iWorld
Shemaroo to further focus on digital
MUMBAI: Content aggregation and distribution company Shemaroo Entertainment is going into an overdrive on the digital ecosystem. And it’s working for the firm which is quoting currently at Rs 382 (on Wednesday 03pm) on the Bombay stock exchange.
In an interview with CNBC TV18 on 20 December, Shemaroo’s wholetime director and CFO Hiren Gada said, “Digital is currently contributing 20 per cent of its top line revenues,” and growth has been at a healthy 50 per cent and more.
Gada further elaborated that around Rs 24 crore of its previous quarter’s revenues of around Rs 100 crore came courtesy digital or new media. He was specially buoyant about the 4.5 million views per day that its channels on YouTube were generating. Its mother channel Shemaroo had 2.28 million subscribers, Filmi Gaane had 1.8 million subscribers, Shemaroo Movies had 431,579 subscribers, and Shemaroo Kids had 281,000 subscribers cumulatively generating 1.42 billion views, 1.26 billion views, 142 million views and 186 million views, respectively.
“So, that kind of bears out as a strategy and conviction that the content strategy that we are following is getting tremendous traction with the audience,” he said.
Gada disclosed that telcos such as Vodafone, Idea and Airtel which it has partnered are already adding a “large component of revenues” to the company’s topline. “Then, there are all these (platforms) which are the next level of services, some of which are nascent or new like Reliance Jio or Hotstar or iTunes or any other international platforms. They hold tremendous potential.”
Gada added that the company’s content is unmissable. “.. given the kind of content we are sitting on, no one can run a meaningful Bollywood service without some content from Shemaroo. So, to that extent, we are either in talks or already deployed on many of the platforms that are already operating.”
Gada was hopeful of maintaining or hiking the revenue growth levels of 50 per cent that its new media focus has been generating over the next quarter as well. He also highlighted that margins for this segment were also higher than for the company as a whole as operating costs are being kept in check.
Shemaroo has also tied up with DTH operators such as Tata Sky, Dish TV and Airtel to run specialised value added services for them covering movies, comedy, religious songs.
iWorld
Netflix raises US subscription prices again across all plans
Second hike in a year pushes premium tier to top of market pricing
NEW YORK: Netflix has raised its subscription prices in the United States once again, marking its second increase in just over a year as it looks to fund a growing slate of content and new formats.
The revised pricing, updated on 26 March, lifts costs across all tiers. The ad-supported plan now stands at $8.99 per month, up from $7.99, while the standard ad-free plan rises to $19.99 from $17.99. The premium tier, which includes 4K and spatial audio, now costs $26.99, making it the most expensive standalone streaming plan currently available.
Extra member fees have also gone up, with ad-supported add-ons increasing to $7.99 and ad-free slots to $9.99. New users will see the revised rates immediately, while existing subscribers will get a notification and a roughly 30-day window before the changes take effect.
Notably, while prices are climbing, the features across plans remain unchanged, with no additions to screens, resolution or user benefits.
The move comes after a strong growth phase for Netflix, which added nearly 20 million subscribers in 2025 despite earlier price hikes. The streamer had also explored a potential $83 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery before stepping back to focus on organic expansion.
With subscriber momentum still intact, Netflix appears confident that audiences will continue to stay tuned, even as the cost of streaming keeps edging upwards.
