Consolidated profit befor tax tumbled 93.19% to Rs 24.22 crore in Q3 FY23 as compared to Rs 355.59 crore reported in the same period last year. Total expenses surged 45.1% year on year to Rs 1,812.90 crore in Q3 FY23.

The company's consolidated operating EBITDA was Rs 19 crore in Q3 FY23, falling 95% from Rs 355 crore posted in the corresponding quarter previous year. Operating EBITDA margin slipped to 1.1% in Q3 FY23 as against 22.7% in Q3 FY22.

The media company said that the continued softness in the macro-economic environment dampened the advertising demand and impacted the revenue, in contrast to the strong festive demand witnessed last year, thereby impacting the growth. While core categories continued to spend on advertising, driving growth was challenging due to restrained spends by brands across categories and a sharp pull-back by start-ups and e-com players.

Along with a weak advertising environment, TV impressions were also down 5% YoY. Total ad inventory on TV declined by 10% on a YoY basis with News category seeing a drop of 27%. Ad revenue of both news and entertainment segments declined on a YoY basis.

The drop in advertising revenue had a direct impact on margins as the company continued with investments in content, with a view to consolidate its operating metrics. The profitability of the business also suffered due to investments in new initiatives, digital entertainment and sports, which had a negative contribution of Rs 140 crore to EBITDA.

News business revenue shed 6% YoY and the EBITDA margin was at 4.1% in Q3 FY23. The decrease in the revenue was primarily due to de-growth in advertising revenue. TV news ad inventory declined 27% at industry level due to the soft advertising demand as well as drop in the news genre share as a percentage of the total viewership pie. However, the impact of these factors on our network was lower as the events-led monetisation and viewership share continued to be strong.

The company's Entertainment business revenue grew 18% YoY and EBITDA margin was at 0.4% in Q3 FY23. The growth in revenue was primarily driven by movie and sports segments.

Adil Zainulbhai, chairaman of TV18, said, “Our TV network continues to grow from strength to strength and our digital business has taken some big strides to build a strong foundation for growth. A tough macro-environment made it difficult from financial perspective, but we are really pleased with the operating performance of our business. We have a firm belief in the long-term potential of India's M&E sector and we are making investments today to be in a position to derive disproportionate benefits from this growth, especially in digital.”

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.