A n increase in television revenue boosted Boat Rocker Media’s financial performance for the start of its 2023 fiscal year.

The Toronto-headquartered media company earned $79.8 million in revenue for Q1 2023, a 70% year-over-year increase from $46.8 million in Q1 2022, according to a financial report published Tuesday (May 9).

The increase was driven by a significant jump in TV revenue, which hit $54.5 million for the quarter, up 190% from $18.8 million in the previous year’s Q1. The gains were attributed to the delivery of “47 half hours” of content, according to the financial reports, with the majority of its revenue coming from production work.

The revenue gain was slightly offset by a decrease in kids and family revenue, which came to $15.7 million for Q1 2023, a 20% decrease from $19.5 million in the previous Q1. The decrease was attributed to the timing of deliveries and sales of kids content. The company’s representation revenue, from its talent management services, came to $9.6 million for the quarter, up 12% from $8.6 million in Q1 2022.

The company’s adjusted EBITDA came in at a loss of $2 million for Q1, a 67% improvement from the previous year’s quarter. Similarly, overall income came in at a net l0ss of $9.5 million, compared to a loss of $12.3 million Q1 2022. The company remains “debt free” with total cash at $70.5 million by the end of Q1, said the report.

Boat Rocker CEO John Young said in a statement that the Q1 results “reflect our typical cadence” due to the timing of episode deliveries, adding that their “primary focus remains on delivering against our robust production slate to help drive improved adjusted EBITDA performance versus the prior year.”

Young also addressed the Writers Guild of America strike in a call with investors on Tuesday, stating that it was “too early to tell” how a long-term labour dispute will impact the company. The strike is currently in its second week.

He said the “vast majority” of its scripted series are currently in post-production, including the Freevee drama series American Rust (pictured), so there is no immediate concern in the short-term. However, he said a prolonged strike will impact the company’s ability to develop and greenlight scripted series, but the company is “cautiously optimistic” for a short strike.

The company also spoke to the market interest in the upcoming Orphan Black spinoff series, stating that its sales team saw a positive response from global buyers when they introduced it at MIPTV last month.

Image courtesy of Boat Rocker