Fiction
Q2-2015: Commissioned programmes cushion Balaji Telefilms’ loss
BENGALURU: Balaji Telefilms reported less than half the q-o-q total income from operations (TIO) (1/2.3 times) for Q2-2015 at Rs 58.89 crore versus the Rs 136.03 crore in Q1-2015 and less than a third (1/3.3 times) of the Rs 194.62 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, the company’s TIO at Rs 195.89 crore was 29.8 per cent lower than the Rs 279.07 crore in HY-2014.
Note: 100,00,00 = 100 Lakhs = 10 million = 1 crore
Commissioned programs cushioned the loss from the company’s film segment. Revenue from commissioned programs went up 7.2 per cent to Rs 49.33 crore in Q2-2015 from Rs 46 crores in Q1-2015 and was 64 per cent more than the Rs 30.09 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, this segment had 81.7 per cent higher revenue at Rs 95.32 crore versus the Rs 52.46 crore in HY-2014.
Commissioned programs reported an operating profit of Rs 5.85 crores in Q2-2015, which was 5 per cent lower than the Rs 6.16 crore in Q1-2015 and 60.8 per cent more than the Rs 3.64 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, operating profit from commissioned programs more than tripled (went up 3.1 times) at Rs 12.01 crore versus Rs 3.86 crore in HY-2014.
Overall, Balaji has returned a loss of Rs 7.58 crore in Q2-2015 versus a profit of Rs 10.56 crore in Q1-2015 and a profit of Rs 12.32 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, Balaji Telefilms reported a profit of Rs 2.98 crore which was less than a fifth (19.7 per cent) of the Rs 15.94 crore in HY-2014.
The company’s film segment, which contributes a major percentage to its TIO, reported poor results. Revenue of Rs 9.43 crore from this segment in Q2-2014 was less than one-ninth (1/9.5 times) the Rs 89.34 crore in Q1-2015 and less than one seventeenth (1/17.4) the Rs 164.05 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, Film segment revenue of Rs 98.77 crore in HY-2015 was less than half (1/2.3 times) the Rs 225.70 crore in HY-2014.
Films segment reported a loss of Rs 7.46 crore versus operating profit of Rs 10.97 crore in Q1-2015 and an operating profit of Rs 11.81 crore in Q2-2014. Operating profit in HY-2015 at Rs 3.52 crore was less than half the Rs 8.24 crore in HY-2014.
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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.
