ALT Balaji's COVID-19 related subscription spike has flattened, as Balaji Telefilms's revenues from the streaming service declined from ₹22.2 crore in the preceding quarter to ₹14.9 crore in Q1FY21. According to the company's management, ALT Balaji has a churn rate of around 66%, which means that two thirds of subscribers generally don't purchase new subscriptions when theirs have run out. This number may have been higher if ALT Balaji subscriptions were auto-renewing, or if more users were engaged enough to renew. Most of the ₹14.9 crore revenue came from direct subscribers, per the company, with a small portion coming from a deal the company struck in 2019 with Zee5. "There has been some reduction in viewership in recent weeks as limited fresh content is available," a Balaji Telefilms executive said on Tuesday during the company's earnings call. The dip was due to a paucity in new content, he said. However, the direct subscription revenue is 90% higher on a YoY basis, standing at ₹12.9 crore compared to ₹6.7 crore in the preceding quarter. The company did not disclose the number of currently active subscriptions, though it is likely to be lower than last quarter's 3 million, considering the decreased revenue. The company sold two of its movies to other streaming services -- Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare and Pagglait, two movies Balaji Telefilms produced, were sold to Netflix. The company also announced that it would purchase a 17.5% stake in celebrity shoutout platform Tring for ₹15 crore. ALT Balaji…
