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Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC) has announced its financial results for the third quarter (Q3) and the nine months ending 31st December 2024, following a board meeting today.

For Q3, the company reported an income of ₹326.36 lakh but recorded a post-tax loss of ₹36.52 lakh. Over the first nine months of the 2024-25 financial year, total income stood at ₹2,628.99 lakh, compared to ₹2,937.70 lakh during the same period in 2023-24. The company also reported a loss of ₹55.80 lakh in the current period, a significant decline from the ₹122.15 lakh profit posted last year.

Upcoming Projects
Despite financial losses, PNC continues to expand its content slate. The company has begun pre-production for Season 4 of its Emmy-nominated series Four More Shots Please! Filming will start in Q4, with Kirti Kulhari, Sayani Gupta, Maanvi Gagroo, Bani J, Prateik Babbar, Lisa Ray, and Milind Soman reprising their roles. Three new characters will also join the cast. The series is written by Devika Bhagat, with dialogues by Ishita Moitra, and will be directed by Arunima Sharma and Neha Parti Matiyani.

PNC is also set to launch a new Amazon Original series, Xiddi Girls on Prime Video on 27th February. The eight-episode drama follows a fresh batch of Gen Z students entering a Delhi college, navigating the highs and lows of youth. Created and showrun by Rangita and Ishita Pritish Nandy, the series is directed by award-winning filmmaker Shonali Bose, with writing and direction from Vasant Nath and Neha Veena Sharma.

In addition, Netflix recently announced PNC’s latest project, The Royale, as part of its 2025 India slate. The series reimagines romance against the backdrop of royalty and modern India, where startup entrepreneurs challenge old-money elites. Created by Rangita and Ishita Pritish Nandy, the show stars Bhumi Pednekar and Ishaan Khatter, alongside an ensemble cast featuring Zeenat Aman, Sakshi Tanwar, Nora Fatehi, Milind Soman, Dino Morea, Chunky Pandey, Sumukhi Suresh, Vihaan Samat, and Lisa Mishra. The series is written by Neha Veena Sharma and directed by Priyanka Ghose and Nupur Asthana.

Alongside these projects, PNC has several new series and films in development at its creative studio. The company remains committed to expanding its storytelling in India and globally, despite the recent financial setbacks.

Pritish Nandy Communications unveils new shows despite ₹36.52 lakh Q3 loss

Netflix is gearing up for a significant year in 2025, with plans to increase its cash content spending to a record $18 billion. The streaming platform aims to strengthen its position as a global leader in entertainment by focusing on major content areas, live programming, and interactive entertainment, such as games. These investments are part of a broader strategy to achieve 12-14% revenue growth and improve operating margins, while also enhancing the overall user experience.

The announcement follows Netflix’s robust performance in the final quarter of 2024, as revealed in its October-December earnings report on 21st January. The company added nearly 19 million new subscribers during the holiday season, bringing its total subscriber count to over 300 million. This achievement highlights Netflix's continued ability to captivate global audiences with a diverse range of content.

Strong 2024 Performance Boosts Netflix’s Market Confidence
Netflix’s end-of-year performance was bolstered by a stellar lineup, including the much-anticipated second season of its global phenomenon, Squid Game. The dystopian Korean horror series remains Netflix’s most-watched TV show to date, drawing viewers from across the world. This content success, coupled with strategic price hikes in key markets like the United States, contributed to a 14% surge in Netflix’s stock price, which reached $993 in after-market trading.

As Netflix moves into 2025, it plans to expand its offerings beyond traditional streaming. Live events and interactive entertainment, including gaming, will play a central role in its growth strategy. These new avenues are expected to attract a wider audience and deepen engagement with existing subscribers.

Driving Innovation and Global Reach
In addition to content expansion, Netflix is investing heavily in product innovation and an enhanced user experience. These initiatives are designed to maintain its competitive edge in an increasingly crowded streaming market. By combining high-quality programming with interactive entertainment, Netflix is positioning itself to meet the evolving preferences of its global audience.

The company’s ambitious $18 billion budget reflects its commitment to long-term growth. With over 300 million subscribers and a strong market presence, Netflix is well-placed to remain a dominant force in the entertainment industry for years to come.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/digital/netflix-and-prime-video-dominate-hindi-content-while-disney-hotstar-shines-in-regional-languages-54353.htm">Read More: Netflix and Prime Video dominate Hindi content, while Disney+ Hotstar shines in regional languages</a>

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/digital/youtube-netflix-prime-video-smash-records-in-dec-2024-fueled-by-christmas-holiday-football-54283.htm">Read More: YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video smash records in Dec 2024, fueled by Christmas holiday, football</a>

Netflix to boost content spending to $18 Billion in 2025

India's love for streaming continues to soar, with Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, and Prime Video leading the way in 2024. Ormax Media’s latest report, Streaming Originals in India: 2024, dives into the most popular original shows and films across Hindi, International, Telugu, and Tamil languages. The rankings are based on three key factors: viewership, marketing buzz, and content strength.

The report focuses exclusively on original content, leaving out theatrical films, catch-up TV, sports, and similar categories. However, it does give a special mention to India’s Got Latent, a popular show on YouTube, noting it could have ranked among the top three if YouTube originals were included.

Netflix dominated the list of the 15 most-watched Hindi streaming shows of 2024, while Prime Video’s Mirzapur Season 3 claimed the top spot, surpassing 30 million viewers. Shows produced by TVF took three of the top four spots on the "Most Liked" list, with Prime Video’s Panchayat Season 3 earning the title of the most-liked Hindi series, followed by Disney+ Hotstar’s The Legend of Hanuman.

<strong>International Success: Squid Game Stands Tall</strong>
Among international originals, Netflix’s Squid Game Season 2 emerged as a powerhouse, becoming India’s most-watched international original of all time. It also became the second most-buzzed-about international show to date, trailing only behind Money Heist Season 5. Despite these successes, 2024 saw few breakout international films, with Prime Video’s Road House being the sole title to cross the 5 million viewership mark.

Disney+ Hotstar asserted dominance in regional content, claiming seven out of the top 10 spots in Tamil originals. Its Chutney Sambar was the most-liked Tamil property of the year, followed by Prime Video’s Inspector Rishi, the most-watched Tamil original of 2024.

In Telugu, Disney+ Hotstar also outperformed competitors, continuing its stronghold in regional markets.

When it comes to direct-to-OTT films, Netflix reigned supreme. The top three most-liked films of 2024 all belonged to Netflix, with Maharaj taking the top spot. In total, six of the eight films that crossed the 60-mark for "Most Liked" were Netflix productions.

As 2024 closes, the dominance of Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, and Prime Video across different categories highlights their growing impact in shaping India’s streaming habits. With strong competition in both Hindi and regional content, and international hits like Squid Game continuing to captivate audiences, India’s streaming landscape remains dynamic and diverse.

Netflix and Prime Video dominate Hindi content, while Disney+ Hotstar shines in regional languages

The regional content space in India is growing at an impressive rate. There are several examples of successful vernacular ventures in the country as well. While many have looked to the West for inspiration, regional OTT players believe there is much more to learn from Korea than from Hollywood.

Speaking at the India Digital Summit, Ajit Thakur, co-founder of Aha, a regional OTT platform serving the Tamil and Telugu-speaking diaspora, shared his thoughts on this, saying that Korea has more to offer than Hollywood.

“It has a lot to do with the kind of distribution, marketing, and the single-minded love for fantasy they have in any genre, that their content is so successfully distributed globally. Today, Korean studios are making some of the biggest Hollywood shows that are an adaptation of Korean shows,” Thakur said. While regional content has gained a strong following within India, it has yet to make a significant impact on the global stage.

When asked if Indian languages could follow the global success of Korean or Japanese content, Vinay Singhal, CEO of STAGE Technologies, said, “It has started happening within our subcontinent. One of our Haryanvi films garnered a massive audience across India, from Lucknow and Patna to the far east in Nagaland.

This success sparked a belief that one day, any content in Haryanvi, Rajasthani, or any regional language, can achieve international recognition, like at the Oscars." STAGE is an OTT platform offering content in Haryanvi and Rajasthani languages.

Another key to success for vernacular ventures, as discussed during the session, is owning the technology. Soumya Mukherjee, CEO of Hoichoi, a Bengali-based OTT platform, shared how they are now developing their own technology as part of their growth. “We’ve begun developing our own front-end applications and are on the verge of launching our own back-end systems. This will give us complete end-to-end control over our platform,” Mukherjee said.

Vinay Singhal also commented, “I believe there’s immense value in owning your own technology. This goes beyond cost savings. It provides unparalleled control over marketing, experimentation, and customer acquisition funnels, which ultimately outweighs any initial investment. In our case, owning our technology significantly improved our marketing efficiency and helped us address the challenge of high customer acquisition costs. I believe this strategy should be considered by all companies.”

<strong>Changes Needed</strong>
On the topic of bringing regional OTTs into the mainstream, Thakur believes that the platforms need to become “a lot more interactive” to keep the younger generation engaged. He also stressed the importance of making the apps much lighter. Thakur suggested that a more intuitive recommendation engine could further enhance the experience for users of regional OTT platforms.

Korea teaches us more than Hollywood: Aha co-founder at India Digital Summit

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Storyboard18’s new ‘month in focus’ initiative spotlights themes and topics are pushing marketers to reshape and rethink how brands interact with today’s customers. Storyboard18’s theme for this month is ‘stacks and strategies’, a martech, ad tech spotlight presented by Voot. The series focuses on how decision-makers and marketers are advancing the adoption of new technologies and tech-driven strategies in the brand marketing ecosystem. Today’s panel discussion is about evolving OTT content consumption patterns and how brands and advertisers are levelling up their strategies. Gourav Rakshit, COO, Viacom18 Digital Ventures, and Shashank Srivastava, senior executive director, marketing and sales at Maruti Suzuki, share their thoughts.

GSK Consumer Healthcare’s antacid brand, Eno, has completed 50 years in India. Over the past 50 years, Eno has consciously leveraged humour as a tool to communicate and create awareness around acidity. Its quirky approach has translated into iconic campaigns that have evolved from print to TV and now digital platforms. Anurita Chopra, Head-Marketing, India sub-continent at GSK Consumer Healthcare India, spoke about the brand journey and what lies ahead.

<em><strong>For the entire show, watch the accompanying video</strong></em>
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Viacom18 and Maruti Suzuki on rise in OTT consumption; Eno celebrates 50 years in India

OTT CONTENT CONSUMPTION