Balaji Telefilms Q2 revenue falls 66% on pivot to digital products

New Delhi: Balaji Telefilms reported a sharp drop in its revenues in the second quarter of FY26, owing to the company’s pivot to digital products.

Total income from operations in Q2 stood at Rs 48.8 crore, sharply lower than Rs 144.4 crore recorded in Q2FY25, representing a 66 per cent decline. Sequentially, revenue fell from Rs 72.8 crore in Q1FY26, a drop of 33 per cent.

The company slipped into a loss for the quarter, reporting a loss after tax of Rs 5 crore, compared with a profit of Rs 4.6 crore in Q2FY25. This reflects an on-year swing of 209 per cent. Sequentially, the loss narrowed from Rs 5.9 crore in Q1FY26.

A large part of the cost savings came from reduced production activity. Cost of production declined 64 per cent to Rs 36.3 crore from Rs 102.1 crore a year ago and was down 37 per cent sequentially from Rs 57.5 crore in Q1.

The company spent Rs 1.4 crore on marketing in Q2FY26, compared with Rs 7.4 crore in the same quarter last year, marking an 8% reduction. Sequentially, marketing spend fell 74% from Rs 5.4 crore in Q1FY26. 

Beyond the financials, the company said it is reshaping its digital and content roadmap. The regulatory filings highlighted AstroVani, its new astrology-based digital product, and Kutting, its short-video entertainment app, as early examples of this shift. Both products are positioned as high-volume but low-cost offerings, signalling a move away from the capital-heavy OTT model under ALTT. 

Commenting on the results, Shobha Kapoor, Managing Director, Balaji Telefilms, said, “BTL has continued to demonstrate operational resilience during this quarter. While softness in the TV business impacted overall profitability, our content pipeline remains strong across multiple formats.” 

She further highlighted, “We recently launched a premium astrology app, AstroVani, aimed to deliver the wisdom of Indian tradition and culture at the fingertips of the masses. This move is in line with our strategy to diversify our digital offerings through scalable products. 

We also recently launched Balaji Studio, a fresh concept platform meant to facilitate collaborative development of next-gen content and stories.” 

“Our strategic partnerships, such as that with Netflix, would ensure a stable growth trajectory for the longer run, while our de-risked model in Films ensures better cost recovery. On the films front, we are looking forward to the much-anticipated release of Vrusshabha in December. Overall, we are cautiously optimistic about the rest of the fiscal year, and focused on generating sustainable value for all stakeholders,” she concluded.