Viacom18 Media, the joint venture (JV) between Reliance Industries and Paramount Global, has recorded a 27% growth in revenue at Rs 4145.4 crore for the fiscal ended 30th March 2022 against Rs 3276.3 crore in the previous fiscal.

Advertisement Sales, Subscription, and Program Syndication revenue grew 22% to Rs 3908.5 crore from Rs 3205.4 crore. Revenue from the film distribution and syndication segment zoomed 209% to Rs 196.7 crore against Rs 63.7 crore. Other Operating Income increased over 5 times to Rs 40.15 crore from Rs 7.1 crore.

The double-digit revenue jump was driven by an increase in ad and movie business revenues even as subscription revenue saw muted growth. The company didn't comment on its FY22 financials.

Total expenses jumped 24.3% to Rs 3455.7 crore from Rs 2780 crore. Programming costs increased 32.15% to Rs 1991.2 crore from Rs 1506.7 crore. Marketing and advertising costs rose by 36.38% to Rs 519.9 crore from Rs 381.2 crore. Employee benefits expense was up by 12% to Rs 415.8 crore from Rs 371.7 crore.

The company's net profit for the year jumped to Rs 681.7 crore from Rs 582.8 crore. Basic earnings per share stood at Rs 59.94 in FY22 compared to Rs 51.25 in FY21.

In FY22, Viacom18's viewership market share stood at 11%. The company is engaged in the business of broadcasting televisions channels, distributing, marketing, and selling commercial advertising on ‘channels’ - Colors, Colors Rishtey, Colors Cineplex, MTV, MTV Beats, Nick, Nick Jr., Sonic, VH1, Comedy Central, Colors Infinity and a regional bouquet of channels.

Additionally, the company also generates revenue from licensing and merchandising of products, brand solutions, organising live events, Over The Top (OTT) and digital content delivery platforms, and marketing partnerships. The company is also in the business of production and distribution of motion pictures.

In April, Viacom18 announced a strategic partnership with Reliance and Bodhi Tree Systems, a platform of James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems and Uday Shankar. As part of this partnership, Rs. 15,145 crores will be infused by Bodhi Tree Systems (Rs 13,500 crore) and Reliance (Rs 1,645 crore through Reliance Projects & Property Management Services Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance).

In addition, the JioCinema OTT app (currently owned by RPPMSL) will be transferred to Viacom18.

Paramount Global (formerly known as ViacomCBS) will continue to remain a strategic partner in Viacom18. It will continue to supply Viacom18 with its premium global content as well as launch Paramount+ in India in partnership with Viacom18.

The fund infusion will enable the company to make the right investments in high-growth businesses like Digital, Sports, and Regional Entertainment. Viacom18 had recently acquired the digital rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Rs 23,758 crore from 2023-27. In addition to IPL, it also owns rights to a slew of sports properties like FIFA, LaLiga, NBA, and Serie A.