Revenue from operations stood at Rs 1,473.43 crore in the quarter ended 30 September 2022 from Rs 1,307.90 crore posted in the Q2 FY22, registering a growth of 12.7%.

Consolidated profit befor tax tumbled 95.8% to Rs 9.81 crore in Q2 FY23 as compared to Rs 230.91 crore reported in the same period last year. Total expenses surged 34.6% year on year to Rs 1,485.95 crore in Q2 FY23.

The company's consolidated operating EBITDA declined to Rs 41 crore in Q2 FY23, falling 83% from Rs 242 crore posted in the corresponding quarter previous year. Operating EBITDA margin stood at 2.8% in Q2 FY23 as against 18.5% in Q2 FY22.

The media company said that the revenue growth continued to be impeded by macro factors, impacting profitability. Economic sentiment remained weak during the quarter with high inflation posing challenge for companies, especially the FMCG sector. Brands held back advertising spends on new product launches and sustenance campaigns due to these headwinds. Advertising spends by start-ups and e-com players also declined due to the difficult fund-raising environment.

Total TV ad inventory declined by 3% on a YoY basis with News category seeing a drop of nearly 10%. As a result, ad revenue of company's Entertainment segment was flat YoY while News saw a decline. Despite a challenging environment, TV18 Group continued to ramp up its investments to establish strong competitive positions across Entertainment and News segments, in line with its growth plans. While these investments impacted profitability as costs grew faster than revenue, it has had a positive impact on operating metrics, the company said in the press release.

News business revenue shed 1% YoY and the EBITDA margin was at negative 1.5% in Q2 FY23. The decrease in the revenue was primarily due to de-growth in advertising revenue. News ad inventory declined by appromximately 10% at industry level and the drop was even higher for company's network as its continued to optimize inventory on key channels. However, the impact on revenue was much lower as the scale-up of events-led monetisation partially offset the loss of display advertising.

The company's Entertainment business revenue grew 17% YoY and EBITDA margin was at 3.8% in Q2 FY23. The growth in revenue was primarily driven by movie segment, as ad revenue was flat due to the subdued advertising environment.

Adil Zainulbhai, CHAIRAMAN of TV18, said, “The first half of the fiscal has been challenging for most sectors. However, we believe that this phase should only be a minor bump in the long runway for growth. Our News and Entertainment portfolio already has some of the country's leader brands and our endeavor is to push for leadership across segments. Despite a challenging growth environment, we continue to make investments which will help us create a strong foundation for long-term and will hold us in good stead as growth returns.”

TV18 Broadcast, a subsidiary of Network18 manages its primary business of broadcasting. TV18 runs the largest news network in India, spanning business news, general news and regional news channels.