Limners and Bards Ltd, the advertising and production company known as The LAB, thinks that the arrival of Apple TV in Jamaica will increase demand for locally made content, which could spur more avenues for profit.

The LAB has spent millions of dollars on producing local content in recent years. A push that has strained its cash flow; however, it expects to return to profitability next year.

Apple TV expanded last month into 59 new markets, including Jamaica, bringing its footprint to 170 countries. Chief Executive Kimala Bennett said the move signals an opening for Jamaican producers.

“It’s a good signal,” Bennett told the Financial Gleaner at the recent annual general meeting held on October 1. “It means that they will need content to cater to these markets, and seeing that we are creating homegrown content that travels globally … there’s obviously a demand for [our content].”

She told shareholders that The LAB would focus on building brands through production and creating entertainment products for a wider audience.

Bennett outlined a plan for the firm’s turnaround that starts with “strengthening the core” advertising agency business by winning new clients and deepening ties with existing ones. She also said the company plans to commercialise AI-enabled services to improve efficiency and create new client offerings.

The third leg is monetising Jamaican content through its film arm, The LAB Studios, which produces films and digital programming for global audiences.

Its higher-budget films are aimed at theatres and streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. The company expects a three- to five-year horizon to profit. Its lower-budget films are made for YouTube and can turn a profit in one to two years, the company said.

The studio’s latest YouTube release, Surprise! I Love You, a romantic comedy with a cast that includes social media influencers, drew more than one million views in 10 days. The channel has 16,500 subscribers and 1.9 million total views.

Another title, Happily Ever Awkward, first appeared on YouTube and has since been picked up by Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Tubi.

The LAB reported an unaudited net loss of $18.2 million for the nine months, compared with a net profit of $42.2 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 15 per cent to $618.5 million from $727.3 million.

The most recent quarter showed some improvement. Revenue rose 5.1 per cent to $280.7 million from $267.1 million a year earlier. The company still posted a net loss of $4.7 million, against a profit of $21.7 million in the same quarter last year.

“We’re operating in a shifting environment; client budgets are under pressure, and spend is increasingly moving to digital-first models,” Bennett told shareholders. “Those dynamics have affected our performance, so our near-term priority is clear — returning The LAB to profitability and growth.”

luke.douglas@gleanerjm.com