Fiction
Shemaroo op revenue down due to COVID2019 impact
BENGALURU: Indian content creator, aggregator distributor, specifically in the media and entertainment industry and now television broadcaster, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd (Shemaroo) reported 39.7 percent drop in consolidated operating revenue at Rs 86.2 crore for the quarter ended 30 June 2020 (Q1 2020, quarter or period under review) as compared to the Rs 143.03 crore for corresponding year ago quarter Q1 2020. Consolidated operating revenue for Q4 2020 was Rs 122.74 crore. However, the company reported a lower consolidated loss of Rs 12.81 crore for the period under review as compared to the loss of Rs 14.07 crore for the immediate trailing quarter (Q4 2020). The company had reported consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 16.38 crore in Q1 2020.
Shemaroo revenue from traditional media in Q1 2021 declined 44.5 percent to Rs 52.3 crore from Rs 94.30 crore in Q1 2020. Revenue from traditional media in Q4 2020 was Rs 76.9 crore. Shemaroo’s revenue from digital media also fell in Q1 2021 to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 48.7 crore in Q1 2020 (y-o-y decline of 30.4 percent) and Rs 45.8 crore (q-o-q decline of 26 percent) in Q4 2020. However, contribution to revenuefrom digital media has been increasing over time says the company. In Q1 2020, digital media revenue’s contribution to overall revenue was 34.06 percent, which increased to 39.33 percent in Q1 2021. In FY 2020, the contribution of revenue from digital media to operating revenue grew to 38.55 percent from 16.94 percent in FY 2016. Please refer to the figure below:
Sheamroo says in an investor presentation for Q1 2021 that the nationwide lockdown due to COVID2019 coupled with the overall sluggishness in the Indian economy impacted consumption and hence advertisingspends by brands. It says that during the quarters, deals were either deferred or re-negotiated which had an impact on the margins and cash flows. The company says that since it had alreadyundertaken cost rationalization measures even before the lockdown, it helped the company to tide over this pandemicoperationally. However, Shemaroo says that is cognisant of the external environment and has thereby undertaken several measures to optimize the operations andrationalize thosebusinesses that have been severely impacted.
Shemaroo’s consolidated operating EBITDA for Q1 2020 was negative Rs 4.89 crore as compared to consolidated operating profit of Rs 31.91 crore for the corresponding year ago quarter. For Q4 2020, Shemarro had negative EBITDA of Rs 3.08 crore.
Let us look at the other numbers reported by Shemaroo
Consolidated total income (operating revenue plus other income) for Q1 2021 declined 39.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 86.55 crore from Rs 1543.87 crore in Q1 2020. Consolidated total expenditure for Q1 2021 reduced 15.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 99.82 crore from Rs 118.32 crore in Q1 2020.
Consolidated operating costs for the period under review declined 19.1 percent y-o-y to Rs 71.16 crore from Rs 87.91 crore in Q1 2020. Employee benefit expense in Q1 2021 was almost flat (reduced by 0.2 percent) y-o-y at Rs 15.72 crore as compared to Rs 15.75 crore in Q1 2020, Finance costs in Q1 2021 increased 18.9 percent to Rs 6.86 crore from Rs 5.77 crore in Q1 2020. Other expenses in Q1 2021 reduced 43.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 10.22 crore from Rs 7.46 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.
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.
