ITV

Category: GECs

  • Discovery Channel Celebrates The World Cup in “More Than A Game”

    Chronicles the emergence of the greatest teams & the evolution of the World Cup as a tournament

    New Delhi, April 26, 2006: The football World Cup has evolved into a cultural event that unites the entire world for one exhilarating and unforgettable month. Nothing compares to the anticipation, excitement, intensity, joy and tears that this global event generates. Over the years it has had far flung influences which go beyond the playing field. More than just a sporting extravaganza, it has impacted the economy of countries and their presence on the global map.

     

    In a premiere six-part series MORE THAN A GAME, featuring the six giants of the game – Brazil, Germany, France, England, Argentina and Italy, Discovery Channel will chronicle the emergence of international football’s greatest teams and players interwoven with the story of how the World Cup evolved as a tournament and shaped the nature of football worldwide.

     

    Made in collaboration with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and featuring exclusive footage from FIFA’s film archive and recollections from some of the world’s greatest players including Beckham, Beckenbauer, Zidane, Platini and Zoff, MORE THAN A GAME is the definitive account of the World Cup – its glorious goals, legendary players, fanatical fans and enduring appeal. With previously unseen footage from matches dating back over 40 years, viewers will get a fresh perspective on even the most familiar football legends. They will also witness how winning or losing a game can change the fortunes of a nation.

     

    Discovery Channel will premiere this six-part series every Friday at 9 pm, starting April 28th. Each episode will be repeated on the following Saturday at 10 am.

    Discovery Channel’s spokesperson said, “MORE THAN A GAME showcases how the World Cup has been a carnival of innovation, advancing both the game and the business of football. It presents the fascinating account of the extraordinary brilliance and the gallant failures of the superpowers of world football. Identifying and capturing the defining moments of the football World Cup is what makes MORE THAN A GAME so captivating.”

     

    The Ambassador of Brazil, His Excellency Mr. Jose Vicente Pimentel, said “I am delighted to be part of this special programme by Discovery Channel which will provide the football enthusiasts in India an insight into the history of the World Cup. Each of the six nations covered in the programme represent football in its truest form. Each episode will give viewers an insight into the various manifestations of the sport and how single-handedly football can bind an entire nation.”

    MORE THAN A GAME – Programme Schedule:

    • Brazil – April 28, 9 pm
    The World Cup has defined Brazil as a nation. The five-time winners have given the world legends like Pele, Carlos Alberto, Tostao, Socrates and Ronaldo. In this episode, you can also watch 17-year-old Pele leading the Brazilian charge to their first World Cup win in 1958 and then taking it to the event to its greatest height: the superlative final of 1970.

    • Argentina – May 5, 9 pm
    Argentina’s Diego Maradona became the biggest football star since Pele. Never has one man so dominated the World Cup. But after the bravura and brilliance of 1986, it has all been downhill for Maradona. His well-publicised descent into drug addiction and psychological deterioration mark a sad end to an incredible career. Also see the memorable celebrations in Buenos Aires in 1978 after Argentina won against a background of intimidation and corruption with a military junta governing the country.

    • England – May 12, 9 pm
    The British boycotted the World Cup till 1950 and have won it only once – in 1966. They were the first nation to win as hosts. With a passionate (and infamous) fan base and the superstar status of their players, it has always shared a love-hate relationship with the sport they invented. Their story of the World Cup ranges from disaster to gallant failure.

    • Germany – May 19, 9 pm
    It’s hard to imagine a time when Germany was not a footballing superpower. But in the 1954 final, they were definitely the underdogs against the talented Hungarians. An extraordinary comeback set the foundations for future dominance, and till now they remain one of the most difficult sides to overcome. Watch how the World Cup has helped Germany to emerge as one of the leading nations in world football.

    • Italy – May 26, 9 pm
    Paolo Rossi’s hat-trick helped Italy beat Brazil 3-2 in one of the greatest World Cup games. Their World Cup victory in 1982 ended a fifty-two year wait for their demanding supporters. The famous Azzuri are characterised by their stubborn, defensive approach that has, according to their critics, overshadowed the beauty of their game. They have, however, won the World cup three times and those who underestimate them, do so at their own peril.

    • France – June 2, 9 pm
    The 1998 World Champions had included 15 squad players from different ethnic backgrounds embodied by Zidane, Desailly and Lizarazu. As the most racially troubled country in Europe, France was divided by the question of immigration. The multiracial make up of the French national team was openly criticised till their stunning 3-0 victory over favourites Brazil, which led to four days of euphoric celebrations across the nation. The win also summed the international nature of a sport which is ‘MORE THAN A GAME’.

     

    Discovery Communications, Inc.
    Discovery Communications is the leading global real-world media company.
    Discovery has grown from its core property, the Discovery Channel, first launched in the United States in 1985, to current global operations in 170 countries and territories with nearly 1.4 billion cumulative subscribers. Discovery Networks International offers 17 television brands, reaching 687 million cumulative subscribers. In India, three Discovery brands reach 78.5 million cumulative subscribers with programming available in English and Hindi. Discovery Communications is owned by four shareholders: Discovery Holding Company (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB), Cox Communications, Inc., Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, the Company’s Founder and Chairman.

     

    For further information, please contact: Rajiv Bakshi
    Associate Director – Marketing and Communications Discovery Networks India
    Tel: 98109-99796; 011- 41491164 Luna / Priyadarshani Hanmer & Partners
    Tel: 98106-28989 / 98110-30502

  • Star Plus partners HLL for kids talent hunt show; Endemol to produce

    Star Plus partners HLL for kids talent hunt show; Endemol to produce

    MUMBAI: Star Plus is kicking off its programming series with high advertiser participation with the kids talent hunt show Rin Mera Star Super Star. The channel has teamed up with the FMCG major Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) for the initiative. Endemol India has been roped in as the producer of the show.

    Rin Mera Star Super Star is a nationwide talent hunt dedicated to unearthing talent in children aged 5-14. The programme promises to offer a national platform for talented children to showcase their potential in three categories – singing, acting and dancing. The winning contestant will get a scholarship of Rs 5,00,000 to help him/her pursue the dream of becoming an artist or to take up future education, states an official release.

    Rin Mera Star Super will be aired every Friday on Star Plus at 7:30 pm beginning September 2006.

    With Rin Mera Star Super Star, HLL’s brand promotion, Rin Advanced White Star Hunt, is being taken to national television. Since June, over 1,00,000 children across 22 cities have already auditioned and the entries are still coming in. Around 2,000 schools are also participating in the audition process. The top 50 kids from across the country will compete for the coveted crown on Star Plus, the release adds.

    Speaking on the initiative, says Star India ad sales & distribution president Paritosh Joshi said, “This is our first show of this scale, which has focused on strategic brand solutions. And for the first time an advertiser, with the brand, Rin, is a strategic content partner. To enliven brands in the minds of consumers through content takes our partnership with advertisers to a new level, making us a partner of our advertisers.”

    HLL marketing manager Priya Nair adds, “Rin is all about making an impression and a talent hunt among kids is the perfect arena. Many children are blessed with amazing talent and Rin provides them with a great platform to make an impression.”

    Says HLL media services GM Rahul Welde, “This marks a new approach to brand building with a much higher level of engagement than the more traditional forms of commercial advertising. The launch of this show is a true win-win association for Rin and Star, providing Rin a nationwide platform from which to communicate with consumers and Star, an excellent format show to entertain its audiences”.

    Endemol India MD Rajesh Kamat offers, “Rin Mera Star Super Star is a combination of entertainment and branding, a concept which will be brought alive on TV in a fun and exciting show. This is one of the first local formats that we have developed and we look forward to creating many such shows for Indian television”.

  • MTV Asia Pacific postpones first edition of Movie Awards

    MTV Asia Pacific postpones first edition of Movie Awards

    MUMBAI: MTV Asia Pacific has postponed production of the inaugural MTV Asia Movie Awards due to scheduling issues.

    MTV is in the process of strategising future plans for the event with its business constituents including the Singapore Tourism Board, sponsors, and the international and regional film and music industries. The awards were supposed to have been held in October.

    MTV Asia Pacific president Nigel Robbins stated, “The decision to postpone the MTV Asia Movie Awards was not taken lightly, and we are examining ways to deliver a show that is second to none at a later date. Our first priority to our audience, sponsors and the film and record industry is to deliver a top-notch, star-studded MTV event.”

    Currently, there are local versions of the MTV Movie Awards staged in Indonesia, Russia and the US. MTV says that the franchise is one of the most popular of its tentpole events, with its unique twist to ‘traditional’ movie kudofests by offering off-the-wall categories appealing to MTV’s audience such as Best Kiss and Best Fight.

  • Guba, MPAA to crack down on movie piracy

    MUMBAI: Online video entertainment website Guba is collaborating with the Motion Picture Association of America, (MPAA) to block illegal trading of movies and television programs on www.guba.com.
    Guba is the first video sharing community to partner with the MPAA in filtering copyrighted video.
    Guba is filtering movies and TV shows using a proprietary technology Johnny. Johnny analyses video in digitised form and generates a unique fingerprint for each video. Once Johnny has scanned a video, that video is blocked from illegal file trading or distribution on Guba’s site.
    Guba plans to make Johnny available to other video sharing services to help eliminate copyright infringement on the Web and on Usenet, an electronic bulletin board commonly
    used for illegal file sharing. Until the implementation of Johnny, copyrighted content on Usenet has been largely unfiltered.
    Guba CEO and founder Thomas McInerney says, “Johnny can identify a video, even if that video has been modified, cropped, reformatted, re-encoded or reposted. Guba allows users to upload and share their videos, while Johnny
    helps protect copyright holders from illegal posting and sharing. Johnny is an essential cog in making video sharing safe and easy.”
    The MPAA has been working with technology companies to provide a bridge in the digital transition. Guba and the MPAA have included thousands of movies and television programs from major studios in Johnny’s filters. Filtering efforts on MPAA titles have so far been successful and Guba is committed to
    continuing and improving on this initiative. In the last month, Guba has begun distribution of Warner Bros. and Sony film and television shows online.
    MPAA chairman and CEO Dan Glickman says, “Providing consumers legitimate ways to get movie and television programming online is essential to our industry. Collaborating with Guba has given us an opportunity to test new technology that will help ensure consumers can freely share videos without being exposed to illegal programming, which could lead to copyright infringement. We hope that other such sites will employ similar technology which allows them to conduct legitimate online businesses while protecting the creations of thousands of people who work in the entertainment industry.”
    As a copyright-friendly service, Guba currently prevents users from uploading feature-length films, DRM-protected content, MP3 files, and software.

  • Ekta & Smriti Irani to co-produce Star Plus soap ‘Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasmaan’

    Ekta & Smriti Irani to co-produce Star Plus soap ‘Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasmaan’

    MUMBAI: Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms and Smriti Irani will co-produce Star Plus’ new weekend prime time venture Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasmaan. The soap launches on 19 August Saturday at 10:30 pm.

    States Irani on her second most significant outing on tube after Kyunki Saas…, “Apart from co-producing the show with the production house that gave me India’s most celebrated show, I am extremely honoured that Star Plus has given me the opportunity to graduate from an actor to a producer.”

    Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasmaan, is a story of Uma didi, a 27-year old obedient daughter of a mill worker, who undertakes several jobs to run the family ever since the mill has shut. Set in the heart of Mumbai in a middle class “chawl”, it is mostly occupied by the mill workers, who are out of job; a story full of hardships and tribulations of a common man’s everyday life. Where Uma will hold the centre stage, as she will be looked up as a source of constant inspiration and driving force for the chawl people, who draw their strength and reason to live from her indomitable spirit!

    The story and screenplay of the show is done by the acclaimed Bollywood writer Kamlesh Pandey, who was behind blockbuster movies such as Rang De Basanti and Tezaab. The soap is directed by Santram Verma.

  • UTV Q1 revenue up 7% at Rs 523 million

    UTV Q1 revenue up 7% at Rs 523 million

    MUMBAI: UTV Software Communications Ltd. has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 34 million for the quarter ended 30 June 2006, same as in the year-ago period.

    While revenue rose seven per cent to stand at Rs 523 million, operating profit was at Rs 46 million. The company has consolidated the financials of post production outfit United Entertainment Solutions Ltd (UESL), UTV-US, UTV-UK and UTV-Mauritius. The board of directors, in its meeting held today, have taken on record the un-audited consolidated financial results of the company and its subsidiaries.

    Commenting on the quarterly results, UTV CEO Ronnie Screwvala said, “The first quarter of the current fiscal has witnessed a marginal growth in revenues over the same quarter last year. This growth is largely driven by the new shows in the television and A&S segments and film revenues have largely remained flat as most of our releases for this fiscal are during the third and the fourth quarter. The margins of the company haven’t shown a corresponding increase mainly because the new shows introduced would take some time to mature in TV and airtime sales business. In our animation business, during past few quarters we have focused on overall scale by strengthening order book, moving up the value chain by entering into production of DVD and theatrical movies and expansion of facilities. These investments are expected to translate into higher revenues and margins going forward.”

    The UTV scrip shed 4.01 per cent to close today at Rs 167.35 in the BSE. Even in the NSE, it lost 4.23 per cent to end at Rs 167.60.

  • Zee Telefilms board approves demerger proposals

    Zee Telefilms board approves demerger proposals

    MUMBAI:Zee Telefilms Ltd has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that the members at the two Court Convened General Meeting Meetings & one Extra Ordinary General Meeting of the Company held today, have approved the demerger proposals of the company. These include:

    1. Scheme of arrangement between Zee Teleflims Ltd, Zee News Ltd, Siti Cable Network Ltd, Wire and Wireless (India) Ltd and their respective shareholders made under the provisions of Sections 391 to 394 read with sections 78, 100 to 103 and other applicable provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 for the proposed de-merger of news business undertaking of the company in favor of Zee News Ltd and cable business undertakings of the company and Siti Cable Network Ltd, the wholly owned subsidiary of the company, in favor of Wire and Wireless (India) Ltd;

    2. Scheme of arrangement between Zee Telefilms Ltd, Siti Cable Network Ltd, New Era Entertainment Network Ltd, ASC Enterprises Ltd and their respective shareholders made under the provisions of Sections 391 to 394 read with Sections 78, 100 to 103 and other applicable provisions of the Companies Act, 1956, for the proposed de-merger of direct consumer services business undertaking of the company in favor of ASC Enterprises Ltd and Merger of Siti Cable Network Ltd and New Entertainment Network Ltd, wholly owned subsidiaries of the company, with ASC Enterprises Ltd; subject to necessary approvals of Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Bombay and / or Delhi and such other authority as may be required.

    3. Utilization of balance in securities premium account of the company as on appointed date(s), pursuant to provisions of sections 78, 100 to 103 of the Companies Act, 1956, to the extent required, to adjust deficit arising out of transfer of net assets, cancellation of investment / loans / advances / Inter Corporate Deposit and appreciation or diminution in value of assets, fixed or current and investments of the company, if any.

  • Ajay Vidyasagar to head Star’s internet, merchandising thrust

    Ajay Vidyasagar to head Star’s internet, merchandising thrust

    NEW DELHI: Star India, the revenue-generating arm of News Corp in Asia, is picking up the global threads being woven by its parent in the Internet and merchandising space and reorganizing its workforce accordingly.

    An indication to this effect is the new responsibilities given to Star India executive vice-president Ajay Vidyasagar who had thus far been looking after the network’s marketing and communication.

    As part of the changes being effected at Star India with an eye to tap new revenue generation sources, Vidyasagar will now be also responsible for the company’s soon-to-be-unveiled new thrusts in the internet and merchandising space.

    In his new role, Vidyasagar will be spearheading Star’s initiatives on the Net, part of which will entail “giving an Indian skin” to global activities being undertaken by News Corp.

    Meanwhile, Satya Ragahvan has moved in as head of marketing of Star India. Vidyasagar, will however continue holding the portfolios of marketing and communication.

    Star sources said that activities on the Net and merchandising fronts will hot up in India in fiscal 2007 when some other major initiatives on the programming, marketing and ad sales side too will be rolled out.

    Globally, Star’s parent News Corp has been prowling the Net space aggressively, prompting the likes of advertising wiz Martin Sorrell to question this haste.

    News Corp’s biggest buy in the space was of course last year’s $580 million acquisition of youth networking website MySpace.com.

  • UTV scrip up on Disney deal buzz

    MUMBAI: UTV Software Communications’ share price has gone up by 18 per cent in the last three trading days on the talk that the Walt Disney Company is buying into Hungama TV. The market is also abuzz with rumours that Disney is picking up a small stake in UTV.

    The scrip opened today at Rs 162, touched a high of Rs 182, and closed at Rs 175. On Thursday, it had gained Rs 14.50 to end at Rs 165.65.

    UTV is making a preferential allotment to Disney, a dealer in a broking firm said. The integrated media company holds 49 per cent in United Home Entertainment (UHE) which runs Hindi kids channel Hungama TV.

    Meanwhile, an earlier deal that was to go through with Malaysia’s Astro All Asia Entertainment Networks has not yet closed, another dealer said. Astro was to take 26.01 per cent in UHE for a consideration of $7 million (Rs 310 million), putting the enterprise valuation at a little under $28 million (Rs 1.24 billion). While UTV was to hold 49 per cent, the balance was to be with UTV founder-promoter Ronnie Screwvala.

    The market buzz is that Disney would hold at least a controlling stake in Hungama TV, a dealer said. UTV had earlier in its FY06 results announced that the capital employed in UHE was Rs 840 million. This was used to fund Hungama TV’s operations. UTV has made investments of Rs 680 million into the channel till then.

    Neither UTV nor Walt Disney Company (India) Ltd were available for comment. UTV had earlier denied a report in a leading financial daily, stating in a notice to the stock exchange that it was not in talks with Walt Disney to sell 30 per cent stake in UHE.

    MTV Networks India had also been in talks with UTV but the two parties could reach no common grounds on valuation. The plan was to have a second channel along with Nick, which was struggling to get audiences. MTV, sources say, was interested in buying out Hungama TV.

    UTV, meanwhile, is planning to merge United Entertainment Solutions Ltd, a post production subsidiary company, with itself. In a move to consolidate the post production business, the company had acquired Western Outdoor in 2002. UTV also has a strong presence in movie production and is into animation business.

  • Zee Telefilms’ Q1 consolidated net slips 28% at Rs 562 million

    Zee Telefilms’ Q1 consolidated net slips 28% at Rs 562 million

    MUMBAI: Zee Telefilms has posted a 27.8 per cent fall in consolidated net profit at Rs 562 million for the first quarter ended 30 June, 2006, as against Rs 779 million in the corresponding period last fiscal

    Total income, however, rose 24 per cent to Rs 3.884 billion, up from Rs 3.131 billion.

    The consolidated operating profit stood at Rs 726 million, after factoring in initial investments in new activities viz. Zee Telugu, Zee Smile, Zee Sports and others, amounting to Rs 571 million (14.7 per cent of consolidated revenues). As a result, consolidated operating profits of continuing businesses were Rs 1.297 billion. These are higher by 8.4 per cent as compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

    “The growth rate is subdued mainly due to investments in programming and marketing focused on long-term buildup of mainline channels. Profit before tax for the first quarter of the fiscal 2007 was Rs 672 million while net profit was Rs 562 million,” Zee said in an official release.

    On a standalone basis, Zee Telefilms has posted a 50.8 per cent fall in net profit to Rs 156 million for the quarter ended 30 June, 2006, as compared to Rs 306.80 million for the corresponding period last year. Total income has increased to Rs 2.440 billion for the quarter ended 30 Jun, 2006, up from Rs 1.777 billion for the corresponding period last year.

    Commenting on the results, ZTL chairman Subhash Chandra said, “We are pleased to report the strong recovery in our market position and continuing uptrend in ratings on the flagship channel. The performance reflects our success in delivering superior content to viewers and stronger relationship with our consumers.” “We are also happy about some recent developments relating to our business. The Delhi High Court has ordered the Union Government to issue a revised notification for implementation of CAS in the notified areas of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata by 31 December, 2006. This will additionally help in bringing about addressability on cable. On DTH, DishTV enhanced its offering from June when The OneAlliance bouquet was also made available to subscribers. Also, the TDSAT order has directed Star to provide their content to DishTV within 15 days. All these have extremely positive and long term impact on our business,” Chandra added.

    Commenting on the restructuring exercise, Chandra continued, “The restructuring exercise is expected to be completed by September/ October 2006, subject to necessary approvals. This shall create four focused, pure play, listed companies ready to exploit the vast emerging opportunities in each line of business. It would result in streamlined operations in each area and would also clear the ground for acquisitions and strategic or financial partners in the demerged businesses, apart from unlocking shareholder value. The next several years would provide tremendous growth opportunities for all these four businesses.”

    Punit Goenka, Zee Telefilms whole time director and responsible for content creation, said, “Zee TV continued to increase its viewership share from 21 per cent in 4Q FY2006 to 25 per cent during 1QFY2007, along with a significant growth in time spent. During the quarter, average gross ratings points (GRPs) of Zee TV have crossed 200 and for the last week it was at 240 GRPs, giving Zee a channel share of 29 per cent. The growth momentum has been led by widespread success of Saat Phere and Kasamh Se, which rank 5th and 6th among the top programmes on television, across genres. Zee TV now has leadership in the 9 pm to 10 pm time band, for the last six weeks.”

    “Zee Cinema continues to be the number one movie channel, and increasingly is becoming a reach channel for advertisers. Zee Marathi has also considerably narrowed the gap with its competitor (ETV Marathi). Zee Sports continues to build on the back of Football and ODI Cricket matches. We will continue to reinforce our competitive advantage and deliver more value to viewers and shareholders,” Goenka added.

    Elaborating on the performance, Zee Telefilms CEO Pradeep Guha said, “During FY2006, the yield per spot of ten seconds was the lowest in the history of Zee TV. Zee TV has introduced many initiatives, which focus on improving inventory utilization, attracting higher yielding categories of business and increasing effective rates across time bands. These efforts have resulted in a revenue growth faster than that of industry. Also, we have been able to establish Zee Cinema as a reach channel instead of a frequency channel, which will help us garner more advertising revenues.”

    The Board of Directors in its meeting held today, has taken on record the unaudited consolidated financial results of Zee Telefilms Limited and its subsidiaries for the quarter ended 30 June, 2006.

    REVENUE STREAMS:
    Zee’s advertising revenues increased to Rs 1.729 billion, a 31.5 per cent growth as compared to the corresponding quarter last fiscal. “This growth in advertising revenues was a result of higher average rates on most of the network channels. During this quarter, Zee Sports telecast the two One Day (ODI) Cricket matches played between Indian and Pakistan, which has
    contributed to the growth in advertising revenues,” the company said.

    Overall, subscription revenues stood at Rs 1.798 billion, registered an increase of 2.8 per cent over the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Domestic pay revenues, including Siticable, stood at Rs1.039 billion. Other sales and services grew to Rs 357 million.

    EXPENDITURE:
    Overall, the cost of goods and operations went up 60.6 per cent compared to a year-ago period, mainly due to investments made in new channels like Zee Sports, Zee Smile, Zee Telugu and Zee Jagran. A large part of the incremental cost was on account of programming cost of Cricket rights on Zee Sports, states the company release.

    Personnel cost were also up, 26 per cent higher than the corresponding period last year. Other costs, particularly marketing costs have increased by 23.2 per cent. As a result, total expenses were higher by 47.6 per cent.

    From FY2006, the Company has accelerated its investments in the development and expansion of its network. There have been substantial marketing and content improvement initiatives on one hand, and on the other, number of new channels have been launched.

    “As a result, Zee is in a phase in which the initial investments have been made and expensed fully, while the corresponding revenue build-up is to be realized in the next several quarters. The immediate impact is on operating profits, which we hope to recover in successive quarters through increasing revenues and progressive reduction in costs, the release adds.

    Zee’s Q1 segment-wise revenues are indicated in the table below:

    *Content Business includes all Broadcasting and content production companies in India and abroad of Zee Telefilms
    Limited, ETC Networks Limited.
    # Access Business includes Siticable, Zee Turner and distribution segment of ZTL.

    OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

    Sports
    During the first quarter, Zee Sports telecast two ODIs between India and Pakistan played at Abu Dhabi. These were the first two matches in the contract with BCCI for overseas Cricket. In football, National Football League matches were telecast during the quarter. Building on the Football World Cup fever, Zee Sports commissioned ‘Goal 2010’, an initiative to see India in the World Cup of 2010.

    Cable Network
    The cable business is poised to pursue new technology opportunities with renewed focus including digitization of cable, broadband and ‘triple play’ offerings. As per the Zee release, Siticable is the only MSO that would be deploying state-of-the-art Headend In The Sky technology, which would allow it to cover the entire country, not just the CAS notified areas. The recent regulatory and legal developments look set to lead to a roadmap for digitisation initially in the metros. The Delhi High Court has ordered Union Government to issue a revised notification to implement conditional access system (CAS) by 31 December 2006 in the notified areas of three metros i.e. Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. There is more visibility now on the path of transition in the cable business towards digitisation, which would result in greater transparency and accountability, the release further adds.

    Direct Consumer Services business
    DTH services continue to make inroads into Indian homes. The service offerings have been expanded by adding SET Discovery’s The OneAlliance bouquet from June 2006. The service revenues from DishTV continue to generate good response.

    The subscriber numbers have crossed 1,200,000 and are growing at the rate of about 3,500 per day. We are poised to execute market expansion strategies which would lead to a ramp up of subscription from the urban markets, based on value added services not presently available on cable.

    Recently the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) came out with an order, instructing Star to provide its channels to DishTV within 15 days. This would further enhance the present content offering of DishTV, Zee said in the release.

    Restructuring in Zee Telefilms
    Application for the restructuring has been made to the High Courts. The scheme of arrangement would require approval of shareholders of Zee and of Bombay High Court. The whole process is expected to be completed by September / October 2006. Zee News Limited, ASCEL and WWIL would be listed on all stock exchanges where ZTL is listed.Based on the unaudited results of ZTL (consolidated), Zee News Ltd. and ASCEL, the following table sets forth the proforma financials of each line of business for 1Q FY2007, as they would appear in a demerged scenario.

    The company’s investment in 25 FPS Media Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary engaged in production of television programming for the Zee Telefilms, is intended to be disposed off. Accordingly, its financials are not consolidated in these results. Previous year’s figures are also not comparable to that extent, the company said in a posting on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

    At the Bombay Stock Exchange today, the Zee scrip opened at Rs 251.70 and closed at Rs 249.75, down Rs 1.95 from the previous day’s close.