Balaji Telefilms expects stronger FY26 as digital and film units grow

TV segment recovery, digital platform growth, and motion picture IP expansion are expected to improve profitability for Balaji Telefilms from FY26 and scale up by FY27

Balaji Telefilms, backed by actor Jeetendra Kapoor and his family, is expecting 2025-26 (FY26) to be better than the previous year in terms of business and profitability and that from FY27 the company would see the benefits of its scaled movie business, digital segment growth and the order book of digital content realisation along with the steady TV business.

 

Sanjay Dwivedi, group chief executive officer and chief financial officer, Balaji Telefilms, said the growth expectation in FY26 for the television segment is ₹250 crore, for motion picture business is ₹100 crore and for the digital segment is around ₹50-55 crore. Additionally, the digital segment’s B2B (business to business) part, which has an order book of over Rs 350 crore, would contribute depending on its release date over the next two fiscal years.

   

According to Dwivedi, the company’s motion picture and digital segments are expected to soon outgrow the TV segment, given the prominence of over-the-top (OTT) platforms. 

 

He added that the TV business was under stress in the second half of FY25, and this weakness is expected to continue even in the first quarter of FY26 (Q1FY26) due to several long-running shows ending in this period.  

 

As of now, Balaji Telefilms has two shows on air, and Dwivedi expects the segment to be back to normal from Q2FY26. In the first nine months of FY25, Balaji’s TV business revenue stood at ₹194.2 crore, as per its earnings release. 

 

“It is a cyclical phase. This largely happens in the TV business after four-five years, as it takes time to relaunch shows or go back to the normal six shows (being on air),” Dwivedi said. 

 

The company’s Q4FY25 results haven’t been released yet, due to the merger of its subsidiaries ALT Digital Media Entertainment and Marinating Films with Balaji Telefilms. 

 

Balaji recently entered into a long-term creative collaboration for a range of projects across different formats with Netflix, in order to strengthen its digital segment. It is also aiming to diversify the unit in the coming years. 

 

Nitin Burman, chief revenue officer, Balaji Telefilms, said the company has started producing original shows and long-format series on YouTube, taking advantage of the gap left by the removal of Pakistani dramas in India. Its show, Pyaar Kii Raahein, which has 70 episodes, gained over 200 million views on the platform. 

 

“The company is taking its YouTube business ahead with a clear focus on maximising returns,” he said.

 

Balaji’s OTT platform, ALTT, had faced losses of ₹125-145 crore in earlier years, but has managed to bring them down. Dwivedi added that there is minor cash burn in the digital segment, and is aiming to make it cash-positive and scaling the business up gradually in the next few years. 

 

However, he said the company is still analysing which particular portion of the digital segment should be pushed further. 

 

Through the motion pictures segment, Balaji plans on expanding its existing intellectual properties (IPs), with films like Laila Majnu (which earned more at the box office during its re-release, Ragini MMS, and Shootout at Wadala, among others.