Category: GECs

Colors to premiere new show ‘Barrister Babu’ on 11 February

MUMBAI: Through its upcoming drama series, Barrister Babu, Colors’ presents an inspiring journey of Bondita, who with the help of her companion Anirudh finds her purpose, breaks the glass ceiling and becomes a ‘Barrister Babu’. Produced by Shashi Sumeet Productions, the show is set to premiere on 11 February 2020 and air every Monday to Friday at 8.30 pm, only on Colors.

Viacom18 hindi mass entertainment and kids TV network head Nina Elavia Jaipuria says, “Stories have the power to inspire lives, win hearts and above all, change mindsets. Over the years, COLORS has consistently presented content tuned towards highlighting social evils through shows like Balika Vadhu, Udann, Shakti…Astitva Ke Ehsaas Kii, and many more. Right from Meher’s determination, Vidya’s dedication to Pinky’s unbreakable spirit and now Bondita’s inquisitiveness, we have introduced viewers to strong and endearing female characters. With Barrister Babu, we will highlight how Bondita and Anirudh rather than succumb to traditions and cultural practices join forces to rise above all odds and bring about a radical change in the society.”

Set against the backdrop of Kolkata, an eight-year-old Bondita is being married off to a 60-year-old man. But as fate would have it, her life takes a sudden tragic turn.While she becomes prey to social injustice, fate leads her to her husband Anirudh, a London-return Barrister who wishes to liberalize women and unstrap them from cultural stereotypes. As he pledges to fight against the age-old norms and help Bonita find her identity, he unfolds a pathway for her to become a Barrister Babu. While Bondita asks some thought-provoking questions, Anirudh through her journey tries to fight them. Will Bondita and Anirudh be able to fight against this broken culture and mark the beginning of a revolution?

Viacom18 hindi mass entertainment chief content officer Manisha Sharma says, “Fighting societal norms and injustice takes a lot more than just courage. To bring about a positive change, one needs to set an example for others to follow, and this is what we aim to bring alive through Barrister Babu. It traces the journey of a young and curious Bondita who becomes a victim of the injustice, but fate leads her to her mentor Anirudh. It’s their journey together of starting a new revolution and giving the nation a female ‘Barrister Babu’.

Shashi Sumeet Productions producer Shashi Mittal says, “With this unique show, we are trying to blend important social issues that women face with an intriguing storyline. To weave the challenges faced by women in pre-independence into the narrative was definitely challenging, but we are happy with the story that has emerged from this. With strong characters and a refreshing plot, Barrister Babu is a show that is both relatable and interesting. Viewers will not only connect with these characters but will also get to get a close glimpse of a very different era.”

Talking about the show, Aura Bhatnagar who plays the role of little Bondita, says, “This has been a dream role for me to play, and I am thankful to COLORS for giving me this opportunity. I love how Bondita is a curious child and I can relate with the questions she has. I could not have chosen a better show to make my debut with on television and I will ensure that I do justice to the character."

Pravisht Mishra who will be seen playing the role of Anirudh says,“This is a unique concept that we are witnessing on Indian television. My character is that of a Barrister who is ahead of his times. He is a progressive person who is bent on ridding India of orthodox customs. He immerses himself in Bondita’s education and becomes an ideal mentor to her. He channelizes Bondita’s natural curiosity and uses it to coach her.”

Focusing on journey of Bondita, COLORS has designed a 360-degree campaign backed by strong print, digital, radio, on-ground and television plans to create major impact.

February 7, 2020
Novelty, originality and availability: the keys to content success

MUMBAI: The NoTa (New on the Air) Conference reviewing television trends and consumption around the world in 2019 presented on 6 February 2020 in Los Angeles confirms that catch-up and preview viewing for television programmes can significantly add-up to the ratings. In terms of content, “emotainment” represents a strong trend to unite the whole family around television. Fiction remains the key genre addressing both real events and supernatural fiction formats.

Said research firm Glance (earlier Mediametrie) vice-president Frédéric Vaulpré: “The profusion of content presents a real challenge for the market: how to capture and then retain an increasingly sought-after audience and how to adapt to the new consumption habits of TV viewers. Making content available during an extended time period via live broadcasts, catch-up and, more recently, preview appears to be essential for the television offer going forward into the future.”

Added Glance content insight director Avril Blondelot: “Now more than ever, novelty is synonymous with audience success. In 2019, 10,600 new series were identified in the countries studied by the NoTa monitoring service. Among these new programme launches on the channels measured, the proportion of audience hits has risen in two years. Besides, over a three year period, quite many channels have had their most successful launch by genre in 2019 in ratings.”

New timings benefit ratings

Watch a TV programme … as it airs today, via catch-up tomorrow, or even as an advance preview before the show broadcasts in the coming days or weeks. In 2019, new ways to watch TV have become part of viewer habits. Although live TV broadcasts still account for the vast majority of daily TV viewing time, other practices are becoming established: let’s start with catch-up, which is now a well-known alternative amongst viewers. In 2019, out of the average of 3 hrs and 40 mins daily TV viewing time in five countries combined (France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States), 10 per cent was catch-up. This practice is growing its appeal across different age groups and is no longer the prerogative of young people.

Preview – the possibility of watching a programme before it airs on a scheduled broadcast – represents a remarkable audience booster for the programmes that offer this option. In the United Kingdom for example, where preview is offered, it can bring an additional 37 per cent audience share to a programme. On that side of the Channel, most preview shows are in the fictional genre, and are generally aired in the late-evening time slot. Other examples include the British series Manifest, broadcast on Sky One, and Gold Digger aired on BBC One for which 90 per cent and 58 per cent of their total audiences respectively were thanks to preview.

Emotional content and original game formats bring audiences together

Entertainment is still a strong draw to TV sets, especially as a family. Embracing this trend, the concept of “emotainment” means content that generates positive emotions around the themes of music, nostalgia and celebrations.

Over its first month on air, Song of My Life (YLE TV1, Finland), a musical look back over events in the personal and professional lives of famous guests, boosted the prime time audience share for that country’s leading channel by more than 50% among its target audience: 25-44 year olds.

Similarly, Studio G (TVA, Quebec), threw a Champagne party for celebrities whose 4 episodes were watched by one third of young adult TV viewers on average.

TV game shows are ever popular and gather viewers around their television sets. This year was particularly strong for original shows (twice the number versus 2017). One such example was: The Way Out (VTM, Belgium), a format that crossed a science experiment with a physical challenge and tinged it with humour; leading to an almost 80% average boost in evening market share for its channel across the four episodes.

Lastly, as far as factual programming is concerned, the search for emotion is still there, but success lies in content that promotes helping others and which prompts all generations of the general public to get involved. Reflecting the current state of society, the programme The Key (RTL4, Netherlands), for example, gives homeless people the chance to make a new start by moving into accommodation. For its launch, the programme brought the channel an average audience gain of almost 75% among the 20-34 year old age group.

Fiction: between reality and the supernatural

With 4,700 series launched in 2019 (i.e. 45 per cent of the new shows studied), fiction remains one of TV content’s dominant genres. The two trends that emerged or were strengthened this year: fiction based on real events (news items and historical stories) and, on the opposite end, supernatural fiction formats.

A common sight on special interest channels, documentaries that dissect news stories and unsolved crimes are a sure-fire hit with viewers. The phenomenon now extends to fiction, with the same demands in the search for truth and information. Examples include the series Stanley H. (NPO3, Netherlands) which tells the story of Stanley Hillis, one of the most famous criminals in that country; or White House Farm (ITV, UK), which focuses on the murders of five members of the same family on their Essex farm in 1985. Finally, digging up a national incident, relying on historical elements and sticking as closely to reality as possible is the subject of the one-of-a-kind fiction: 22 July (NRK1, Norway), which returns to the Utoya massacre perpetrated by terrorist Anders Behring Breivik. This fictional evocation of a trauma that gripped the nation focused on the professionals who were affected by the events (police, paramedics, journalists, etc.), and earned the channel an extra 28 per cent (ear average for its launch in primetime in all individuals.

Fantasy and horror series are spreading out in Western Europe and Asia on major channels. BBC has opted to air the mini-series Dracula created by the authors of Sherlock, and Hotel del Luna (TVN, South Korea), broadcast on Korea's fourth largest channel, was introduced as one of the best science-fiction productions in 2019, increasing the average audience share for the channel by a factor of 3.5 amongst 15-34 year olds, across the first eight episodes.

February 7, 2020
Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films returns on Zee Café

MUMBAI: A carnival of powerful stories and storytellers united by the love for cinema – Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Film returns on Zee Café for the second time. An influential and celebrated platform for short films that recognizes the innate talent and skill of filmmakers truly deserves to be celebrated and Zee Café takes it a notch up by showcasing these masterpieces to a wider audience. Featuring a curation of finely-crafted short-films that promise to leave you in awe, the channel, available with the Zee Prime English Pack, enthrals its discerning audience starting every Fridays and Saturdays at 10 PM.

The series of original, powerful and inspiring short-films including ‘Tindey & Unread’, ‘Siblings & Anukul’, ‘The Lovers & Everything is Fine’, ‘Gadhedo & Chutney’ among others were showcased in a 6-city tour including Hyderabad, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Pune, Delhi and Jalandhar. With a host of gifted filmmakers donning the director’s hat, the riveting short-films stand for meaningful and engaging content, truly leaving viewers in captivated.

In a specially curated panel discussion, the platform invited cinematic maestros like Anil Kapoor, Farah Khan, Jimmy Shergill, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Randeep Hooda, Vinay Pathak and Zoya Akhtar and many more from the industry who conversed around cinema, what makes films powerful and their own pursuit of excellence. The 6-part series explores the depths of Indian cinema in an engaging discussion with these maestros of cinema who are known for their craft. Giving viewers a deeper insight into what goes behind the making of a film, the series also features exclusive interviews of the makers as they unearth the many layers of the films.

ZEEL chief growth officer Ashish Sehgal said, “Consumers have gradually warmed up to short-films as a content consumption format. Viewers are looking for meaningful experiences that these compelling short-films have to offer. Moreover, brands, who seek to engage with their audience in innovative ways, see it as a fitment. True testimony to its success is the countless cinephiles who gather year-on-year for the screenings along with loyal enthusiasts who are committed to witnessing the works of art on Zee Café. This truly reflects in our continued partnership with Pernod Ricard for the second year in a row. It brings us immense happiness to collaborate with Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films in the endeavour to recognize the works of budding filmmakers and amplify it with a wider audience.”

Pernod Ricard India GM marketing Ishwindar Singh said, “Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films has pioneered a revolution in the field of filmmaking and has redefined movie-watching for cinephiles. To tell a compelling story in 15 to 20 minutes needs one to be a master in story-telling and filmmaking. The platform celebrates this pursuit of excellence as we bring together the finest storytellers from the world of cinema to create short yet impactful films. With the Zee network we endeavour to reach a larger audience with these insightful and powerful discussions on cinema.”

Wavemaker chief content officer Karthik Nagarajan said, “The journey of Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films is an inspirational one. To have captured the imagination of the audience and to have become such an iconic part of popular culture is a dream for every brand. It is easily the gold standard in India for content marketing and it has been a privilege for Wavemaker and GroupM to have been a part of this. Every year, the challenge is in making it bigger than the previous one and this partnership is an important part of this journey.”

February 6, 2020
Disney starts the year with strong quarter, reports $20.86 bn revenue

MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Company (Disney) reported its first fiscal quarter earnings, the first result since the launch of its new streaming service Disney+. Beating Wall Street expectations, the company has seen a strong start by reporting $20.86 bn revenue in contrast to market expectation of $20.79 bn. Disney’s adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.53 versus the expected $1.44.

“We had a strong first quarter, highlighted by the launch of Disney+, which has exceeded even our greatest expectations,” said Disney chairman and chief executive officer Robert Iger said.

“Thanks to our incredible collection of brands, outstanding content from our creative engines and state-of-the-art technology, we believe our direct-to-consumer services, including Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu, position us well for continued growth in today’s dynamic media environment,” he added.

Media Networks revenues for the quarter increased 24 per cent to $7.4 bn, and segment operating income increased 23 per cent to $1.6 bn. Cable Networks revenues for the quarter increased 20 per cent to $4.8 bn and operating income increased 16 per cent to $862 mn. Broadcasting revenues for the quarter increased 34 per cent to $2.6 bn and operating income increased 41 per cent to $575 mn.

Studio Entertainment revenues for the quarter increased from $1.8 bn to $3.8 bn and segment operating income increased from $309 mn to $948 mn. Higher operating income was due to increases in theatrical and TV/SVOD distribution results at legacy operations, partially offset by a loss from the consolidation of the TFCF businesses.

Direct-to-Consumer and International revenues for the quarter increased from $0.9 bn to $4.0 bn and segment operating loss increased from $136 mn to $693 mn. The company stated that increase in operating loss was due to costs associated with the launch of Disney+, the consolidation of Hulu and a higher loss at ESPN+. However, it also mentioned that these increases were partially offset by a benefit from the inclusion of the TFCF businesses due to income at the international channels including Star.

The company’s biggest bet at streaming Disney+ delivered an impressive 26.5 mn subscribers, starting from Nov. 12 through year’s end. ESPN+ had 6.6 mn subscriber as of 28 December. Hulu’s SVOD only subscriber stood at 27.2 mn while the service combined with Live TV offering had 3.2 mn subscribers.

“The average monthly revenue per paid subscriber for ESPN+ decreased from $4.67 to $4.44 due to a shift in the mix of subscribers to our bundled offering. In November 2019, the Company began offering a bundled subscription package of Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu. The bundled offering has a lower average retail price per service compared to the average retail price of each service on a standalone basis,” Disney stated.

“The average monthly revenue per paid subscriber for our Hulu SVOD Only service decreased from $14.49 to $13.15 driven by lower retail pricing and a shift in the mix of subscribers to our bundled offering. The average monthly revenue per paid subscriber for our Hulu Live TV + SVOD service increased from $52.31 to $59.47 due to higher retail pricing,” it added.

February 5, 2020
Zeel plans to regain top spot in Hindi, Marathi, Telugu markets in 2020

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) is upping the ante on its GEC portfolio. Zee TV, Zee Marathi and Zee Telugu will witness a lot of content changes this year to gain back their leading positions in the respective markets.

Zee Telugu will be launching a new fiction show Prema Entha Madhuram on 10 February and two more shows- Trinayani and Thoorpu Padamara will launch soon.

In the past three to four quarters, there has been a dip in the market share of Zee’s Hindi GEC. In an earnings concall, Zeel CEO Punit Goenka said, “We continuously want to look at our content portfolio of the channels and improve on that so that the market shares can be gained back."

He further added, “So all these channels where we lost market share, we will be replacing most of the shows, therefore trying to gain back the leadership position. In fact, I am told that Zee Telugu has already gained back or started the trajectory towards upward movement and should be on track within the first quarter of next fiscal.”

During 3QFY20, ZEEL’s television network had an all-India viewership share of 18.2 per cent. While its regional portfolio increased viewership share, that of its Hindi market declined, in both GEC and movie segments.

“Zee TV maintained its weekday prime time leadership, but lost weekend prime time share and was the #3 channel in the pay Hindi GEC segment. Our Hindi movie cluster continued to be the #1 movie portfolio in the pay Hindi movie genre,” said Goenka.

In Q3 FY20 Zeel’s regional portfolio had mixed performance. He also said, “We maintained a leadership position in the Marathi, Bangla and Kannada markets, with Zee Kannada further strengthening its leadership position. While Zee Tamil improved its viewership share, Zee Telugu witnessed a marginal decline. Zee Keralam continued to gain share in the Malayalam market establishing itself as a strong contender for the number two position. Zee Sarthak regained leadership in the Odiya market towards the end of the quarter.”

For the third quarter of FY20, ZEEL reported consolidated revenue of Rs 2048.7 crore. EBITDA was Rs 565.8 crore with an EBITDA margin of 27.6 per cent. During the quarter, ZEEL's international business revenue was Rs 166.5 crore. The advertising and subscription revenues declined by 18.6 per cent YoY and 17.4 per cent YoY, respectively.

February 5, 2020
Industry’s expectation from union budget 2020

MUMBAI: Amid ongoing economic tension in the country, finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to present her second Union Budget on 1 February 2020.

It is expected that Budget 2020-21 will put the economy back on track. One of the biggest challenges before the Modi government is to have a plan of action to combat the decreasing growth rate of the country. As the nation waits for the announcements, we spoke to industry experts, strategists and financial experts to know what they expect from the union budget.

Although there won’t be any direct impact of union budget on the television industry, the economic boost in other sectors like FMCG, automobiles, retail, etc., could add to the pocket of consumers to spend more and lead to more advertising. Experts are expecting some kind of relief in these sectors so that there could be better ad growth.

Apart from this, experts are also expecting some reduction in GST on cable and internet bill. Currently, 18 per cent GST is added on cable and internet bill and industry wants that to be brought down to 5 per cent.

Read what people have to say:

Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation president Arvind Ramesh Prabhoo

“We are expecting a reduction in the GST that is being levied on cable television because under the new NTO what we have seen is that the rates have not decreased which was envisaged by TRAI. According to the new NTO, they are expecting the cable operators and the DPOs to give a discount of 60 percent to the second television set but nowhere has the government said we will reduce the GST. We have been stating this now for a very long time that the GST should be reduced from 18 percent to 5 percent. Also what we are expecting is that on the goods of cable television and equipments of fiber to the home (FTTH) if it is imported there should be a duty deduction or if it is being manufactured in India then there should be a reduction in GST for at least five years. So overall on the entire equipment required for fiber to the home to be incentivised there should be less taxation.”

Zee Media Corporation Limited former managing director Ashok Venkatramani

“The biggest worry for everyone is whether the government will use this opportunity to seek some of the issues in the Indian economy so that business starts picking up. The overall industry is feeling the effects of economic slowdown because people are not spending. So it is not what the budget does for the television industry as much as it does for the overall economy to bring income flow. I am not expecting a huge structural change in the media industry because the largest part of our issues is governed by TRAI. However, television industry will gain a lot mainly when the revenue starts pumping in and for that to happen we will have to look at how consumption grew, whether it is FMCG or retail and for that. If government could do something to put more money in the pocket of average Indian to spend the consumption will grow up and automatically brands will start advertising more.”

UCN Cable Network head of operations Debashis Mohanty

“We need GST to be 5 per cent flat. Apart from the GST, I don’t think so there is going to be an exemption in NTO and NTO 2.0. The industry is in a dilemma as the changes proposed in NTO and NTO 2 have not been implemented yet.”

SBICAP securities head of institutional equity research Rajiv Sharma

“I don’t think so there is going to be any direct announcement because you have separate regulators and separate policies for it but what has happened is any cut in income tax or any measures to boost the economy will have a positive impact on the ad growth which has taken a toll in the last 18 months. Any measure to boost tourism or give any announcements on the film making side if possible will result in a lot of employment directly and indirectly. Any policy that could bring down the cost of production of films or some relaxation to shoot outdoors will help in revenue generation. Beyond this I am not expecting anything from the media industry perspective.”

GTPL Hathway vice president Yatin Gupta

Hope that government sometime soon should cut down GST on the cable industry. There should be relaxation in customs which impacts our industry.

Elara Capital vice president- research analyst media Karan Taurani

"The economy is already in a dry state, there are no major expectations from the budget as such. However, for the television industry, there could be some financial stimulus that can boost the consumer derivative. There is also the expectation in the GST cut as FMCG market place almost 35 percent of the overall aspect of the entire pie and for TV it is around 55 per cent which is quite a sizeable number. So, there should be some kind of relief for the FMCG sector that can lead to better sales growth and then it could turn into a better advertisement growth. This year FMCG TV advertising has been low on the television portion. There is a contribution of nearly 50 percent from the FMCG vertical so some kind of a revival there will lead to better ad growth. Because next year industry ad growth is expected to rise by 8 per cent for the TV industry so if some funds are diverted towards that segment, certain relaxation or some GST cut will certainly help. Rural demand is taking a major hit; it has seen a sharper volume decline as compared to urban decline. So some kind of measures to bring rural demand on track will have a big impact on advertisement growth.”

Enterr10 Television co-promoter Fakt Marathi Shirish Pattanshetty

“If there is q deduction in the personal income tax maybe there should be additional flow in the market in terms of improving business. It might help FMCG companies and other companies to start spending on advertising which will help the industry to get out of the current scenario. While there is the discussion on NTO and NTO 2.0 what government can look at is how they can reduce the 18 per cent GST in the base price of Rs 130 to get it to 5 percent of tax. So, that while we are working so hard to get the consumer pricing down why not the GST pricing also should be reduced on cable and DTH base subscription. On the free channels, they are welcomed to charge 18 per cent but at least at the base price if they can amend anything it might help the cable industry. Also, I believe corporate taxes have already been reduced as a boost but none of the companies are using the corporate tax reduction for outflows. They are using this tax benefit to be more profitable so that they can get a better dividend. The ultimate solution could be the reduction in personal income tax which might help the end-user to use the additional funds for consumption purposes.”

Madison media vice president Vandana Ramkrishna

“My expectation from the union budget 2020 will be being dynamic reforms to increase consumption and drive demand. Simplify and liberalise laws that help companies source international funding. Also, educational tax benefits need to be enhanced so that the country is able to upskill. Over and above this rationalisation in GST for electronic media is something that has been in the ask for a while.”

White Rivers Media chief executive officer and co-founder Shrenik Gandhi

"India maintained its tag of being the world’s fastest-growing economy, despite grim global projections in 2019 as per IMF, which also projected India’s growth rate at 7 per cent in 2020. This bears testimony to its potential of spearheading global economic growth. Budget 2020 is, therefore, Sitharaman’s opportunity to make a difference not only to Indian but also the global economy. One of the key accelerators to this will be enhancing the net disposable income, which is directly proportional to the income tax cuts, affecting the demand for goods and services, finally snowballing into economic growth or slowdown. Budget 2020 should therefore, focus on expenditure boost by lowering the personal tax rates, leading to higher savings, to pump the economy."

Alchemy Group CEO Karan Gupta

"With Modi government 2.0 we hope to see support for Digital 2.0, after significant growth in digital penetration and digital literacy in the country, it's now time for the government to focus more on Tier 2/3 and rural sectors. From more internet penetration to better IT Infra and connectivity empowering the new consumer with content and commerce across categories. Working towards a Digital India dream we hope to see some support for digital-first businesses and other ones that are focused on making the life a consumer more convenient and fulfilled no matter where they are based."

Digitalabs CMO Agam Chaudhary

“It’s a near ritual for every industry to expect measures for monetary relief from the annual budget. However this year I’d want to make an exception and expect measures that revive the economy as a whole. Our revenues are tied with both demand and supply ends of consumption. If they have robust growth, so shall we.”

Pixel Pictures founder and CEO Prashanti Malisetti

"Production industry is a labor-intensive field. The entrance of OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime have changed this industry drastically. We have an opportunity to create new forms of content and explore new genres. It would help to have some incentives to create a different kind of awareness content. The consumption of video content is increasing at a rapid rate and we need to encourage more talent in this industry. Incentives to film schools and students of visual arts would be encouraging."

January 28, 2020
Edelweiss, Elara Capital stay bullish on ZEEL; raise target price

MUMBAI: Despite a decline in advertising revenue, EBITDA, brokerage firms Edelweiss and Elara Capital are bullish on the target price of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL). The analysts also expect ZEEL to maintain its momentum in subscription revenue growth.

Edelweiss expects ZEEL to be a key beneficiary of the NTO regime given its strong pan-India viewership, comprehensive bouquet offerings, and entry in new markets. The firm maintains the target PE of 20x and roll forward to June 2021 to arrive at a target price of Rs 424.

“We expect ZEEL to maintain momentum in subscription revenue growth; however, its secular growth is hinged on the resumption of the advertising momentum, particularly by FMCG and auto players. In our view, though promoters have sought a resolution on share pledging, watch out for the outcome of the ongoing audits. We maintain the target PE of 20x and roll forward to June 2021 to arrive at a TP of Rs 424. The stock is trading at ~14x/12x FY21E/22E EPS. Maintain ‘BUY/SP’,” says Edelweiss in a research report.

“ZEEL trades at a fair valuation of 15x FY21E P/E and 14x FY22E P/E, which factor in concerns on ad revenues from macroeconomic headwinds and limit scope for potential downside. ZEEL also had an overhang due to strategic partner uncertainty, which negatively affected valuation for over a year; however, post the 22 November announcement that the promoter stake has reduced to 4.9 per cent to resolve group firm debt,” Elara Capital comments.

It has raised its target P/E by 25 per cent to 17.5x (from 14.0x) forward P/E. It reiterates Accumulate and raise its December 2020E TP to Rs 350 from Rs 310. It predicts ZEEL will continue to trade at a small premium to SUNTV, given better ad growth prospects and scale-up in digital (ZEE5).

However, it has mentioned that concerns persist on the ad growth front, as the FMCG vertical has yet to show signs of improvement in ad spend while macroeconomic headwinds persist with economic slowdown. Further, implementation to NTO 2.0 also would impact ad spend on the negative, given the transition period.

It also says that the positive impact of new channel launches for the ad segment is likely to be offset by the negative impact of a decline in international ad spend as ZEEL plans to move away from traditional TV in overseas markets. It also pared off its ad growth estimates to 8 per cent in FY21, given the scope of outperformance has converged for the network, as ad spend remains weak for the GEC genre and some select regional genres seem to have peaked for strong double-digit growth. However, there may be some respite for ad growth if Zee Anmol becomes a pay channel post NTO 2.0.

After subscription growth of 23 per cent YoY thanks to NTO1.0, Elara Capital expects this segment to remain flat in FY21, due to NTO 2.0. It also adds that in an adverse scenario, scope exists for low single-digit decline. EBITDA margins remain under pressure, with content investment on the digital side and launch of five new regional channels in Q4FY20, which remain an overhang. Hence, it expects margin to fall below 30 per cent in FY21E.

January 25, 2020
Star Plus & Endemol Shine India celebrate Republic Day on Masterchef India

MUMBAI: To celebrate the diverse flavours of India along with its huge, rich and valuable heritage on ‘Republic Day’, Star Plus and Endemol Shine India came up with an impressive concept of challenging the contestants to put up a 15-feet long majestic thali with exactly 100 dishes. The 15th episode of the season which will be aired on 26th January at 9.30 pm will witness this interesting challenge called the ‘Grand Thali’. The contestants will be seen cooking dishes from all around the nation, bringing out the best cuisines, ingredients and spices from different cultures of India.

These 100 delectable cuisines of the different states of our republic will be brought alive for the brave Indian women police officers to thank them and honour them for their commitment towards the nation. The contestants on the episode will be divided into two teams and will prepare 50 dishes each. The one-of-a-kind, enormous 15-feet thali will be judged by the exemplary judges Vikas Khanna, Ranveer Brar, and Vineet Bhatia.

“We wanted to do something scrumptiously different and out-of-the-box for the republic day special episode. So we thought of presenting an amazing collection of dishes in a traditional Indian thali, showcasing the diversity of cuisine and culture of our nation, to the women of the Indian police force, who work hard for the safety of our nation. We hope the viewers enjoy this interesting episode that will try to give them a taste of India”, Said Endemol Shine India CEO Abhishek Rege.

January 24, 2020
Fans to witness an action-packed week as Baalveer and Aladdin come together to fight evil

From January 27 – 31, fans will witness an electrifying battle between good and evil as superheroes Baalveer and Aladdin come together to end the dominance of two of the fiercest villains Zafar and Timnasa.

Siddharth Nigam (Aladdin) and Dev Joshi (Baalveer) who are currently shooting together on the sets of Baalveer Returns in Mumbai are cherishing the time they are working together as they prepare for the mega-clash against Timnasa and Zafar.

Talking about the experience of shooting for the crossover, Siddharth Nigam said “The upcoming track is going to be extremely exciting for the fans as both the superheroes Baalveer and Aladdin will unite for the first time on Indian television. The hard work that the entire team is putting to make this happen will be very evident once the crossover goes on air from January 27th onwards.”

Dev Joshi too is cherishing his time shooting with Siddharth, “This is the first time the fans will get an opportunity to see Baalveer and Aladdin together. Siddharth and I are good friends and we have a lot of fun on the sets together. He is extremely professional and both of us are having a great time shooting together.”

Timnasa, on the hunt to gain the takht – that needs three stones to control the past, present and future, creates a magic portal and travels to Baghdad in search for the second stone. Meanwhile, in Baghdad Zafar is at his evilest best in order to gain the ultimate power and has trapped Ali, only to find out that Ali is actually Aladdin.

Things further intensify as, Timnasa leaves Bhaymar with Zafar and tasks him to activate Medusa, whereas Zafar returns the favour by giving hukum to Ginoo to follow whatever Timnasa tells him. With the evil minds of Timnasa and Zafar combining, the task in front of Baalveer and Aladdin is huge with Ginoo forced to turn evil and is stuck in Kal-Lok.

How will Aladdin’s and Baalveer counter this challenge from Zafar and Timnasa? Will Timnasa succeed in gaining the second stone or will Zafar destroy Baghdad? The upcoming week will reveal it all as an action-packed week full of drama, suspense and exuberance beckons.

Witness this mega crossover with Baalveer Returns and Aladdin: Naam Toh Suna Hoga from January 27 – 31, 8 pm and 9 pm respectively.

January 24, 2020
ZEEL’s consolidated revenue stands at Rs 2048.7 crore in Q3 FY20

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) and its subsidiaries for the quarter ended 31 December 2019 on Tuesday. For the third quarter of FY20, ZEEL reported consolidated revenue of Rs.20,48.7 crore. EBITDA was Rs.5,65.8 crore with an EBITDA margin of27.6 per cent.

During the third quarter, ZEEL's consolidated advertising revenue declined by 15.8 per cent YoY to Rs. 12,30.8 crore. Domestic advertising revenues declined by 15.7 per cent YoY to Rs. 11,57 crore. Domestic advertising revenue was impacted by the continued slow-down in key consumer sectors.

“As the volume growth for most consumer companies did not see any uptick during the quarter, they cut advertising spends to protect their margins. While the festive month of October saw a pick-up in advertising spends, the growth slumped post that. The growth was also impacted due to a higher base and the effect of conversion of two channels from FTA to pay in March. We believe that the worst phase is behind us and the growth should revert to normal trajectory from next fiscal,” ZEEL stated in a press statement.

ZEEL's consolidated subscription revenue grew by 15.4 per cent to Rs. 7,13.7 crore during the quarter. Domestic subscription revenue grew by 21.7 per cent Yo Y while the International subscription revenue declined by 17.4 per cent Yo Y.

During the quarter, the television network had an all-India viewership share of 18.2 per cent. While its regional portfolio increased its viewership share, share in the Hindi speaking markets declined.

Zee TV maintained its weekday prime time leadership, but lost weekend prime time share and was the number 3 channel in the pay Hindi GEC segment during the quarter.

The network’s regional portfolio had mixed performance during the quarter. Moreover, its maintained leadership position in the Marathi, Bangia and Kannada markets, with Zee Kannada further strengthening its leadership position, widening the gap over the nearest competitor.

Viewership shares in Marathi and. BangIa markets declined during the quarter ehile Zee Tamil improved its viewership share, Zee Telugu witnessed a marginal decline. Zee Keralam, continued to gain share in the Malayalam market establishing itself as a strong contender for the number two position. Zee Sarthak regained leadership in the Odiya market towards the end of the quarter.

During the quarter, ZEEL's International business revenue was Rs. 1,66.5 crore. The advertising and subscription revenues declined by 18.6 per cent YoY and 17.4 per cent YoY, respectively.

January 22, 2020