Network18 Media & Investments Limited, the holding company for TV18 that runs the company’s broadcast business, including India’s largest news network, on Tuesday announced a 10 percent increase in consolidated revenues for the first quarter ending June 2022.

The company said its quarterly consolidated revenue grew 10 percent YoY to Rs. 1,340 crore amidst a challenging macro environment.

Entertainment business revenues grew 13 percent despite the free-to-air Hindi GEC going off Indian pubcaster’s free DTH platform, DD FreeDish.

“After announcing deal with Bodhi Tree and Reliance, Viacom18 (which manages the entertainment and sports portfolios) made a giant leap towards building a compelling digital consumer proposition by acquiring the Indian subcontinent exclusive digital rights of IPL cricket,” the company added in a statement.

Though digital news revenue continued to grow at a fast pace, TV news revenue was flat YoY despite multiple State elections in the base quarter, the company admitted, adding  TV18’s news channels, however, established strong positions in key markets with CNBC TV18, CNN News18 and News18 India ranked #1, #2, and #3 in their genres, respectively.

Three dedicated sports channels were launched by Viacom18 during the quarter, while  increased investments in entertainment content and marketing — to support the growth plans — led to a 26 percent growth in operating costs impacting profitability.

Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman of Network18, said: “First quarter of FY23 has set the tone for the journey that we have undertaken towards making Network18 as India’s leading destination for content. The big development for us this quarter was the acquisition of exclusive digital rights of IPL. With strong tailwinds favoring digital consumption, it gives us a perfect opportunity to scale-up our OTT offering.

“Coupled with the partnership with Bodhi Tree and Reliance, it will enable our entertainment business to grow to a multiple of what it is today. We are also working towards creating a 3600 news offering with depth and breadth, which not only gives the user seamless experience across platforms, but also optimizes for relevance. We are laying down strong foundations on which our businesses can continue to grow for the foreseeable future.”

Some of the highlights for Q1 FY 23 include the following:

# Viacom18 to be the exclusive digital destination of IPL for the next five years.

# Viacom18 has acquired the exclusive digital streaming rights of the Indian Premier League for the Indian sub-continent for the next five seasons (2023-2027) for Rs. 23,757.5cr. It also won the rights for three out of five international territories, which include major cricketing nations like South Africa, Australia, and UK, for Rs. 594.5cr.

# IPL is the highest reach sports property in the country and will provide a strong entry point for consumers to come to Viacom18’s digital platform.

# With rights to a slew of diverse sports properties like football (FIFA World Cup, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue1), basketball (NBA), badminton, and tennis already acquired, Viacom18 is building one of the largest sporting destinations in the country, offering a compelling proposition for the core and casual sports fans.

# Viacom18, while continuing to strengthen its broadcasting vertical, is building a digital platform of the future, to provide best in class product, user experience to the fast-growing Indian digital audience. The platform will utilize a combination of exciting sports action and captivating entertainment content across Hindi and regional languages, to build a winning consumer value offering.

# Viacom18 stepped up content investments in TV and digital in order to grow its share of TV viewership and to expand its growth businesses – digital and sports.

# TV network ramped up programming with two new weekday slots and 1 additional impact show in Hindi, along with increased spends on movie channels and regional markets. A step-up in digital content – 9 new shows/movies were launched on the digital platform this

quarter compared to none last year, and sports related costs added to the investments.

# Marketing spends also grew significantly for the launch of new shows (TV and digital) and to promote the three sports channels launched during the quarter.

# As Viacom18 scales-up its presence in sports and digital segments, content investments are expected to continue to increase going forward.

# Revenue grew amidst a challenging advertising environment, but increased investments impacted profitability.

# A high inflation environment posed a challenge for advertising growth, with total TV ad inventory (excluding sports) being flat on a YoY basis, despite the base quarter being impacted by pandemic.

# Network18 Group revenue grew by 10 percent, driven by the growth in entertainment and digital news businesses, whose revenues grew 13 percent YoY and 24 percent YoY, respectively.

# Entertainment business delivered robust growth in advertising revenues, despite the drop in Colors Rishtey revenue after it went off DD FreeDish (also impacting the margins directly). The ad revenue, adjusting for impact of Colors Rishtey, grew in high-teens, partly aided by the impact of pandemic in the base quarter.

# TV news ad revenue was flattish YoY, with branded content-led monetisation compensating for the loss of state elections linked revenue last year. The network also optimized inventory on key channels as the news advertising eco-system adjusted back to ratings, which had resumed after a period of 18 months in March.

# Digital news ad revenue continued to grow at a fast pace driven by the News18 portfolio of websites.

# During the quarter, viewership share of the TV18 entertainment network in the non-news genre was 9.8 percent.