MUMBAI: IndiaCast Media Distribution, the content monetisation arm of TV18/Viacom18, has registered a drop in net profit for the fiscal ended 31st March even as its revenue increase.

The company’s net profit fell to Rs 11 lakh in FY19 compared to Rs 26 lakh in the previous fiscal. The drop in the net profit was due to the increase in net tax expense from Rs 74 lakh to Rs 1.59 crore.

Total income surged to Rs 310.8 crore compared to Rs 305.3 crore. Revenue from operations rose to Rs 297.9 crore from Rs 286.19 crore.

Subscription income & income from online services increased to Rs 95.67 crore as against Rs 93.27 crore. Advertisement revenue stood at Rs 37.03 crore compared to Rs 39.63 crore.

Syndication income was up at Rs 84.61 crore compared to Rs 78.78 crore. Commission income jumped to Rs 75.10 crore from Rs 70.86 crore.

Total expenses registered a minor increase at Rs 309.12 crore compared to Rs 304.36 crore. Licence fees payment stood at Rs 155.36 crore as against Rs 148.19 crore.

The company was a 50:50 Joint Venture of TV18 Broadcast and Viacom18 Media, since 1st April 2013. On 28th February 2018, TV18 acquired a controlling stake in Viacom18. As a result of which the company has become a subsidiary of TV18.

The company is primarily engaged in the business of advertisement sales and linear channel distribution and syndication of programs within and outside India.

IndiaCast’s mandate includes India Distribution, Placement Services, Global Channel Distribution & Advertising Sales, Digital Media Distribution and Content Syndication for all the group company channels & content.

The company has a bouquet of 68+ channels including 17+ HD channels spanning across various genres. Internationally, it has a portfolio of over 10 channels that are viewed in over 80 countries as linear services. It has a content library of more than 15000 hours spanning genres. It also syndicates content to nearly 100 countries in more than 20 languages.

MUMBAI: Telecom operator Bharti Airtel‘s over the top (OTT) arm Wynk Ltd has slipped in the red with a net loss of Rs 6.2 crore in FY19 compared to a net profit of Rs 14.1 crore in the previous fiscal.

The company’s loss before tax stood at Rs 9.5 crore as against a profit before tax of Rs 21.6 crore.

Wynk has seen a big jump in its top line. Revenue from operations grew to Rs 613 crore from Rs 281.2 crore. Expenses rose to Rs 613.7 crore compared to Rs 250.3 crore. A bulk of the company’s expenditure went into content costs which increased to Rs 545.9 crore from Rs 202.1 crore.

Wynk Ltd is in the business of content procurement/aggregation and selling it to B2B and B2C customers. The company houses Airtel’s video streaming platform Airtel XStream and music streaming platform Wynk Music. Its revenue streams include subscription revenue from Airtel Xstream and Wynk apart from ad revenue.

Airtel XStream has content partnerships with Sony Pictures Networks India, TV18/Viacom18, Turner India, Discovery Communications India, Sun TV Network, ZEE5, Hungama, Eros Now, Hooq, ShareIt, YouTube, Shemaroome, Ultra, and Curiosity Stream.

With 50 million plus installs, the video streaming platform boasts of 350+ channels, 10000+ movies and 100s of TV shows. Wynk Music, which has over 100 million installs, has more than 3 million songs from multiple music labels.

Airtel is building Wynk as a start-up. Wynk provides a digital platform to access on-the-go entertainment content across music, Live TV, Movies & TV Shows. The carrier-agnostic and multi-device compatible applications enable customers to stream, download and buy content.

The products are designed to leverage the strengths of a telecom backbone in terms of identifying & catering to the preferences of customers, thus providing high-quality entertainment content on multiple platforms.

MUMBAI: Nearly a decade after it was launched, Dangal TV has emerged as one of the most-watched channels in India across genres, thanks to a well-thought-out strategy of curating selective old shows and producing originals on Indian history and mythology, apart from the usual soap-operas. The Hindi GEC Channel Dangal TV, part of Enterr10 TV Network, has consistently topped the weekly list across genres of channels in 2019 (Source: BARC) and is a delight for media agencies and advertisers the media plan.

MUMBAI: In week 44 of BARC India ratings, ZEEL's Bhojpuri general entertainment channel Big Ganga has grabbed second position in the Bhojpuri space. The channel has garnered 57515 weekly impressions (000s). B4U Bhojpuri which was at second position in week 43 has slipped down to third position this week. B4U Bhojpuri Cinema continues to lead the space. In Bangla, Sony Aath has replaced Zee Bangla Cinema and VTV News has replaced Sandesh News in Gujarati space. Bhojpuri Cinema, Big Ganga, B4U Bhojpuri, Dabangg and Bhojpuri Dhamaka DISHUM were the top five Bhojpuri channels.

BENGALURU: Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) data for week 44 of 2019 (Saturday, 26 October 2019 to Friday, 1 November 2019, week or period under consideration) for Top 10 Channels Across Genres revealsthat the combined ratings of Pay TV were lower as compared to the previous week. At the same time, Free to Air of FTA channels gained viewership in week 44 of 2019 as compared to the previous week in terms of combined weekly ratings of the Top 10 channels of each platform. The channels, genres and rankings in the respective weekly lists were not all the same for both weeks – week 44 and week 43 of 2019 in the case of BARC Across Genres on All Platforms and Across Genres on Pay Platform lists.

MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Company reported its fourth quarter earnings when it’s nearing the launch of its Disney+ streaming platform. Moreover, Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger said that the Mouse House has struck a distribution deal for its Disney+ streaming service with Amazon.com, and the service will be carried by Amazon's Fire TV. "We've spent the last few years completely transforming The Walt Disney Company to focus the resources and immense creativity across the entire company on delivering an extraordinary direct-to-consumer experience, and we're excited for the launch of Disney+ on November 12," he added. The company delivered a strong financial result compared to the previous quarterly report for its fourth quarter, with diluted earnings per share of $1.07 beating Wall Street analysts’ consensus forecast of 95 cents. Even, the total revenue reached

MUMBAI: In week 44 of BARC India ratings, Sony SAB continued to hold leading position for the second consecutive week. The channel was seen at number one position on pay platform and in urban market. It has garnered 641127 weekly impressions (000s) on pay platform and 432649 weekly impressions (000s) in urban market. In rural market as well the channel has moved up to fourth position for fifth last week. The channel's most popular show Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma was seen at fourth position in the top five programmes list on pay platform and in urban market the show grabbed third position. 

Discovery Inc has reportedly witnessed a revenue increase of 3 per cent to $2,678 million, while net income increased to $262 million in Q3 FY19. Revenue from the company's international networks grew 4 per cent to $950 million.

Reports state the company's US advertising revenues increased 3 per cent to $1019 million and distribution grew 6% while international advertising revenues rose 5 per cent to $394 million and distribution increased 2 per cent. Growth in advertising was mainly attributed to increases in pricing and the continued monetisation of digital content offerings and inventory and was somewhat offset by lower overall ratings and the impact of audience declines on the linear networks.

According to reports, commenting on the company's financial results,  David Zaslav, President and Chief Executive Officer of Discovery said, "Discovery once again delivered strong financial results across our portfolio, generating healthy revenue growth in the U.S. and internationally, and significant operational efficiencies from our ongoing transformation efforts. We also made progress in the buildout of our digital ecosystems that leverage our owned programming and brand strength. With a solid financial profile and strong balance sheet, we are able to invest meaningfully in our business and create additional value for shareholders."

Government-run television channels of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are soon to be merged. While there is no update on what the new channel will be named or which of the channels will get an upper hand in operating the new entity, sources close to the development have confirmed the merger.

A deadline has not been set for the merger yet, but the decision was announced by Rajya Sabha Secretary General Desh Deepak Verma at the 141st meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Belgrade in October.

No definite reasons for the merger have been specified, however, as per speculations, the merger is largely driven by falling ratings of the channels and is also a bid to cut expenses needed for their operations. It is being said that expenses for both the channels exceed their annual revenues, forcing authorities to think in the direction of a merger to minimise losses.

The brainchild of former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Lok Sabha TV(LSTV), was launched in July 2006 and is the first parliamentary channel of India. It is dedicated to the Lower House of the Parliament. Owned and operated by Lok Sabha Secretariat, LSTV has the mandate to telecast uninterrupted live proceedings of the Lok Sabha.

MUMBAI: Close on the heels of becoming an operating media company, Hinduja Ventures Ltd (HVL) has been renamed NXTDigital Ltd. HVL has got the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) approval to rename itself as NXTDigital Ltd.

HVL vide its letter dated 11th September had made an application seeking in-principle approval for change in name of the company from HVL to NXTDigital Limited.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange of India had granted in-principle approval for the proposed name change of the company. The members of the company on 22nd October had approved the Special Resolution vide postal ballot for the name change.

“The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) issued a fresh Certificate of incorporation pursuant to change in name of the Company on October 25, 2019. Accordingly the name of the Company changed to NXTDigital Limited,” HVL said in a regulatory filing to the BSE.

“We will revert to you on completion of other requirements for obtaining your final approval for change in name,” it further stated.

Earlier, the board of HVL had approved the Scheme of Arrangement between IndusInd Media and Communications Limited (Demerged Company) and HVL (Resulting Company) and their respective shareholders subject to all statutory/ regulatory approvals and approval of the shareholders.

As per the arrangement, IMCL’s heading in the sky (HITS) and cable TV business was transferred to HVL. IMCL is a subsidiary of HVL (now NXTDigital).

IMCL business consists of digital content distribution using multiple platforms such as satellite and fibre. It also carries Broadband and internet business carried out through its subsidiary OneOTT Intertainment Limited (OIL). IMCL also has a dedicated unit that develops content for various platforms and owns a significant content library and movie negatives.

The appointed date of the scheme of arrangement was 1st October 2019 after securing all statutory and regulatory approvals.

Buoyed by the turn-around of its TV distribution business, the Hinduja Group had stated that it will offer equity-based shareholding to local cable operators (LCOs). The equity-based scheme is under development stage. On the Diwali eve, Hinduja Group chairman Ashok P Hinduja made the announcement via video message to distributors and LCOs across the country.