Tata Play reports net loss of Rs 105.25 crore in FY23

Leading DTH system operator Tata Play has reported a net loss of Rs 105.25 crore for the fiscal ended March 2023, according to financial data accessed by the business intelligence platform Tofler.

The company reported a net profit of Rs 68.6 crore in FY22, as per the data. Its revenue from operations slipped 5.1 per cent to Rs 4,499.19 crore from Rs 4,741.07 crore a year ago.

Tata Play (earlier knowns as Tata Sky) is not a publicly listed entity. However, it has earlier this year received approval from the capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to raise funds through initial public offerings (IPOs).

The total expenses of Tata Play stood at Rs 4,691.25 crore in 2022-23. The total income of Tata Play, a JV between Tata Group and Rupert Murdoch-owned 21st Century Fox, fell 5 per cent to Rs 4,529.97 crore. Its total liabilities declined to Rs 8,658.22 crore in FY23 from Rs 9,198.1 crore in FY22. Its borrowings in FY23 rose to 2,787.35 crores from Rs 2,037.45 crore in the year-ago period.

"The Financial Year 2022-23 presented several challenges to the Pay-Tv industry due to the gradual recovery of the rural economy post-pandemic, inflation and tough competition from Free Dish and affordable data prices," said Tata Play in the overall summary.

Nevertheless, the company made 'remarkable progress' during the year by reaching some significant milestones, despite the macroeconomic and industry difficulties, it added. Moreover, free dish, along with cheap data prices, added to the industry's woes, said Tata Play. "Although the challenges persisted, the elimination of the four major Hindi entertainment channels has resulted in enhanced customer retention in the Hindi-speaking markets," it said.

Tata Play competes with Dish Tv, Bharti Telemedia (Airtel), and Sun Direct TV in the direct-to-home (DTH) segment. Its closest rival Dish Tv's consolidated revenue from operation was at Rs 2,261.85 crore for FY23. According to the latest Trai report, India's total active subscribers with pay DTH operators is 66.52 Million, in which Tata Play has 32.70 per cent shares.

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