FDI tunes into media: Q4 funding doubles with big bets on news, OTT, and football flair

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the information and broadcasting (I&B) sector, including print media, nearly doubled in the fourth quarter of FY25, though it slipped 14% for the full financial year, latest data from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) showed.

The I&B sector attracted FDI worth ₹1,221 crore in Q4, compared to ₹621 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. For the full year, FDI fell to ₹6,007 crore in FY25 from ₹7,012 crore a year earlier.

Inshorts India Advertising and Services received a fund infusion of ₹920 crore from its parent entity Inshorts, under the Reserve Bank of India's automatic route in Q4. The company, which operates online news aggregator InShorts, reported a net loss of ₹228 crore on an operating income of ₹181 crore in FY24.

TV production company Balaji Telefilms received over ₹40 crore in FDI from investors including Gothic Corporation, The Duke Endowment, Gothic HSP Corporation, and the Employees Retirement Plan of Duke University, under the automatic route.

In December 2024, Balaji Telefilms raised ₹131 crore through a preferential issue of equity shares to eight selected investors, including its promoter Ekta Kapoor, as well as Gothic Corporation, The Duke Endowment, Gothic HSP Corporation, and the Employees Retirement Plan of Duke University.

Stage Technologies, which owns the STAGE OTT platform, raised ₹5.5 crore in FDI from NB Ventures and Manoj Sadhuram Shivnani, also via the automatic route.

In March, STAGE-backed by Olympian Neeraj Chopra-closed a $12.5 million Series B funding round led by Goodwater Capital and Blume Ventures, with participation from Physis Capital and prominent angel investors.

In sports, Indian Super League club Mumbai City FC-jointly owned by actor Ranbir Kapoor and Premier League club Manchester City-received ₹140 crore in FDI from City Football Group, a UK-based holding company that owns Manchester City Football Club and is backed by Abu Dhabi United Group, American firm Silver Lake, and Chinese firms China Media Capital and CITIC Capital.