MUMBAI: Sports entertainment company WWE is planning to launch a television network through traditional cable, satellite and telco distribution.

WWE will also explore monetising content through alternative digital "over-the-top" distribution.

In order to maximise the value of content, WWE also plans to utilise more effectively licensing content to established television networks. These three options are not mutually exclusive.

Regarding a potential network, WWE said it is evaluating multiple approaches. It believes that a premium subscription model is the best approach in the U.S. to capitalise on fans? commitment to brands and their desire for more WWE content.

Based on market research, the company estimates that a fully distributed domestic pay network could ultimately attract between 2 - 4 million subscribers at a ?steady state.? These subscriber estimates derive from a projected base of approximately 47 million WWE digital TV households in the US (including lapsed fans), and the proportion of which have an affinity for WWE content, although there is no guarantee that this affinity will translate into actual subscribers.

These take-rates are based on a value proposition for the network that reflects inclusion of pay-per-view events, except WrestleMania, as well as compelling original content. Under the preferred subscription model, while its pay-per-view events would still be offered on an ? la carte basis as currently available, the research indicates that a WWE network offering would drive significant consumer interest (including households that currently do not purchase pay-per-view events).

At a proposed price per month between $12.99 and $14.99, this would represent incremental revenue to WWE of between $125 million and $250 million and incremental EBITDA between $50 million and $150 million. Actual results are contingent on several factors, including the necessity of entering into distribution agreements, and such results could vary materially from the expected range based on the rate of subscriber adoption and churn rates, as well as changes in pricing, promotion levels and distribution terms.

"Until a base of approximately 1 million subscribers is achieved, we estimate the network would represent a net investment for WWE. Ultimately, the company believes that a network and other distribution and monetisation options would represent a sizable economic opportunity in the US and internationally," WWE said.

Leveraging its global brand strength is a key pillar of WWE?s long-term strategy. Audience measures such as social media followers and the ratings of television programs demonstrate its brand strength, WWE states. It claims that last year, the average number of viewers of its Raw and SmackDown programmes exceeded the average number of primetime viewers for all cable networks and historically.

Q4 financial results

Meanwhile, for the fourth quarter ended 31 December, WWE reported revenue of $115.1 million as compared to $112.9 million in the prior -year quarter. Operating income was $2.6 million compared to a loss of $13.1 million. Net income was $0.6 million as compared to a loss of $8.6 million in the prior -year quarter.

Revenue from the Asia Pacific region fell to $7 million compared $9.4 million in the same quarter in the previous fiscal.

Business Outlook for 2013: In order to make significant earnings growth a possibility, it is critical that WWE invests in key areas, including talent development, content creation and marketing. WWE expects 2013 EBITDA performance will approximate the 2012 results, plus or minus 10 per cent. In addition, it anticipates that net income will be impacted by incremental expenses from the return to a more normalized tax rate and increased depreciation expense of approximately $2 million to $3 million that derives from its investment in assets to support the long-term growth objectives, including the launch of a potential network.

If a network is launched within the year, WWE expects a further reduction in EBITDA and net income in 2013 as the initial ramp in subscribers and revenue is not likely to be sufficient to offset the incremental, direct expenses associated with a network launch, such as marketing, program amortisation and transmission costs.

MUMBAI: Balaji Telefilms Limited?s (BTL) net profit for the fiscal third quarter has jumped to Rs 49.4 million from Rs 11.23 million in the third quarter of previous fiscal as expenses remained under control.

The company?s net sales for the quarter grew to Rs 324.8 million from Rs 311 million in the corresponding quarter.

Expenditure decreased to Rs 334.1 million from Rs 370.7 million as staff cost saw a fall to Rs 18.32 million from Rs 36.34 million. Cost of production saw a minor increase to Rs 254 million from Rs 250.7 million.

In the quarter under review, the company posted a positive Ebitda of Rs 18.47 million compared to an Ebitda loss of Rs 18.8 million in the previous fiscal.

Balaji said it has realised revenues only from commissioned programming amounting to Rs 318.1 million against Rs 239.5 million a year ago.

There was no revenue from the sponsored segment during the quarter as the company has completely exited from this segment while partial revenues from the Sponsored programming was at Rs 30.8 million in the previous fiscal.

Hours of Hindi commissioned programmes stood at 146 compared to 120 in the trailing fiscal.

Balaji said that the share of commissioned programming in revenues during the quarter has improved both in terms of volume and realisation.

Balaji Motion Pictures Limited, the motion pictures subsidiary of BTL, posted a net profit of Rs 53 million on revenues of Rs 132.5 million. The expenses for the quarter stood at Rs 74.69 million.

Significant revenues came from the sale of satellite rights of ?Kya Super Kool Hain Hum? and ?Shootout at Lokhandwala.

Additionally, in line with the company?s strategic focus on de-risking its financials and limiting exposure to the volatility of the environment, it has already committed a sale of rights for music, overseas and home video for five of its movies to be released in 2013 though the paperwork is yet to be formalised.

BMPL said it is also in the process of entering into agreements to license the satellite rights of three of its upcoming films.

On a consolidated basis, Balaji increased its net profit to Rs 102.4 million compared to Rs 33.8 million in the preceding fiscal.

However, net sales declined to Rs 457.3 million from Rs 658.2 million while expenses stood at Rs 408.8 million compared to Rs 694.8 million.

MUMBAI: US film and television company Lionsgate has turned profitable in the fiscal third quarter compared to a loss in the year-ago period.

The company reported revenue of $743.6 million, EBITDA of $66.2 million, adjusted EBITDA of $87.2

million and net income of $37.8 million for the third quarter ended 31 December 2012 compared to net loss of $ 1.4 million in the prior year quarter.

For nine months, net income was $69.2 million compared to net loss of $ 16.4 million for the prior year period.

Revenue of $743.6 million in the third quarter increased by 130 per cent compared to $323.0 million in the prior year quarter, driven by the domestic theatrical box office performance of ?The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn ? Part 2? and several other films, continued strong home entertainment and international revenue and increased pay television revenue.

EBITDA of $66.2 million and adjusted EBITDA of $87.2 million in the third quarter compared to EBITDA of $16.6 million and adjusted EBITDA of $27.3 million in the prior year quarter.

The company noted that, excluding the $14.7 million noncash expense for extinguishment of debt related to the early payment of the balance of the Summit term loan, net income as adjusted was $52.4 million or $0.39 per basic share.

Profitability and EBITDA growth in the third quarter compared to the prior year quarter was attributable to strong performances of the company?s theatrical, home entertainment and international businesses which more than offset increased marketing costs for a larger slate of films.

The company reported $125.2 million in free cash flow in the third quarter compared to free cash flow of negative $(37.0) million in the prior year quarter.

Revenue for the nine months ended 31 December 2012 was $1.92 billion revenue from ?The Hunger Games?, which was released on DVD and digital in August.

Television revenue included in motion picture revenue was $98.8 million in the third quarter, a fourfold increase from the prior year quarter driven by contributions from ?The Hunger Games?, ?The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn? Part 1? and ?Good Deeds?. International motion picture revenue of $89.5 million (excluding Lionsgate U.K.) for the third quarter increased six times over from the prior year quarter driven by the strong international theatrical performances of ?The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn ? Part 2? and ?Step Up Revolutiom?.

Lionsgate U.K. revenue was $36.6 million, an increase of 120 per cent from the prior year quarter, on the strength of a theatrical slate driven by ?The Expendables 2? and ?What To Expect When You?re Expecting?, Lionsgate UK and third-party titles ?Magic Mike? and ?Keith Lemon: The Film? and the continued strong performance of ?The Hunger Games?.

Television production revenue was $70.1 million in the third quarter, a decline of 22 per cent compared to the prior year quarter, as strong international sales of ?Anger Management?, ?Mad Men? seasons 3, 4 and 5 and Weeds Season 8 were offset by revenue declines in domestic series licensing due to timing.

MUMBAI: US film and television company Lionsgate has reported second quarter revenue of $707 million, EBITDA of $104.0 million, adjusted EBITDA of $109.7 million and net income of $75.5 million or $0.56 per share for the second quarter of fiscal 2013 (quarter ended September 30, 2012).

Revenue of $707.0 million in the second quarter increased by 97 per cent compared to $358.1 million in the prior year quarter, driven by strong home entertainment revenue from the global blockbuster ?The Hunger Games? in packaged media and on demand and digital, domestic theatrical box office revenue from films in the quarter that included ?The Possession?, ?The Expendables 2?, ?Step Up Revolution? and ?Madea?s Witness Protection? (released at the end of June), as well as strong growth in international revenue.

EBITDA of $104 million and adjusted EBITDA of $109.7 million in the second quarter compared to EBITDA of negative $(6.9) million and adjusted EBITDA of negative $(13.4) million in the prior year quarter.

Net income of $75.5 million in the second quarter compared to net loss of $(25.3) million in the prior year quarter. Profitability and EBITDA growth in the quarter was largely attributable to the strong theatrical box office and home entertainment performance of several of the Company?s feature films, including the DVD and digital release of the first film in ?The Hunger Games? franchise and the domestic theatrical box office performance of ?The Possession? as well as strong international results.

The company also reported improved overall margins in the quarter.

Basic net income per common share for the second quarter was $0.56 on 134.4 million weighted average common shares outstanding, compared to basic net loss per common share of $(0.19) on 133.8 million weighted average common shares outstanding in the prior year quarter.

Lionsgate?s film backlog, or already contracted future revenue not yet recorded, was a record $1.2 billion at 30 September , 2012.

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said, "The quarter reflected many of the core values that have driven our growth over the past 12 years ? creation and renewal of major film franchises, strong and consistent library performance and contributions from our diverse mix of businesses worldwide. "With the home entertainment release of the first film in our ?Hunger Games? franchise making significant contributions to our results in the quarter, we?re clearly on track to meet or exceed our expectations this year."

Overall motion picture revenue for the second quarter was $608 million, an increase of 178 per cent from the prior year quarter reflecting gains in all categories. Within the motion picture segment, theatrical revenue in the quarter was $116.2 million, a fivefold increase from the prior year second quarter, attributable to the box office performance of ?The Possession?, ?The Expendables 2?, ?Step Up Revolution? and ?Madea?s Witness Protection?released in June.

Lionsgate?s home entertainment revenue from both motion pictures and television was $277.8 million in the second quarter, a 59 per cent increase from the prior year quarter driven by the home entertainment releases of ?The Hunger Games?, ?Cabin In The Woods?, ?What To Expect When You?re Expecting?, ?Safe? and ?Friends With Kids? from the company?s managed brands business.

Television revenue included in motion picture revenue was $35.5 million in the second quarter, an increase of 26 per cent from the prior year quarter.

International motion picture revenue of $108 million (excluding Lionsgate U.K.) for the second quarter increased more than fourfold from the prior year quarter driven by continuing revenue from the worldwide theatrical release of ?The Hunger Games? as well as revenue contributions from ?Cabin In The Woods?, ?What To Expect When You?re Expecting?, ?Step Up Revolution? and ?Cold Light Of Day?.

Lionsgate UK revenue was $48.4 million, an increase of 120 per cent from the prior year quarter, on the strength of a diversified theatrical slate driven by ?The Hunger Games?, ?The Expendables 2? and ?Abduction?, Lionsgate UK?s ?Salmon Fishing In The Yemen? and the third-party film ?Magic Mike?.

Television production revenue was $99 million in the second quarter, a decline of 29 per cent compared to the prior year quarter, as increases in domestic series licensing from Lionsgate Television were offset by fewer deliveries from the company?s Debmar-Mercury syndication arm and decreased digital media revenue compared to the prior year quarter that included the delivery of the first four seasons of ?Mad Men? to Netflix.

MUMBAI: Mumbai-based television production company Balaji Telefilms? net loss from its television production business has widened 40 per cent to Rs 11.64 million for the fiscal-second quarter.

Balaji?s revenue from its television production business during the quarter rose almost 6 per cent to Rs 348.3 million from Rs 329.1 million a year ago.

However, on quarter-on-quarter basis the income from operations marginally dipped by 3 per cent from Rs 359.3 million to Rs 348.3 million as the company exited the sponsored programs segment and revenues from this segment has been received only during the beginning of the quarter.

Its expenditure decreased marginally by 2.39 per cent to Rs 369.4 million from Rs 360.8 million even as cost of production/acquisition and telecast fees remained flat at Rs 285.2 million compared to Rs 268.4 million.

In the present quarter, the company?s Ebitda decreased to Rs. 7.3 million from Rs 15 million due to marginal increase in the production costs and increase in other expenditure.

Balaji?s hours of Hindi commissioned programs stood at 217. The Hindi Commissioned segment continues to do well, the company said. The hours of Sponsored programs stood at 87.5 for the quarter.

Revenue contribution from Commissioned programming (HSM) was Rs 335.1 million against Rs 281.5 million in the preceding fiscal, while that of Sponsored programming was Rs 13.2 million as against Rs 47.6 million in the same period year before.

The Hindi commissioned segment is expected to do better going forward with the addition of two new shows: Jodha, based on the epic Jodha Akbar to be aired on Zee in December and another serial, which the company says is first of its kind and marks an important milestone for Balaji.

The company has been working closely on the content while maintaining a tight control on costs to ensure its success, it added.

Revenues from Sponsored segment has been accounted only during the beginning of second quarter as BTL is in the process of identifying new concepts which will translate to fresh content.

BTL?s other income decreased by more than 200 per cent to Rs 15.77 million from Rs 50.43 million in the second quarter of the previous fiscal.

The company?s consolidated net profit stood at Rs 24.34 million compared to a loss of Rs 20.74 million in the second quarter of previous fiscal. BTL?s consolidated result includes Balaji Motion Pictures Limited.

BTL?s consolidated net income during the quarter was Rs 589.6 million, up from Rs 330.6 million in the year before period. Expenditure during the quarter was Rs 572.82 million compared to Rs 375.86 million.

BMPL posted a net profit of Rs 35.99 million on revenues of Rs 241.2 million. Its expenditure stood at Rs 203.3 million. BMPL had released Kya Super Kool Hain Hum during the quarter which had net box office collections of approximately Rs 220 million over the first weekend.

The company had de-risked the revenues of the film by selling the India theatrical rights on a minimum guarantee basis. The satellite and music rights of the film were also sold in prior months.

The company has opted to consolidate the results of its subsidiary in its quarterly results starting this quarter as a measure of further transparency in its results. The income reflected in the subsidiary in the current quarter is ancillary income from the previous year releases.

The total expenses towards prints and advertising amounted to Rs. 79.8 million, pertaining to various films having been expensed off in the current quarter and having not been matched to the revenue of the films they pertain to, in accordance with the requirements of the relevant accounting standards.

The quarterly results of the company going ahead are expected to be ?lumpy? depending on the film releases during the relevant quarters. The second quarter of the company include the results of Kya Super Kool Hain Hum, which was released on 27th July, 2012.

BMPL is expected to release at least one more major film in 2012-2013 and at least four films in 2013-2014.

The company is focusing on its development efforts to ensure a healthy and steady pipeline for the years ahead which would include a mix of development of concepts for in house productions (Once Upon a time in Mumbai Again), co-productions (Shootout at Wadala, Lootera) and signing of key talent.

As on 30 September, the company?s total investments were at Rs. 2.07 billion largely comprising investments in mutual funds and debentures issued by other body corporates and investment in trusts.