDA profit for 9M FY25 stood at Rs 5.3 crore, driven by operational excellence and strategic cost rationalisation, particularly in the digital business (ALT Digital).
* Profit before tax for 9M FY25 was Rs 0.5 crore.
Television Segment
* The TV business remains the company’s core, contributing Rs 194.2 crore in revenue for 9M FY25.
* EBITDA for 9M FY25 was Rs 26.8 crore.
* Balaji had four shows on air during the quarter across major broadcasters, producing 640 hours in 9M FY25, with realisation per hour at Rs 29.14 lakh.
Digital Business (ALT Digital)
* Cost rationalisation efforts improved performance, with ALT Digital’s EBITDA loss narrowing by 18 per cent in Q3 FY25 to Rs 6.9 crore from Rs 8.4 crore in Q2 FY25.
* Subscription revenue stood at Rs 13.32 crore for 9M FY25, with 7.34 lakh subscriptions sold, including 3.93 lakh renewals.
* ALT Digital launched 20 new shows in Q3 FY25, totalling 46 shows in 9M FY25.
* The platform has over 167 shows live, and content consumption reached 17.41 billion minutes with 1.74 billion views.
* ALT is expanding into the AVOD model and has an order book of Rs 343 crore for web series across major OTT platforms.
Film Business
* The Sabarmati Report, released in Q3 FY25, received positive reviews but underperformed at the box office.
* Earlier releases in H1 FY25 included LSD 2 (April 2024) and The Buckingham Murders (September 2024), both later released on Netflix.
* The company has a strong pipeline, with Vrushabha (starring Mohanlal) in post-production and Bhoot Bangla (starring Akshay Kumar, directed by Priyadarshan) in production.
* A new project, Vvan, in collaboration with TVF and starring Sidharth Malhotra, is in development.
Fundraising Initiative
* Balaji Telefilms raised Rs 130.67 crore through an equity issue to promoters and foreign investors.
* A total of 1.78 crore shares were allotted at Rs 73.17 per share, approved by the board on 7 February 2025.
* The funds will be used to scale the movie business, explore music retention and distribution, enhance the digital content business, and strengthen the financial structure.
Group CEO and CFO Sanjay Dwivedi stated, “This successful capital raise underscores the confidence of our promoters and foreign investors in the company’s growth plans. The funding will reinforce our commitment to shareholder value and strengthen our balance sheet.”
Merger Update
* The board approved a draft composite scheme of arrangement on 30 May 2024 for the merger of Balaji Telefilms Ltd, ALT, and MFPL.
* The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) granted no-objection certificates, and the company filed an application with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on 27 January 2025 for approval.
* The merger aims to consolidate content production, eliminate redundancies, enhance financial capacity, and streamline compliance, leading to improved returns and efficiency.
Managing director Shobha Kapoor stated, “With a strong focus on profitability, operational streamlining, and cost rationalisation, we are confident in our growth trajectory across television, films, and digital platforms.”
Fiction
Banijay merges with All3Media in $6.65 billion deal
Marco Bassetti will lead the combined company as CEO
PARIS: Six years after acquiring Endemol Shine at the height of the pandemic, Banijay has struck again. The European production heavyweight is merging with All3Media in a deal that will create a television titan with $6.65 billion in revenue and redraw the contours of a fast-consolidating market.
The combined company will trade under the Banijay name and be owned 50 per cent each by Banijay Group and RedBird IMI, which acquired All3Media in 2024. The transaction is expected to close by autumn, subject to regulatory approvals.
Banijay Entertainment CEO Marco Bassetti, will take the top job at the enlarged group. All3Media CEO Jane Turton becomes deputy CEO. RedBird IMI CEO Jeff Zucker will serve as chairman.
The logic is scale. Broadcasters are commissioning less, streamers are tightening budgets and global buyers are fewer but bigger. Against that backdrop, heft matters. The merged entity will generate roughly $6.65 billion in revenues based on 2024 figures, giving it sharper elbows in rights negotiations and deeper pockets for franchise-building.
“Entrepreneurialism, ambition and creativity” remain core to Banijay’s DNA, Bassetti said, flagging plans to invest more heavily in new intellectual property, live events and emerging platforms. Turton struck a similarly bullish note, pointing to All3Media’s journey from a 2003 start-up to a global supplier of hit formats and high-end drama.
Between them, the two groups control a formidable slate. Banijay’s catalogue spans MasterChef, Big Brother, Survivor, Black Mirror, Peaky Blinders and Deal or No Deal. All3Media’s labels include Studio Lambert, producer of The Traitors and Squid Game: The Challenge; Two Brothers, behind The Tourist; and Neal Street, currently producing the forthcoming Beatles biopics directed by Sam Mendes for Sony.
The back catalogue is equally muscular. Banijay Rights holds some 220,000 hours, while All3Media International adds around 35,000 hours, forming one of the industry’s largest libraries.
Banijay, controlled by French entrepreneur Stéphane Courbit and listed in Amsterdam, counts more than 130 production companies across 25 territories. All3Media operates over 40 labels, with strong positions in the UK, US and Germany. The enlarged group will also lean into live entertainment, building on Banijay’s Balich Wonder Studio, which produced the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, and the Independents.
The deal marks a shift in tone. As recently as October, Bassetti suggested that mergers and acquisitions were not a priority. But the drumbeat of consolidation has grown louder. Mediawan has moved for Peter Chernin’s North Road. David Ellison’s Paramount has agreed to a $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros, with plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount plus. ITV has explored selling its media and entertainment arm to Comcast-owned Sky, though talks have reportedly slowed.
