Balaji Telefilms’ digital arm ALTBalaji for the year ending March, 2021recorded total subscriptions sold at 4.7m vs. 3.4m in FY20, while direct subscription revenues stood at Rs 54 crore vs. Rs 37crore previous year.

Of the total group revenues of Rs 293.7 crore, ALTBalaji contributed Rs 61crore. 

In a statement released Friday, ALTBalaji said it continued to drive the OTT habit for mass India creating consistent hits. The company sold 4.7m subscriptions during the year and currently has an active subscriber base of over 2.3m.

 

The company said it has over 83 shows and unmatched content diversity and that TV business has returned to more normal levels as daily show production hours have picked up. 

 

During Q4 ending March 2021, the company produced 223 hours of content of which seven shows were on air during the quarter across prime time slots. Four new additional shows have been signed and should commence shortly, it said.

 

Shobha Kapoor, Managing Director, Balaji Telefilms Limited, said, “ALTBalaji continues to drive subscription growth and we added 4.7m subscriptions during the year, the highest since our launch 4 years ago. We have also done strategic content sharing deals with two large OTT players to drive creative synergies. We will continue to see strong subscriber additions with over 40 shows greenlit.

 

“After the initial setback in the first half of FY21 our TV business has shown good recovery in terms of production hours and we hope to maintain this momentum. In the movie business, production for some of the exciting projects are at various stages of completion. We are closely monitoring the availability for theatrical releases as well and direct to digital launches. Overall, the business has performed well in very challenging conditions and |am confident we will build from the base created.” 

 

Some financial highlights include:

• Total hours for the year at 584 hours vs. 823 in FY20 though realisation rates remain low given broadcast uncertainties.
• 2 movies sold to digital platforms in the year as theatres remain closed – current pipeline includes five exciting projects.
• Overall financial performance for the year impacted by COVID-19 impact on TV and movie business.
•  Balaji Telefilms Group EBITDA loss stood at Rs. 104 crore, while loss after tax was Rs 118.9 crore.
•  The Board has considered and approved a dividend of 10% (Rs 0.20 per share) subject to shareholder approval.