Balaji Telefilms bets big on OTT, YouTube to drive growth amid rising screen time

Balaji Telefilms is ramping up its digital video businesses as the screen time of Indians grew significantly last year. In an exchange filing, the Media & Entertainment firm said it will be focusing on both Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) as well as Advertising-based Video on Demand (AVOD), to increase its subscriber base and revenue.

According to a report by Ernst & Young, Indians spent more than 1.1 trillion hours on digital platforms in 2024. As smartphone penetration continues, the video viewers are estimated to cross 625 million by 2027.

Aligning with increased viewership on digital platforms, Balaji Telefilms launched 'Kutingg', a vertical short episode-based content in May this year.

Further, Balaji Telefilms mentioned that it will be elevating its YouTube content and accelerate content generation for its streaming platforms, including ETV and Aha. Also, the media company is leveraging an advertising program on behalf of corporations to boost revenue.

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Balaji Telefilms registered a net profit of Rs 84.6 crore in the fiscal year 2025--an increase of 336% year-on-year (Rs 19.4 crore). However, the company's total income from operations declined to Rs 453 crore in FY25 compared to Rs 625 crore in FY24.

While Balaji Telefilms admitted that it has a strong pipeline of TV shows and movies in the current fiscal year 2026, it is reintroducing its flagship show 'Kyuki Saas Bhi Kabh Bahu Thi' on Jio-Hotstar.

The company said its five shows contributed to 733.40 hours of production in FY25. However, the revenue per hour reduced to 29 lakh in FY25 from Rs 31 lakh in FY24.

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The company has aimed to ramp up its movie business across genres and is heavily leveraging its existing shows. In FY25, the company amalgamated ALT and MFPL with Balaji Telefilms to improve operational efficiencies and bolster the market dominance.

India's media & entertainment sector is set to grow at 10% CAGR, hitting Rs 3.08 trillion by 2026. The revenue from subscriptions for OTT video platforms is expected to grow from $0.88 billion in 2023 to $1.2 billion in 2026. Overall, the OTT segment is likely to grow at a CAGR of 14.1% to Rs 21,032 crore in 2026.