Production House
Radio silence broken as ENIL swings back to red in December quarter
Higher income, heavier costs and one-off hits shape Radio Mirchi owner’s run.
MUMBAI: Radio may thrive on sound, but this quarter the numbers did most of the talking at Entertainment Network India Limited (ENIL), the Radio Mirchi operator and a subsidiary of Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, ENIL reported total income of Rs 166.28 crore, up from Rs 159.94 crore in the same quarter last year. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 159.82 crore, compared with Rs 153.70 crore a year earlier, reflecting steadier domestic advertising and incremental overseas income.
Despite the top-line growth, the December quarter slipped into the red. ENIL posted a net loss of Rs 6.20 crore, reversing a profit of Rs 8.51 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The swing was largely driven by higher costs and an exceptional expense of Rs 8.10 crore booked during the period.
Quarterly expenses climbed to Rs 170.02 crore from Rs 148.46 crore a year ago. Production expenses alone jumped to Rs 62.43 crore from Rs 48.34 crore, while other expenses rose to Rs 39.17 crore from Rs 31.32 crore, highlighting sharper content and operating costs.
For the nine months ended December 31, 2025, ENIL reported total income of Rs 428.97 crore, up from Rs 398.41 crore in the corresponding period last year. Revenue from operations for the nine-month period increased to Rs 408.19 crore from Rs 372.67 crore. However, the company reported a net loss of Rs 14.92 crore for the period, compared with a marginal loss of Rs 0.73 crore a year earlier, again weighed down by exceptional items.
Geographically, India continued to do the heavy lifting. Domestic operations generated Rs 155.44 crore in the December quarter, while overseas markets including the United States, Qatar and Bahrain contributed Rs 9.52 crore. Over the nine-month period, India accounted for Rs 398.09 crore of revenue, with international markets adding Rs 24.95 crore.
For the full year ended March 31, 2025, ENIL had reported a net profit of Rs 11.81 crore on total income of Rs 563.47 crore, underscoring how sharply the current financial year has been shaped by cost pressures and one-off adjustments.
In short, while Radio Mirchi’s tunes continue to draw advertisers, the latest numbers show ENIL navigating a tricky frequency, balancing revenue growth with rising costs as it works to retune its financial performance.
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.
