Survival of the fittest

The length of the COVID-19 crisis and the strength of balance sheets and cashflow will determine the intensity of the bloodbath in the media and entertainment industry

How much of a knocking print, TV, radio, film or digital firms will take from the corona crisis depends on three things.

First, the strength of their balance sheets and cashflow situation. For instance, PVR Cinemas, India’s largest multiplex chain raised Rs 500 crore from a share placement late last year. It was just chance that this happened a few months before the crisis hit. But it gives the company, which anyway has a strong balance sheet, the ability to face the uncertainty of a complete shutdown of business.

At Rs 3,118 crore in revenues PVR is among the 10 largest media