Balaji Telefilms reports 50% decline in Q4 FY25 revenue

Balaji Telefilms is in the midst of a significant strategic transformation, as its traditional television business faces structural headwinds.

Speaking during the Q4 and FY25 earnings call, Group CEO and CFO Sanjay Dwivedi acknowledged that television yields remain under pressure.

“TV yield will continue to be under stress… we are still down by over 25% to the pre-COVID level,” he said, adding that the company does not expect meaningful improvement in per-episode realization in the near term.

Despite producing approximately 133 hours of TV content during the quarter and running four shows, the segment has not recovered inflation-adjusted pricing lost since the pandemic.

While TV remains a foundational pillar for Balaji with long-standing prime-time shows like Bade Achhe Lagte Hain Phir Se and the newly launched reboot of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, the company is gradually realigning focus, said Dwivedi.

“The pyramid will just turn upside down,” Dwivedi said, outlining a three-year roadmap in which films will become the primary growth engine, followed by digital, with television falling to third position.

On the financial front, the company reported revenue of Rs 66.25 crore for Q4 FY25, down from Rs 135.11 crore in the same quarter last year. This is a decline of more than 50%.

However, the bottom line saw a sharp turnaround with a quarterly PAT of ₹94 crore versus a ₹2.6 crore loss a year ago. For the full year, revenue stood at ₹453 crore (down from ₹625 crore), while PAT surged to ₹84.6 crore from ₹19.4 crore in FY24.

Cash reserves remained at ₹172 crore, and the digital B2B order book with leading OTT platforms has crossed ₹300 crore, Dwivedi said.

According to the company, a major source of optimism is its reshaped digital business.

ALT Balaji, the company’s direct-to-consumer OTT platform, recorded 3.29 lakh subscriptions sold (including 1.73 lakh renewals) and 2 million active users in Q4. Viewing minutes reached 17.49 billion, and total content views hit 1.79 billion for the quarter. Eleven new shows were launched, bringing the live library to 170 originals.

However, ALT is no longer the centerpiece of Balaji’s digital ambitions. The company is now shifting to a hybrid SVOD + AVOD model and focusing more on commissioned content for platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and JioCinema.

“ALT will continue to be a small piece in the overall digital strategy,” Dwivedi confirmed. Cash burn has been brought down significantly from ₹120–145 crore annually to just ₹35 lakh per month, largely through cost rationalization, tech changes, and platform restructuring.

Dwivedi said that a during the year ALT Balaji and Marinaring Films merged into Balaji Telefilms reducing cost redundancies and enabling tax benefits.

Balaji is also making inroads into short-form content with the launch of “Kutting,” aimed at vertical video consumption. It is expanding regional presence, starting with Tamil and Telugu, and ramping up its YouTube channel, which crossed 1 million subscribers in just one month.

The company is exploring AI-generated content, with its first project Kalnagri already live.

The film business, meanwhile, is being built on a de-risked model where 85–90% of production costs are recovered before release through pre-sales and co-productions. Upcoming releases include Vrushabha (Mohanlal, Diwali 2025), Bhoot Bangla (Akshay Kumar, directed by Priyadarshan), and Vvan (Sidharth Malhotra, with TVF). Balaji is also developing sequels to successful IPs such as Dream Girl, Ragini MMS, LSD, Shootout, and Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai.

A long-term partnership with Netflix — spanning 3 to 7 years — will cover direct-to-OTT movies, reality shows, telenovelas, and binge-watch series. Dwivedi emphasized that this deal is not limited to a single show or genre but is an expansive, multi-format collaboration.