Fiction
Balaji Telefilms television segment reports PAT for Q3-2014
BENGALURU: The blue eyed entity of the Indian media and entertainment industry Balaji Telefilms Limited (Balaji) Television content production segment reported a standalone PAT of Rs 1.66 crore for Q3-2014, more than double the Rs 0.80 crore for the immediate preceding quarter (Q2-2014), but a little less a third (33.5 per cent) of the Rs 4.94 crore which included a negative tax figure that added to the profit by Rs 1.18 crore during Q3-2013.
Television entertainment has been the foundation stone for Balaji Telefilms Limited (BTL). This segment saw a growth of 41.7 per cent in commissioned programming to 173 hours during Q3-2014 as compared to the 123 hours during the immediate trailing quarter and 18.5 per cent as compared to the 146 hours during Q3-2013. Revenue realised per hour dipped to Rs 21.18 lakh (100 lakh = 1 crore) for Q3-2014 from Rs 23.10 lakh during Q2-2014 and was 2.8 per cent lower than the Rs 21.79 lakh realised during Q3-2013.
With no movies released during the quarter, overall, the company reported a consolidated loss of Rs (-5.75) crore for Q3-2014, the sole contributor to the loss being its Motion Picture business Balaji Motion Pictures Limited (BMPL), with a loss of Rs (- 7.56 crore). Four movies, from the movies under production, are likely to be released between February and April 2014 – Shaadi Ke Side Effects, Raagini MMS 2, Main Tera Hero and Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi. This segment had contributed Rs 11.81 crore to the Rs 12.32 crore PAT reported by Balaji during Q2-2014.
Balaji’s third revenue segment – BOLT Media Limited (BOLT) returned a PAT of Rs 0.14 crore during Q3-2014 as compared to a loss of Rs (-0.32) crore for Q2-2014.
Let us look at the other results declared by Balaji Telefilms
The company reported consolidated income from operations of Rs 43.22 crore for Q3-2014 as compared to the Rs 194.62 crore during the immediate trailing quarter and the Rs 46.6 crore reported for Q3-2013.
Increase in stock in trade by Rs 13.74 crore during Q3-2014 has seen total consolidated expenditure figures (on paper) dip to Rs 49.83 crore. During Q2-2014, decrease in stock in trade of Rs 93.77 crore had increased the total expenditure to Rs 185.09 crore during Q2-2014, while an increase in stock in trade of Rs 15.23 crore had reduced the total expenditure to Rs 40.88 crore during Q3-2013.
Production cost for movies and serials during Q3-2014 at Rs 51.49 crore was six per cent less than the Rs 54.82 crore during Q2-2014, but 14.5 per cent higher than the Rs 44.96 crore during Q3-2013. Marketing and distribution expense for Q3-2014 at Rs 1.09 crore was just a small fraction of the Rs 23.81 crore spent during Q2-2014 and two and a half times the Rs 0.5 crore spent during Q3-2013.
Revenue from operations from Balaji’s Television content production segment was up 50 per cent at Rs 37.80 crore for Q3-2014 as compared to the Rs 25.25 crore during Q2-2014 and 16.4 per cent more than the Rs 32.48 crore during Q3-2014. Total Operating revenue from this segment was Rs 38.75 crore for Q3-2014, Rs 30.33 crore for Q2-2014 and Rs 33.32 crore for Q3-2013.
Cost of production for the television segment during Q3-2014 was up 23.6 per cent at Rs 31.19 crore as compared to the Rs 25.25 crore during Q2-2014 and 25.2 per cent higher than the Rs 24.92 crore during Q3-2013.
BMPL reported operating revenue of Rs 1.13 crore for Q3-2013 as compared to the Rs 165.05 crore for Q2-2014 and Rs 13.25 crore during Q3-2013. BMPL’s expenditure for Q3-2014 was Rs 8.72 crore for Q3-2014, Rs 172.4 crore during Q2-2014 and Rs 29.73 crore during Q3-2013. As mentioned above this segment has reported a loss of Rs (-7.56 crore) during Q3-2014.
Balaji says that Production cost for this segment comprises of old films inventory amortisation, marketing and distribution expenses of future releases. Balaji’s two releases during the second quarter of 2014 – Lootera and Once upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara were declared ‘Average’ and ‘Flop’ respectively at the Box Office.
BOLT reported revenue of Rs 3.37 crore and a total expenditure of Rs 3.33 crore during Q3-2014.
Click below for:-
Balaji Telefilms Investor Presentation
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.
