Tata Play revenue slips by 5%: Crisil Report

Tata Play, the direct-to-home (DTH) provider backed by Tata Sons and Walt Disney, has reported a widened consolidated net loss of Rs 510 crore for FY 2024-25. This marks a 44% increase from its Rs 354 crore loss the year prior.

Revenue for the fiscal year also declined, slipping 5.46% to Rs 4,082 crore from Rs 4,305 crore. According to Crisil Ratings, the company is unlikely to see revenue growth in 2025-26, as it grapples with persistent pressure on its core DTH operations.

Tata Play’s subscriber base has dropped sharply to 18 million, down from a peak of 23 million. The fall is attributed to stiff competition from state-run DD Free Dish and the accelerating shift of audiences toward digital content platforms, particularly over-the-top (OTT) services.

While the traditional pay-TV business continues to lose ground, Crisil believes some of the shortfall could be offset by growing traction in Tata Play’s broadband business and its OTT content bundling platform, Tata Play Binge.

Tata Play Broadband (TPBB) showed relatively better performance, narrowing its net loss to Rs 101 crore in FY 2024-25 from Rs 108 crore in the previous year. Revenue in the same period rose over 16% to Rs 383 crore from Rs 329 crore. Crisil Ratings has reaffirmed its rating on TPBB’s Rs 700 crore in bank facilities, citing steady progress.

Over the past three years, Tata Play has invested significantly in its broadband vertical—Rs 455 crore in 2021-22, Rs 209 crore in 2022-23, and Rs 185 crore in 2023-24. These infusions have helped maintain TPBB’s net worth at around Rs 450 crore as of FY 2023-24, although that figure may shrink with reduced future investment.

The company made headway in cutting its adjusted net debt to Rs 3,262 crore in FY 2022-23 from Rs 3,679 crore a year earlier. However, that progress was partly reversed in FY 2023-24, with net debt rising to Rs 4,074 crore—driven mainly by a Rs 1,200 crore increase in lease liabilities related to new GSAT satellite transponders.

In August 2023, Tata Play started transmitting through the GSAT-24 satellite, which allowed it to boost channel capacity by 50%. Total debt remained stable at Rs 3,584 crore for FY 2024-25, or Rs 1,798 crore when lease liabilities are excluded.

Future capital expenditure is expected to remain focused on the DTH segment, with Crisil projecting disciplined spending in this area.

Last year, Tata Sons acquired a 10% stake in Tata Play from Temasek for $100 million, valuing the DTH firm at $1 billion—down sharply from its pre-pandemic peak valuation of $3 billion.