Tata Play net losses widen by 44% to Rs 510 crore in FY25

Diret-to-home (DTH) television service, Tata Play, registered a 44% increase in its losses in fiscal year 2025. The Tats Sons (70%) and Walt Disney (30%)-backed company's losses have expanded to Rs 510 in FY2025 compared to Rs 354 crore in the previous fiscal 2024.

The total revenue has also dropped to Rs 4,082 crore in FY25--a decline of 5.46% year-on-year.

Earlier this week, the DTH operator removed Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) channels from its subscriber packs amid the standoff with the broadcaster.

Sony channels back on Tata Play’s DTH after 20 days of blackout

According to a report by The Economic Times, Sony Pictures demanded a 10-15% increase in annual subscription fees from Tat Play, but the latter declined the request due to the customer churn stagnant average revenue per user, and rising popularity of over-the-top (OTT) services.

Tata Play, Airtel Digital TV move closer to merger to strengthen DTH business

Tata Play was in talks with Bharti Airtel for a merger with Bharti Telemedia. However, the talks were suspended due to the lack of a "satisfactory resolution".

Tata Sons acquired a 10% stake in Tata Play in 2024 from Temasek for $100 million, valuing the firm at $1 billion, down from $3 billion during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Separately, Tata Play Broadband (TPBB) has narrowed is losses by 6.48% to Rs101 crore, down from Rs 108 crore. The revenue has increased from Rs 329 crore in FY24 to Rs 383 crore in FY25--a jump of 16%. Tata Play invested Rs 455 crore in TPBB in 2021-22, Rs 209 crore in FY23, and Rs 185 crore in FY24. Tata Play reduced its adjusted debt to Rs 3,262 crore in FY23 from Rs 3,679 crore in FY22. However, it temporarily rose to Rs 4,074 crore in FY24, largely owing to Rs 1,200 crore increase in lease liabilities to new GSAT satellite transponders, an ET report added.