Falling ad spends, fewer subscribers spell trouble for TV

Economic Times

3 days ago

Mumbai: India's television broadcasting sector is facing a period of turbulence, with both advertising and subscription revenues coming under pressure.A slowdown in advertising spends by fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, long considered the backbone of TV advertising, has weighed heavily on broadcasters already contending with structural shifts in audience behaviour and distribution.
Advertising and promotion expenses falling to ₹6,199 crore in FY25 from ₹6,489 crore in FY24 for Hindustan Unilever, the country's largest FMCG advertiser. Britannia's dropped to ₹560 crore from ₹694 crore. ITC's consolidated advertising and promotion expenses declined to ₹1,331 crore in FY25 from ₹1,385 crore in the previous fiscal.According to a FICCI-EY report, FMCG accounted for 63% of total TV ad volumes in 2024. However, this was 8% lower in absolute terms compared to 2023, against an overall market decline of 6%.Adding to the challenge, subscription revenue growth has been tepid, partly due to a decline in the pay-TV base following the Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
According to industry sources, the pay-TV industry has seen a decline of 1.5 million homes after the tournament ended in June. Incidentally, the industry had added 1.5 million pay-TV subscribers on the back of IPL and the ICC Champions Trophy."Yes, we have seen softening in the FMCG sector. The last two quarters have seen the FMCG sectors being slightly soft and we have seen taken a hit on our revenues on entertainment. I think things seem to be pulling back and we are hopeful with the season coming up, we shall be able to have stronger numbers, even on entertainment," said Kevin Vaz, CEO of Entertainment at JioStar, during the company's Q1 earnings call on July 18.JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance Industries and Disney, reported a net profit of ₹581 crore for the June quarter. Its EBITDA stood at ₹1,017 crore, while operating revenue reached ₹9,601 crore, largely buoyed by the successful IPL 2025 season. The company had a 35.5% share in the entertainment TV category."We've had a superlative performance both on our subscriptions across TV and digital, and IPL posted its highest revenues with a solid year-on-year growth," Vaz added.
Meanwhile, Zee Entertainment, which held a 16.8% share of overall TV viewership during the quarter, saw a mixed performance. The company posted a 14% year-on-year rise in net profit to ₹144 crore for the quarter ended June 2025. However, its operating revenue dropped 14% to ₹1,825 crore on a sluggish advertising market and a reduction in pay-TV subscriptions."During Q1 FY26, the linear advertisement spending environment remained soft due to the extended sports calendar and slowdown in spending by FMCG companies," said Mukund Galgali, deputy CEO and CFO of Zee Entertainment, during the Q1 earnings call on July 22."On the subscription side, the overall revenues remained flat. We saw growth in digital revenue which was partially offset by a slowdown in linear TV subscription revenue due to a decline in pay TV subscribers. We are hopeful that with a conducive pricing policy framework being in place, there will be an opportunity to drive gradual growth in subscription revenues in line with inflation," he added.Despite these headwinds, Zee remains optimistic and has guided for an 8% growth in advertising revenue in the coming quarters, citing a favourable monsoon and the upcoming festive season as tailwinds."FMCG ad volumes are largely holding steady on the Linear TV platform but growing strongly on digital platforms. With no major growth in ad budgets, the long tail TV channel revenues are seeing a decline, which is getting pushed into digital streaming advertising," said TAM Media CEO LV Krishnan."Additionally, FMCG brands are increasingly asking Linear TV partners for insights into how their brand's TV ads are performing in terms of driving sales. It's no longer just about brand building - delivering performance marketing is becoming equally important."The underlying challenge remains a cautious stance from FMCG companies, whose ad spend is yet to show strong recovery due to tepid consumer demand, competition from digital brands, and margin pressures.
According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data, India's active DTH pay user base has fallen to 56.92 million in 2025 from 70.26 million in 2020. The subscriber base has dropped from 69.57 million in 2021 to 66.92 million in 2022, 65.25 million in 2023, and 61.97 million in 2024.