Category: Regional

BIG Ganga launches 5 new shows

NEW DELHI: With the auspicious month of Sawaan, just around the corner, BIG Ganga, leading Bhojpuri GEC channel in the Hindi heartland, is all geared up to entertain its viewers with an engaging Shravan line-up commencing this 6 July. Conceptualised around the theme of Shiv Sawaan Aur Ganga, it will have a bouquet of content offerings that include —Mahadevi, Trikaali, Kanwar Ke Power, Jai Bholenath, Mast Malang Bhole Baba Ke Sang and Sidhe Devghar Se among others. The line-up has been curated with the intent to cater the both, entertainment and devotional quotient while entertaining the ardent Shiv devotees in the Bihar, Jharkhand and UP regions.

One of the most interesting offering of the channel, Mahadevi will be telecast from 6 July at 7 pm primetime. The social-mythological show, an enthralling tale of devotion and miracles, revolves around a girl named Sundari, who works at the temple in a tiny village that her family depends on for their livelihood. However, Sundari doesn't believe in the Goddess, much to the dismay and anger of a lot of people, including her family. Sundari's disbelief towards the Goddess goes deep into her past incarnation as Princess Rajeshwari, a great devotee of the Goddess. She will be blessed with supernatural powers that she shall use to protect the villagers from anti-social elements. Another fictional offering, Trikaali is a supernatural soap opera which showcases the journey of a girl named Trikaali, a devotee of Goddess Kali who is blessed with special powers to foresee future. The show stars Gourab Roy Chowdhury and Shruti Das. The concept of the serial is unique as the protagonist can foresee the future events. The show will be telecast in July at 10 pm slot.

The channel will also be broadcasting Kanwar Ke Power which is a song-based show comprising of Kanwar songs crooned by deep-rooted singers from the region. It will further have original entries from celebs/independent folk singers from the region who can submit their Shrawan videos songs to the channel to be played. Catering to all age groups, the one-hour after Aarti special will be broadcasted daily from 6 July onwards from Tue – Sun, 7-8 am. Another line-up Jai Bhole Nath, a devotional musical show, will also hook the viewers wherein untold stories of Shiva will be narrated by two anchors playing the role of Shiva and Parvati along with album songs of the celebrities on the show. Spanning 15 episodes, it will be broadcasted from 6 July at Mon – Sat, 4-5 pm. In addition to the above, there will be a Musical Aarti segment, ‘SIDHE DEVGHAR SE’ where viewers can catch-up on live morning Aarti and Sringar from the Devghar temple. Starting from 6 July onwards, the show catering to all age groups will engage the viewers daily for 10 mins at 7 am.

Further raising the entertainment quotient up a notch, the lineup includes a weekend musical event Mast Malang Bhole Baba Ke Sang. This time around, it will feature superstars like Manoj Tiwari, Pawan Singh, Khesari, Malini among others who will come in pairs every weekend. Broadcasted every Sunday 8-10 pm, it will be entertaining all age groups daily for 2 hours.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) Cluster Head, East- Samrat Ghosh said, "Right from our inception, we've been a viewer-centric channel and see to it that we keep our viewers entertained and their mood elevated especially in these testing times. With a healthy population in the area engaging in a host of devotional activities, we found it best to curate such a thought-driven lineup that helps them overcome this unsettling environment and relax their mind and body. We've timed the show perfectly to their viewing preferences that shall see them start the day with devotional songs that sets the tone for them to have a cheerful day. It's all the more important for us to showcase a high sense of responsibility and display that we do care for our audiences and we're glad to have done so through this lineup."

BIG Ganga and ZEE Biskope business head- Amarpreet Singh Saini said, “As a brand that is known for its original content, we have tried our best to entertain the viewers of all age groups with the content they can relate with the most. Since Shrawan is one of the most-celebrated festivals in North India, the onus lies on us to come up with offerings that Shiv devotees can cherish with their families throughout the fasting and worshipping period. The line-up has been carefully curated for the viewers who constantly on the lookout for devotional content to relive the spiritual side while calming their mind and body. Most of these line-ups are very exciting due to its topical nature and will further offer a visual treat to the viewers. We are very positive that the line-up will be well received among our viewers as well as stakeholders alike who are looking to reach out to the audience and keep themselves indulged through such kind of content.”

BIG Ganga has been enhancing and enriching regional pride through its new offerings. These new and original Bhojpuri shows are sure to entertain audiences with its unique content and placement, thereby making the channel an apt prime time viewing choice for the entire family. With more shows in the pipeline, the channel is all set to redefine entertainment and original content for its regional audience.

July 8, 2020
LF and Zee Marathi Takes You on a Journey to Witness the Vibrant Culture and People of the State with their new show ‘Mast Maharashtra’

LF, everyone’s favorite destination/TV channel for travel and food, in collaboration with the regional powerhouse Zee Marathi, launched their new offering – ‘Mast Maharashtra’ on 3rd July 2020. Presented by Skoda and co powered by Lifebuoy and Tide, this show is the channel’s attempt to beautifully showcase the spirit of Maharashtra through its vivid colors and cultures, people and places, and the scenic beauty which illuminates the powerful history of the state. Often called the 'Gateway to the Heart of India', Maharashtra is a power pack state with its bubbling culture, great economic enterprise, traditions, ethnic richness, and wide diversity.

The show follows the journey of Mumbai chi mulgi Prajakta Mali, who undertakes a solo journey, driving 1500kms in her trusty SKODA, across the diverse regions of Maharashtra. A perfect companion for a solo journey that takes her from one beautiful location to the other, SOKDA Rapid along with Prajakta, will be setting a benchmark for all the scenic and comfortable road trips we all are looking forward to. Weave your happy memories through her eyes, experience Maharashtra’s infinite amount of textures, flavors, sounds, and colors from a different perspective and be introduced to a side of our state you never knew existed. A popular face in the Marathi industry, Prajakta has worked in movies like Party, Hampi, Dokyala Shot, and Kho Kho to name a few. An Indian Marathi actress, Prajakta’s journey is a perfect mix of passion and creativity.

The show also reflects what SKODA as a brand which stands for Simplicity, Surprise, and Human Experience. From surprising and inspiring experience after meeting the partiality Blind Malkhamb artists at Shivaji Park, to the simplicity of life experienced at Kaivalyadham, to the scuba adventure at Ratnagiri, to the utterly human story with the Gond Tribes at Tadoba, Skoda and Mast Maharashtra association have been like Fuel and Fire! Natural and native to each other. The show encapsulates famous locations in and around the state and takes the viewers on a journey from Mumbai to cities and towns like Pune, Kolhapur, Amravati, Nagpur, Ratnagiri, and more.

While we live in a time where personal and social hygiene is of utmost importance, the show is associated with Lifebuoy, the global leader in handwash and sanitizer. From our house to the surrounding environment, there is a growing consciousness that the health and success of an individual and the family lie in 'one's HANDS'. Traveling to the various cities and districts Prajakta has embedded the values of good personal hygiene while talking about its importance. Each episode focuses on 3 exceptional aspects of this state: the people of the state, places that make Maharashtra popular, and the delectable palate of Maharashtra.

Mr. Amit Shah, Cluster Head – North, West & Premium Channels, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited says, “Our singular focus is on delivering optimum value to our viewers. Our strong understanding of viewers gives us insights to plan innovative solutions to cater to their evolving entertainment needs. This association between LF and Zee Marathi is unique, driving synergies and leveraging the strength of our network to cross-pollinate content and reach out to a wider set of viewers. We are glad to present Mast Maharashtra which is driven by our strong storytelling approach, reflecting the cultural nuances of the region in an entertaining offering for the viewers.”

A dedicated anthem to the state and the show which epitomizes ‘Mast’ will be released on livingfoodz.com and Zee Music and the viewers can catch the full song on social media platforms of Zee Music, Zee Cinema, Zee Yuva and Zee Talkies reaching more than 2,000,000 followers (a total of social media followers of the respective channels) globally. As the show transcend languages through a strong understanding of the country's culture, food and people, the promos of the show will be aired on channels like Zee Cinema, Zee Cinema HD, Zee Bollywood, &Pictures, &Pictures HD, & Xplor HD, Zee Action, Zee Anmol Cinema, Zee Cinema, Zee Classic, Zee Yuva, Zee Cafe, &Prive, Zee News and Zee Talkies. Starring the host, the anthem resonates with Marathi Bana (Pride of Maharashtra) as we prepare the viewers to feel the pride and depth of this state by promoting the same on all digital and social platforms.

Mr. Ashish Sehgal, Chief Growth Officer, Zee Entertainment Limited says, “With our dominating presence across markets, our objective has always been to maximize our content presence by being platform agnostic & thereby providing holistic solution to our advertisers/brands. One such case being, Mast Maharashtra, driven by Cultural nuances of Maharashtra, which helps brand ethos to synergize with the content & not just be genre driven – the true sense of partnership – wherein business objective of the brand is addressed rather than just the communication objective. Here, we have ensured that Skoda is capsuled / weaved beautifully in this journey of Discovery – a perfect partnership, right brand for right content.”

Mr. Tarun Jha, Marketing & Product Head, Skoda Auto India says, "SKODA shares a lot of common values with Maharashtra and the rest of India. Our association with LF and Zee Marathi is of high value to our brand as LF covers lifestyle from a very unique perspective and Zee Marathi and LF together have a great reach to our target audiences. SKODA Rapid has always empowered the car owners with courage, fresh energy and guts to go on a discovery and like the host in the show, we encourage people to do a lot more road trips in the near future. The promos and anthem of Mast Maharashtra are very warm, human and extremely colorful. Over and above, the SKODA RAPID is the perfect partner to discover this majestic state."

This show is a perfect amalgamation of LF’s premium quality content along with the mass, extensive and regional reach of a GEC like Zee Marathi, creating a unique value proposition for brands who strive to reach the audience in meaningful, creative and trendy ways. Mast Maharashtra will be aired every Friday, 8:30 PM on LF, and every Sunday, 6:30 PM on Zee Marathi. To watch all the episodes along with some fun behind the scene moments, you can log on to livingfoodz.com.

July 8, 2020
Get ready to soak in Rain & Romance as ZEE Biskope rejoices Sawan with unique film festivals

NEW DELHI: The month of rain and romance brings in joyful festivities& celebrations. It’s that time of the year when the symphony of raindrops landing on the parched leaves evokes poetic romance while we sip a piping hot tea enjoying the monsoon musings. As an occasion, Sawan has been integrally used by Indian cinema including Bhojpuri movies to portray the essence of love. This July, ZEE Biskope is geared up to treat its viewers with a host of monsoon memories. The Sawan celebrations would commence with two film festivals: Sawandaar Somwar Cinema & Aaaya Sawan Choom Ke making it a Sawan to remember for all the right reasons.

Traditionally, each of the Mondays in Sawan is celebrated as Sawan Ka Mahasomvaar and devoted to the worship of Lord Shiva. While festive quotient is at its all-time high, the entertainment quotient will be super-served by Zee Biskope through its film festival Sawandaar Somwar Cinema. In what shall certainly be a treat to the viewers, the five-week celebration will feature five blockbuster movies being telecasted in each of the Sawan Mondays at 6:30 PM from July 6 to August 3 along with one World Television Premiere. The celebration begins with ‘Sher Singh’on July 6 which features Pawan Singh and Amrapali Dubey, followed by ‘Nirahua Chalal London’ on July 13 starring Nirahua and Amrapali Dubey and ‘Ghoonghat Me Ghotala’ starring Parvesh Lal and Mani Bhattacharya on July 20. The biggest offering of the month and World Television Premiere: ‘Mehraru Chahi Milky White’ featuring Priyesh Sinha and Rani Chatterjeescheduled on July 27 at 6:30 pm. The festival shall call it a season with ‘Nirahua Hindustani 3’ starring Nirahua, Amrapali Dubey andShubhi to be telecasted on August 3.

Rejoicing the season of love & romance, Zee Biskope will present its second unique offering Aaya Sawan Choom Ke – a weeklong saga of romantic Bhojpuri movies scheduled between July 6 to 10 (Monday to Friday) at 9:30 AM. This festival will not only capture the essence of blooming romance in rains but also mark International Kiss Day which falls on July 6. Celebrating Bhojiwood’s passion for love, the romantic film festival will house blockbuster movies like ‘Mohabbat’ starring Chintu Pandey & Kajal Yadav followed by ‘Jigar’ with Nirahua & Anjana Singh as leads, ‘Khiladi’ featuring Khesari Lal Yadav & Madhu Sharma, ‘Challenge’ starring Pawan Singh & Madhu Sharma and lastly ‘Dabang Ashiq’ featuring Khesari Lal Yadav, Kajal Raghwani& Anjana Singh.

Speaking on the Sawan celebrations, ZEE Biskope & BIG Ganga, Business Head, Amarpreet Singh Saini said, “The month of Sawan is celebrated for festivals, rain and romance. We aim to bring this multifaceted celebration to our viewers through a series of hyper-local movie festivals. While Sawandaar Somwaar Cinema will offer delightful family entertainment in the festive evenings, Aaya Sawan Choom Ke will cater to the youth in the region. As a brand built on its core promise of Aanthon Pahariya Loota Lahariya, ZEE Biskope will celebrate Sawan the joyful and fun way.”

Touted as the go-to destination for every Bhojpuri movie lover, Zee Biskope is available on Airtel (channel no 663), Tata Sky (channel no 1120), DEN Bihar(channel no 840), DEN Jharkhand (channel no 839), DD Free Dish (channel no 31), d2h (channel no 859), Dish TV (channel no 1555), Siti Cable (channel no 214) and Darsh Digital (channel no 189). It’ll soon be available on all other major cable platforms.

July 6, 2020
TV ad volumes on Kannada channels grow as Covid2019 situation improves

NEW DELHI: The third biggest contributor to south India’s ad space, amounting to Rs 5,000 crore in the year 2019 (as per TAM AdEx South Side Story), Karnataka is a crowded space when it comes to advertisers and marketers both. With the hub of digital agencies and regional offices of many mainline agencies in Bengaluru, the market is a very competitive one too. And going by the words of industry insiders, probably, the least impacted by Covid19 lockdown.

Mplan CEO Parag Masteh tells Indiantelevision.com that lesser number of Covid2019 cases in Karnataka, compared to other southern states, and a positive market sentiment helped the Kannada media companies maintain a steady grip on their advertising revenues. News and movies genres had an easy time, but there was a good dip in GEC numbers.

“Though the nationwide lockdown and advertisers’ reluctance to splurge forced the TV market to lessen the ad rates by almost 50 per cent, the cumulative loss is nowhere near to what markets like Kerala faced. They, in fact, managed to maintain their revenue cycle in place.”

The Media Ant co-founder Samir Choudhry reveals, “Overall there is a dip of more than 25 per cent in business (Kannada-language channels) in Q2 (April-June) vs Q1 (January-March).”

Karnataka ad market is one of those where television still holds a greater affinity than other media and it remained the same during Coid2019 period, too. In fact, TV news genre managed to gain business during the time as per industry experts.

Choudhry adds, “When it comes to Kannada markets, we have seen an increase of 10 per cent in the business when it comes to news channels. But yes, there was more than 30 per cent drop for the remaining genres during the Covid2019 period.”

As per Masteh’s prognosis, news genre might have managed to hold 40-45 per cent of its regular business.

If we look at the overall share of the television ad market, the advertiser sentiment seemed to be gradually increasing as the situation improved and fresh programming began.

As per data shared by TAM AdEx, while there was a 32 per cent drop in overall ad volume across genre during the Covid2019 period, the numbers increased month-on-month. Ad volumes surged by 57 per cent in May and 84 per cent in June over the month of April.

The top 10 channels, which consist of four channels from news genre and three each from GECs and movie genre, amounted for 50 per cent of the advertising volume shares. Top brands included HUL, RB, Brooke Bond Lipton, Wipro and Colgate Palmolive, all big national-level advertisers.

The biggest sufferer in the market has been print and OOH for very obvious reasons; distribution problem for print and lack of advertiser interest in case of OOH. As the market slowly starts moving to normal, print is expected to get its advertiser share back sooner than later, but for OOH companies the fight is going to be tough. Even with lockdown restrictions gradually lifting, the OOH players are forced to sell the ad space at 90 per cent lesser than their original prices. This is hardly able to help them survive and pay salaries, shares an industry insider.

The Kannada-language market has already started seeing positivity when it comes to ad volumes and revenues will follow soon. But that is not happening right now as per Choudhry.

Masteh believes that the situation will start improving for the media players by the end of August if the Covid2019 numbers remain on a downward trend and the peak doesn’t hit the state, as expected to happen in September-October.

July 3, 2020
TV9 appoints Raktim Das as COO of Studio9

NEW DELHI: Beefing up its management team and adding momentum to its pan-network digital expansion plans, TV9 Bharatvarsh announced the appointment of former Zee executive cluster head, innovation studio, and custom content Raktim Das as COO of its property Studio9.

In his new role, Das will be responsible for driving the convergence of TV and digital revenue function, with focus on branded content innovation. He will be mandated with setting up an independent profit centre that will design and monetise Web+TV custom content products across multiple language platforms. He will also be responsible for building talent relationships and strategic partnerships for nurturing new growth avenues.

TV9 Network CEO Barun Das said, “Studio9 is a concept which will enable the convergence of traditional TV and digital in our network. Digital is the future – Hindi and regional news will certainly make a transition from traditional TV to web format. This convergence in the revenue field is of extreme importance. Studio9 will also work with clients to develop creative solutions for their communication challenge. Raktim is certainly the best in the industry to build it from scratch.”

Looking ahead, Barun Das added that the expects the way the M&E industry conducts its business to change drastically in the post-Covid2019 world. “Those who will adapt to solution-driven models in business, with the infusion of right technology, will lead the revival. While the broader economic environment will be highly challenging, the television news industry will possibly be better off compared to other genres,” Barun Das pointed out

Raktim Das said, “I am looking forward to be part of the TV9 family. I see huge opportunity for growth in the language markets as nine out of every 10 new internet users in India are likely to be Indian language users. In the new normal, when we are all managing tight business situations, clients and agencies are looking for compelling solutions that are woven around smart innovation to enable purpose-driven, meaningful brand engagement. Ultimately, driving cross-screen engagement will provide the edge to brands.”

Barun Das added, “I believe that video content across linear TV and digital platforms will converge before completely shifting to digital model. Our digital business model will centre around 3Cs: content, context, and commerce. To me, the digital content business is as much a tech business. Technology is a differentiator and not an enabler. Then comes the ability to innovate as per changing viewers taste.”

Prior to Raktim Das’s induction, the network had in June made some strategic leadership moves, including promotion of erstwhile President Sales, Vikram K as COO south to drive the group’s flagship channels TV9 Telugu and TV9 Kannada, while Amit Tripathi was brought on board from Network 18 to serve as the new chief revenue officer.

In his previous assignment as executive cluster head – innovation studio & custom content at Zee Entertainment, collaborated with leading brands to co-create many award-winning content campaigns. Raktim collaborated with leading brands to co-create many award-winning content campaigns. His media career features many success stories in organizations like the Times of India, India Today Group, Zee Media Corporation Limited, and Network 18.

July 1, 2020
Outgoing Mathrubhumi TV CEO Mohan Nair on his decade-long journey

NEW DELHI: It is no mean feat to contribute towards the legacy of a leading media organisation when it ventures into newer turfs, but outgoing Mathrubhumi TV CEO Mohan Nair made it possible with sheer grit and determination, as he led the foray of the legacy print publisher, ruling the Malayalam market since pre-independence days into the world of television. After almost a decade-long journey, Nair has now decided to move on from one of the leading news channels in the Malayalam market and is ready to take on new challenges.

In a candid chat with Indiantelevision.com, Nair reveals that it was quite challenging for him to oversee the making and rise of Mathrubhumi TV as it entered the market at a time when there was intense competition. “There were six to eight channels dominating the Malayalam news market with sizeable viewership, including Asianet, Manorama and Indiavision, which was also the first Malayalam language news channel. Yet, the leadership decided to go ahead and we managed to grab a lot of eyeballs from the day one. Within a year, while some of the channels were on the brink of shutting down, we managed to get a good viewership and advertiser interest.”

Nair, who had earlier spent 14 years of his life as a print journalist at organisations like Economic Time and Financial Times, worked really hard to develop strong credibility and name for the channel.

According to Nair, while a big part of the popularity and success came their way with the name of Mathrubhumi, which as a trusted legacy brand, some other strategic initiatives managed to build on this trust. “We came up with a look and feel that was alien to the Malayalam news market for the longest time. While most channels were using colours like red, blue, and white, we packaged our content in a spectrum of green, white, orange and blue colours, making it vibrant and hence appealing to the audience.”

He adds, “We were also amongst the first few channels to invest in high-end equipment and thus came out as a game-changer within the genre.”

Nair played a big role in getting all this done as the first employee and also the leader of the channel. He didn't just turn his bosses’ vision into reality but also managed to strike a close bond with all of his employees.

“I got the opportunity to select every single employee who works at Mathrubhumi TV. Initially, we went ahead with 30 per cent employees picked from topline channels, another 30 per cent from bottomline channels and the final 30 per cent were freshers. Therefore, despite starting with a minimum workforce, we had a strong team that understood the industry and was training newer people,” he elaborates.

Further, Nair shares that the channel opened up bureaus across all 14 districts in Kerala, and additional bureaus in Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Gulf countries. It also invested greatly in distribution of the channel, thus significantly helping them gain access to viewers across states.

For Nair, moving on from a channel that he built from scratch and led to the top, was a tough decision but he feels that the timing couldn’t have been better.

“I feel it is the right time to move on and explore other ventures. While I don’t have a set plan for the future, I am exploring all the possible options to take the next step, be it digital entrepreneurship or leading other news channels,” he notes.

He concludes the chat by saying, “Right now, I am willing to take a small break and spend some time with my family, which I feel I wasn’t able to do in the past few years. Also, I am available for each person whom I worked with at Mathrubhumi for any guidance and support they need from me.”

There hasn’t been any announcement from the channel’s end as to who will replace Nair, whose last working day is Tuesday, but surely these are some big shoes to fill.

Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment

June 30, 2020
Mathrubhumi TV CEO Mohan Nair moves on

NEW DELHI: After a stint of more than nine years at the broadcast section of media giant Mahrubhumi, Mohan Nair has confirmed his departure from the role of CEO of Mathrubhumi TV and Kappa TV to Indiantelevision.com.

It was under Nair’s leadership that Kerala-based media group had ventured into the TV medium with the launch of Mathrubhumi TV in 2013, today one of the top 10 news channels in the region. He also expanded Mathrubhumi’s portfolio of channels with the launch of Kappa TV, a Malayalam youth music channel, the same year.

Earlier, Nair had worked as CEO of Sri Lanka-based Maharaja TV, and COO of Asianet Communications. Nair has also worked for over a decade at The Economic Times where his last role was as senior editor and bureau chief, Mumbai.

June 30, 2020
Sun TV operating revenue falls, subscription revenue up

BENGALURU: Kalanathi Maran’s regional telecaster and FM radio broadcaster Sun Tv Network (Sun TV) reported 6.3 percent decrease in consolidated operating revenue for FY 2020 as compared to the previous year FY 2019. The company reported that subscription revenues were up 18.3 percent y-o-y at Rs 1,562.23 crore for the year ended 31 March 2020 (FY 2020, period or year under review) as compared to the previous yeara. Sun TV revealed that it had incurred a 6.3 percent decline in advertising revenue for the year under review at Rs 1,336.91 crore from Rs 1,426.67 crore in FY 2019.

Sun TV reported 3.3 percent decline in consolidated profit after taxes or PAT to Rs 1,385.49 crore for FY 2020 as compared to Rs 1,432.37 crore for FY 2019. Sun TV is one of the largest networks in the country that has channels across the four major South Indian languages.

Consolidated operating revenue for the period was Rs 3,519.85 crore as compared to Rs 3,782.54 crore for FY 2019. Total income (revenue) for FY 2020 reduced 5.7 percent to Rs 3,780.50 crore as compared to Rs 4,009.65 crore in FY 2019.

Calculated simple consolidated EBITDA for FY 2020 at Rs 2,275.92 crore (60.2 percent of Operating Revenue) was 12.7 percent lower than the Rs 2,606.68 crore (68.9 percent of Operating Revenue) in the previous year

Let us look at the other consolidated numbers reported by the company for FY 2020

Consolidated Total expenditure in FY 2020 increased 6,3 percent to Rs 1,956.88 crore as compared to Rs 1,840.32 crore in the previous year.

Consolidated Operating expense in FY 2020 increased 17.5 percent to Rs 526.71 crore from Rs 448.32 crore in the previous year. Consolidated Employee benefits expense in FY 2020 declined 2 percent y-o-y to Rs 323.22 crore as compared to Rs 329.86 crore in FY 2019. Consolidated Other expenses (OE) in the FY 2020 increased 11.2 percent to Rs 347.69 crore as compared to Rs 312.69 crore in FY 2019.

Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment

June 28, 2020
Watch As The Lines Between Science And Religion Begin To Blur with ‘Evil’ Premiering On Zee Café

Whether you believe in science or in the grace of the Lord above, you cannot escape ‘Evil.’ Something eerie and supernatural comes knocking this June as Zee Café brings to you the frightful drama thriller series, ‘Evil’ airing weeknights at 10. Go beyond logic and devour the deadly chills that keep you on the edge of your seats with the horror-drama airing for the first time on television as part of Zee Café’s weeknights thriller block – Mystery Café.

What does one do when the perpetrator of ghastly and violent crimes is not of this world? You decide to seek the holy help of a priest, the scientific expertise of a forensic psychologist and the expert skills of a technical handler AKA ‘The Contractor’. In due course of their investigation, they come across several unholy demonic beings of nature that are bent of raising hell on earth. Filled with numerous analogies of myth, occultism and folklore, the ensemble cast consists of Katja Herbers who portrayed Emily Grace in Westworld, Mike Colter best known for his role in Luke Cage and Michael Emerson previously seen in Person of Interest. Popular actor-comedian Aasif Mandvi and Kurt Fuller will also be a part of this show that brings to you a thriller like no other as part of Zee Café’s weeknights block ‘Mystery Café’.

If you are a fan of all things paranormal and unnatural, then this series is specially meant for you.

Keep your eyes peeled for your greatest fears on screen with Evil airing weeknights at 10 PM only on Zee Café and Zee Café HD

June 23, 2020
Zee Telugu to air fresh episodes of serials from 22 June

MUMBAI: Zee Telugu continued to provide ardent viewers with non-stop entertainment in the comfort of their homes with a focus on adhering to the government guidelines to maintain safety during the Covid2019 pandemic, by providing fresh episodes of Queen. Maintaining precautionary measures successfully resulted in allowing channel shooting to resume by continuing to adopt necessary precautions. Zee Telugu is going to air the fresh episodes from 22 June 2020.

The Telangana government has granted permission of television serial to resume production even as the state firmly remains under lockdown with a list of do’s and don’ts that need to be followed by crew members during the shoot.

Zee Telugu has collaborated with four most popular influencers in the Tollywood industry to reveal the comeback of the channel with fresh episodes of prime time shows. This includes promo videos with Renu Desai and Sunaina, and Mangli and Priyadarshi, elated on the return of Zee Telugu stars with inputs on the comeback of every show.

As the viewers of Prema Entha Madhuram will witness the joy in Anu learning more about Arya Vardhan, they will also receive the news of Arya Vardhan being in poor health. The audiences of No.1 Kodalu will go through the distress of watching the protagonist Saraswati, being aimed at with a gun. Renu Desai and Sunaina, and Mangli and Priyadarshi are here to help viewers gear up for the second half of the year with their favourite serials artists.

The channel is set to bring a smile to the faces of their viewers in these difficult times with the launch of fresh new episodes of fiction shows airing from Mondays to Saturdays, with a short recap and precap narration of episodes, highlighting the elements to look forward to. Bangaru Gajulu will air at 6:00 PM, Akka Chellellu will air at 6:30 PM, Radhamma Kuturu will air at 7:00 PM, Rama Sakkani Seetha will air at 7:30 PM, No.1 Kodalu will air at 8:00 PM, Trinayani will air at 8:30 PM, Prema Entha Madhuram will air at 9:00 PM, Kalyana Vaibhogam at 9:30 PM, Suryakantam will air at 10:00 PM, along with all afternoon fiction shows from 12:30 PM to 3:00 PM namely, Maate Mantram, Rakta Sambandham, Gundamma Katha, Ninne Pelladata and Thoorpu Padamara have been scheduled to cater to the entertainment needs of the channel viewers, now 6 days a week.

Additionally, in the first week of telecasting original episodes, Zee Telugu is set to air Tollywood’s crime thriller of the year World Television Premiere Arjun Suravaram on 21 June at 6:00 PM only on Zee Telugu and Zee Telugu HD. Starring Nikhil Siddhartha, Lavanya Tripathi, Vennela Kishore, Satya Akkala, and Directed by Santhosh T N. The story of Arjun Lenin Suravaram, an investigative journalist who finds his way into predicament and has to take things into his hand to solve the case.

Zee Telugu and Zee Cinemalu business head Anuradha Gudur says, “We are happy to be back on the sets with more caution than ever. Zee Telugu representatives & producers are taking all the safety measures suggested by the state & central governments. These unprecedented times have taught us a lot as we continue to embrace the new normal with open arms and change our everyday functioning to put safety before everything else.

We have been hearing our viewers agony and craving for fresh content, as we finally bring it all back as promised. Looking forward to entertaining all Telugu viewers once again; Vinodaniki Aahvanam in its truest sense.”

Link to the promos:

· With Renu Desai & Sunaina –

o https://www.facebook.com/zeetelugu/videos/259157835515491/

o https://www.facebook.com/zeetelugu/videos/289024542236912/?v=289024542236912

· With Mangli & Priyadarshi – https://www.facebook.com/zeetelugu/videos/592219331403092/

June 22, 2020