ITV

Tag: Maurya TV

  • Zee Media to seek shareholder nod to demerge DNA print business

    MUMBAI: Print and TV news. For some that would make for a heady combination. But, not for the Essel group-promoted Zee Media Corp Ltd (ZMCL) which runs the Zee News channels as well as the newspaper DNA through a clutch of unlisted subsidiaries. DNA has a print edition in Mumbai and has launched in Delhi recently.

    ZMCL is seeking shareholder approval (on 27 March in Mumbai) to demerge its DNA business (which is operated under Digital Media Corp Ltd – DMCL, MediaVest India Pvt Ltd and Pri-Media Services) from itself even as it merges another company Maurya TV (which runs the current affairs channel Zee Purvaiya) with itself. The scheme got ZMCL board approval earlier.

    The carving out of the print media assets from ZMCL will result in its shareholders getting one DMCL share (face value of Re 1) for every four ZMCL shares (face value Re 1). The date for the demerger and amalgamation has been noted as 1 April 2017.

    What’s compelling ZMCL and DMCL to take this step? According to its notice filing with the BSE over the weekend, the print and media businesses are run and managed differently and can attract a different set of investors, strategic partners, lenders and other stakeholders. This apart, FDI regulations permit 26 per cent foreign investment in print and 49 per cent in news TV after government approvals.

    While ZMCL had revenues of around Rs 394 crore in the year to 31 March 2016, DMCL reported a topline of around Rs 110 crore in the same period, according to the filing with the BSE. The latter had a loss of Rs 8.72 crore for the same period while the former had a net profit of Rs 18.75 crore.

    The group is proposing to list DMCL on the stock exchanges on getting shareholder and other regulatory and listing approvals.

    AlsO Read :

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/news-broadcasting/zee-media-ad-revenue-up-in-q3-17-170206

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/regulators/ib-ministry/zee-medias-49-stake-in-927-big-fm-gets-it-59-radio-channels-161123

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/news-broadcasting/big-fm-india-today-deals-zee-media-seeks-shareholder-nod-for-loans-161223

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/people/the-key-is-to-consolidate-zeel-zmcl-zee-digital-and-dna-business-ashish-sehgal-160404

  • ZMCL launches Zee Purvaiya in Bihar, Jharkhand

    ZMCL launches Zee Purvaiya in Bihar, Jharkhand

    MUMBAI: It was in October last year that Zee Media Corporation got the board approval to acquire up to 100 per cent stake in the regional infotainment channel – Maurya TV. Now, with the onset of the New Year, there are few new beginnings – Zee Media Corporation Ltd (ZMCL) has rebranded Maurya TV as Zee Purvaiya and launched it on 16 January in Bihar and Jharkhand.

     

     

    As of now, ZMCL has only snared a 37.87 per cent stake in Maurya TV but plans are to hoick that to 100 per cent in a phased manner. Zee Purvaiya operates on the terrestrial entertainment network (TEN) format that the network launched with Zee Marudhara (formerly called Zee Rajasthan Plus) with a balanced telecast of news and infotainment programmes. The big focus being on regional news, viewers will get to watch full-fledged bulletins during morning and evening primetime with a short news capsule being aired every hour.  The other programmes include:  current affairs, fiction, non-fiction and factual.

     

     

    “It will be of relevance to every viewer. The content will be focused towards Bihar and Jharkhand, capturing the culture, language, rituals of the states as well as showcasing the differences in the two states in certain sections,” says ZMCL CEO Alok Agrawal.

     

    Following the footsteps of its parent company that recently came up with a campaign to woo youngsters, even Zee Purvaiya is planning to cater largely to a young audience. Even its channel branding – a bright yellowish-golden logo with the tagline ‘nayi soch nayi umang’ is in keeping with that target audience’s taste.

     

    Led by EVP & business head Amitava Bhattacharya, the channel has a team of 90 professionals, some of whom have been retained from Maurya TV. While Shiv Pujan Jha is the resident editor, Indu Singh is the programming editor, Rakesh Tiwary the marketing head and Harsh Vardhan Dwivedi the sales head.

     

    The main office of the channel is located in Patna, with three bureaus being located in  Ranchi and Dhanbad in Jharkhand and Saharsa in Bihar .

     

    While the management was unwilling to disclose the names of the advertisers on board, apparently discussions are on with about 35 corporate, government and local advertisers. Channel sources say that they are targeting to generate revenues of almost Rs 20 crore per annum.

     

    The promotional campaign that began on 20 January across mediums such as – radio, print and outdoor – has been planned to run throughout February by Kolkata based Genesis Advertising with a spend of  approximately Rs 2 crore being pumped in. 

     

    A canter activity was undertaken in Patna and Ranchi to let audiences know about the channel. Moreover, 50 spots have been taken in the two states for outdoor promotions. For print advertisements, space has been bought in leading papers like Times of India (Bihar – Jharkhand), Hindustan and Prabhat Khabar.

     

    “It’s a channel that’s like a buffet. It will be a one stop place for entertainment, news and factual information as well. Apart from this we are also launching reality shows. We are already reaching about 70 per cent in terms of C&S penetration,” says Bhattacharya.

     

    The idea is to be keep it free-to-air (FTA) for six months, post which it will become a pay channel at approximately Rs 10 per month. As of now, Zee Purvaiya is only available on cable TV. However, discussions with DTH players are in progress. But because of the huge presence of cable TV in the two states, executives are confident that it will reach about 85 per cent of the population. It is being beamed off Insat 4a at 83 degrees east.         

     

    Zee Purvaiya is set to expand ZMCL’s presence in the ubercompetitive regional space. In fact, the network is looking to capture other regions as well. It will soon be launching Zee Kalinga in Odisha, following the winding up of  the now defunct Zee Gantalu.

  • ZMCL q-o-q PAT up 53 per cent for Q3-2014

    ZMCL q-o-q PAT up 53 per cent for Q3-2014

    BENGALURU: Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL), the erstwhile Zee News Limited, reported a 53.36 per cent growth in PAT for Q3-2014 at Rs 5.92 crore as compared to the Rs 3.86 crore for Q2-2014. Operating revenue for Q3-2014 at Rs 91.68 crore was 10.4 per cent more than the Rs 83.02 crore for the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    However, year on year, the company’s Q3-2014 PAT was almost half (52 per cent) the PAT for the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal.  ZMCL had reported Operating revenue of Rs 85.84 crore for Q3-2013.

     

    Let us look at the other figures reported by ZMCL

     

    ZMCL has three revenue streams – advertising; subscription; and other sales and services. Advertising revenue for Q3-2014 at Rs 61.39 crore was 16 per cent more than the Rs 52.9 crore for immediate trailing quarter and 3 per cent more than the Rs 59.56 crore for the corresponding quarter of last year.

     

    Subscription revenue rose by 8.4 per cent for Q3-2014 to Rs 27 crore from Rs 24.9 crore for Q2-2014 and 21.6 per cent as compared to the Rs 22.2 crore for Q3-2013.

     

    Revenue from other sales and services for Q3-2014 at Rs 3.29 crore fell by 36.7 per cent from Rs.5.2 crores for Q2-2014 and fell by 19.1 per cent as compared to the Rs 4.07 crore for Q3-2013.

     

    Operating expenditure (Expenditure without depreciation and amortisation) for Q3-2014 at Rs 77.38 crore was 2.4 per cent more than the Rs 75.54 crore for Q2-2014 and 17 per cent more than the Rs 66.17 crore for Q3-2013.

     

    ZMCL spent 5.6 per cent more during Q3-2014 at Rs 15.75 crore towards marketing, distribution and promotional expense as compared to the Rs 14.91 crore for Q2-2014 and 2.9 per cent more than the Rs 15.31 crore for Q3-2013.

     

    Employee benefit expense for Q3-2014 at Rs 26.06 crore was 5.7 per cent more than the Rs 24.66 crore for Q2-2014 and 14.5 per cent higher than the Rs 22.76 crore for Q3-2013.

     

    Depreciation and amortisation expense for Q3-2014 was Rs 3.91 crore, for Q2-2014 Rs 3.52 crore, and for Q3-2013 Rs 2.87 crore.

     

    ZMCL non-executive chairman of the Board Subhash Chandra, said “Even as the global and domestic macro-economic environment poses challenges to growth, the private sector in the country has  shown immense resilience to tide over the short term problems of a sluggish economy. With signs of inflation stabilising over the next few months, the growth momentum, especially in the private sector, is likely to pick up. On its part, ZMCL has always stayed ahead in anticipating issues affecting the company performance in the long term. We have moved towards a more integrated approach to the news consumer by taking forward the process of bringing the news television, print and internet together. Our continued expansion in strategic growth markets is another indication of how we are looking to leverage the growing economy.”

     

    ZMCL group CEO, News Cluster Bhaskar Das said, “In order to fulfill our commitment of providing quality content for our regional viewer, we have recently introduced locally produced programming in Zee Marudhara. Additionally, we would be launching Zee Kalinga servicing Odisha market and have rebranded Maurya TV, which we acquired, as Zee Purvaiya. Our new channels launched in the current financial year have had significant growth in viewership with Zee Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh becoming number two channel in a few months of its launch and Zee Marudhara increasing its GVTs by over four times in the quarter as opposed to the previous one. New Media growth numbers too have been encouraging with zeenews.com registering an increase of 28.2 per cent in visits.”

     

    ZMCL whole-time director, Alok Agarwal said, “It has been an action packed quarter for us here at ZMCL. We have restaged Zee News channel with refreshed programming and look and feel. The channel now is more contemporary and youth-oriented. The channel, post restaging, has increased its weekly TVTs by about 18 per cent in the last four weeks of the quarter. Our other national channel Zee Business also has performed exceedingly well by developing non-stock market hours viewership and has almost two and a half times viewership of all the English Business news channels put together. Our Network-wide initiative Bharat Bhagya Vidhaata also has had a great response especially from New Age consumers with #BBV reaching 19.9 million.”

     

    Click here for full report

  • Prakash Jha to launch news channel

    Prakash Jha to launch news channel

    MUMBAI: Filmmaker Prakash Jha is all set to launch his news and current affairs channel, Maurya TV, in Bihar.

    To be based in Patna, the 24-hour, free-to-air channel will air in Bihari language. “This will be an infotainment channel and will cover everything related to Bollywood, politics, news and society,” reveals Jha.

    According to Jha, the team for the setup is already in place and the process of chosing an individual to head day-to-day operations for the channel is currently in the final stages.

    Manmohan Shetty will be an investor in Jha’s project.

    The clearance of the channel was secured from the I&B Ministry a year ago and the channel in all probablity will start functioning two months from now, adds Jha.