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Tag: Budha Films

  • DD struggles to meet revenue target; Quraishi blames cricket

    DD struggles to meet revenue target; Quraishi blames cricket

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan is “struggling” to meet its annual revenue target, a senior official of Prasar Bharati said today.

    While speaking to the journalists about Doordarshan’s programming line up for Gulf War coverage in collaboration with Saeed Naqvi’s Third Eye, Doordarshan director-general SY Quraishi today admitted: “I know it’s already February, but we are struggle a bit to meet our (annual) revenue target.”

    According to Quraishi, during the last financial year, which ended on 31 March 2002, DD had netted a total revenue of about Rs 625 billion.

    Quraishi reiterated that the fall in the revenue this year is because of the “unrealistic” high amount of money that had come in last year, courtesy two deals that have fallen apart now. The two deals, which he mentioned, were the HFCL-Channel Nine deal for DD Metro and Budha Films’ marketing rights for cricket on DD.

    Quraishi also pointed out that because of the poor performance of the Indian cricket team at the World Cup, revenues of the national broadcaster may get hit.

    The DG said: “Looking at the continuing bad performance of Indian team, DD may end up making slightly less revenue than that projected,” adding that the revenue sharing will be also contribute to the loss. DD and Nimbus are in a 20:80 revenue sharing deal; this is apart from a minimum guarantee money promised by Nimbus for the cricket matches. 

    DD is airing 16 matches live on DD national, while another 27 matches are being aired on DD Metro a day after the match has being played.

    Quraishi also mentioned that DD will be doing some live programming as part of its Union Budget special on 28 February. According to the data, last year’s coverage, including the Railway Budget, got DD 95 per cent viewership.

    DD had been allocated Rs.800 million by the Planning Commission for fresh programming . Quraishi said that “efforts are to utilise the fund on commissioning programmes, especially for DD Bharati.”

    Meanwhile, Third Eye will be getting Rs 500,000 per day for Gulf war coverage. Quraishi explained the outsourcing will be a “safe bet without risking our own employees.

  • ZEE CLARIFICATION ON BUDHA FILMS & CRICKET

    This is in reference to the news item on our website on 13 January, 2003 under the headline ‘ZEE STRIKES A BARTER DEAL WITH DD SERIALS IN LIEU OF PAYMENT’
    Further enquiries and verifications made by us from Zee Telefilms Ltd. has revealed that the contents of the news item were not based on true facts. 
    Since the news item was based on a conversation with the Prasar Bharati chief executive and put out in good faith, we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and the loss caused to the management, shareholders and the business associates of Zee Telefilms Ltd.— Editor

  • Zee strikes a barter deal with DD; serials in lieu of payment

    NEW DELHI: As a part of an amicable settlement, the Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Telefilms is likely to offer Prasar Bharati some serials in lieu of Budha Films’ ( a Zee group company) dues involving marketing of cricket matches on Doordarshan.
    “We are trying to settle the issue amicably, as prolonging the matter won’t do any of us good,” Prasar Bharati chief executive KS Sarma told indiantelevision.com.
    This is the part of the solution that Prasar Bharati and Zee Telefilms are trying to work out as Budha Films had failed to pay DD the sum which it had promised in lieu of getting the marketing rights of BCCI-organised cricket matches on Doordarshan. Subsequent to this Prasar Bharati had moved to the court to realise part of the Rs. 4-odd billion promised.
    According to Sarma, Zee is finalising a proposal whereby it can offer, in return of the Budha Films dues, some serials that have already had a run on Zee TV. The marketing aspect also has to be finalised.
    “We are open to the idea of obtaining some popular serials from Zee TV as part of a solution to the payment controversy,” Sarma said. He added, “It is not necessary that everybody (meaning all TV homes) has watched a serial on Zee TV and DD’s audience and reach is different from that of satellite channels.”
    Though Chandra himself was supposed to meet up with Sarma last Saturday at the Prasar Bharati headquarters in Delhi, he could not make it at the last moment and instead a senior Zee Telefilms executive is reported to have met up with Sarma to discuss the issue.
    A couple of years back, Budha Films had bid for the marketing rights of all BCCI-organised cricket matches to be telecast over DD for a whopping Rs. Four-odd billion. It had also made part payment of about Rs. 1.2 billion, but had failed to pay up the remaining amount. To recover the remaining amount Prasar Bharati had dragged Budha Films to court.
    As per a court order, Prasar Bharati has encashed the bank guarantee that Budha Films had furnished anticipating high returns from its marketing activities on the popular game of cricket.
    According to Sarma, various modalities have to be worked out with Zee before the case can be given the go-ahead by the Prasar Bharati board.But he did point out that re-telcasting serials or programmes are not new in the TV industry.
    Star Plus, for example, has aired some serials and programmes which were produced by Nine Gold (a venture promoted by Australia’s Channel Nine and India’s HFCL group) for DD Metro.
    After Nine Gold’s contract with DD was over and the whole venture shut down, Star India had not only acquired the programmes but also brought aboard HFCL-Nine’s chief executive Ravina Raj Kohli as the head of its news venture- the revamped Star News which is waiting to be unveiled on April 1, 2003.

  • DD hopes to meet Rs 6.2 billion revenue target

    DD hopes to meet Rs 6.2 billion revenue target

    NEW DELHI: Pubcaster Doordarshan is confident that it will reach its revenue target of about Rs 6,250 million by the time the current financial year comes to an end on 31 March, 2003. However, as of 30 November, DD’s revenues stand at just under 50 per cent of its target at Rs 2,666.4 million.

    “Our revenues as of November are lower compared to the figure in the previous year, but we are confident that we will be able to achieve the annual target,” DD’s director-general SY Quraishi told journalists today during an interaction which was clearly aimed at publicising facts and figures about DD’s immense reach. An exercise which private satellite channels undertake from time to time quite frequently and with great impact at times.

    However, Quraishi did admit that if previous year’s revenue figures are taken into account, then DD is lagging behind. Around November 2001, DD’s revenues had been pegged at Rs 3,279 million.

    Dwelling further on revenues, Quraishi said that the previous year’s figures looked slightly inflated because of two “bad deals” — Zee Telefilms’ affiliate Budha Films committing about Rs 4500 million for marketing of cricket rights and the DD Metro deal with Kerry Packer-HFCL combine.

    “One of the cases (Budha Films) is in the courts, while Nine Gold deal for DD metro was not extended beyond a year,” Quraishi said, trying to explain the low revenues generated till now this year. But he put up an optimistic front while saying, “We were slightly worried earlier, but now are confident of achieving the revenue target. More so because of the World Cup cricket (which is round the corner beginning early next year) and because of DD winning some cases,” the DG added.

    DD is also exploring the ways to show non-India World Cup matches too on DD Metro or on a delayed basis which, it says, is sure to add to its revenue kitty.

    According to Quraishi, as per their calculations, DD is expected to corner between Rs 150-200 million as minimum guarantee money from Nimbus which is marketing the World Cup cricket matches to be telecast on DD. This is apart from the revenue sharing that will be done on 80:20 basis in favour of Nimbus.

    Quraishi also pointed out that as part of giving some fillip to revenues, DD is focusing on the entertainment segment on prime time. “That’s a focus area for us now as we are also looking at increasing good in-house entertainment-related programming,” he added.

    Another initiative includes renting or hiring out resources at DD’s disposal which are not being utilised fully. “We have an open mind on resource sharing with private satellite channels or anybody else,” Quraishi said, adding, “For example, many of DD’s 54 studios are not always utilised. In case people are interested, we can hire out the facilities on rent.”

    Asked whether Kaun Banega Crorepati in its new avatar is likely to make an appearance on DD’s terrestrial network, apart from being telecast on Star Plus, as part of finding synergies between DD and private satellite channels, Quraishi said that “some talks had been held in a board meting (of Prasar Bharati), but no decision has been taken as of yet.”

    He also evaded a question on whether DD is looking at having a game show on its channel and whether Siddharth Basu, who produced KBC for Star Plus and also used to do Quiz Time on DD many years ago, has been commissioned to devise a game show exclusively for DD.

    Quraishi also said that DD is looking at buying programmes and serials off the shelf but they have to be new and not re-runs of other channels. “We are interested in buying serials, but they have to be new. We don’t want re-runs or old serials unless they are very good,” he added, indicating that some defaulting companies which owe DD money have offered programmes in lieu of the outstanding dues. “We are examining the issue,” he said.