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Tag: Punit Goenka

  • Punit Goenka picks solid over spectacular to steer Zeel ship in turbulent times

    Punit Goenka picks solid over spectacular to steer Zeel ship in turbulent times

    MUMBAI: 31 July was an extremely busy day for Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) managing director and CEO Punit Goenka. Conference calls with investment analysts followed by video interviews with various business news channels late into the evening. Hardball questions were asked, he parried them with ease. Congratulations poured in and Punit responded to them all.

    This was a confident Punit. Not jubilant, but very businesslike. He sounded like a CEO in charge of his company, in control of its future. It appeared like he had finally emerged out of the shadows of his father the highly accomplished Subhash Chandra.

    By the end of it all, Punit, as he is known to all of us, understandably sounded tired. But it was a “good” fatigue.

    As committed, he had delivered on his promise to make an announcement before the end of July 2019 about the Essel Group promoter family finding an investor to help them free equity which had been pledged with mutual funds, NBFCs and banks to raise debt to finance their expansion into newer areas.

    US-based Invesco Oppenheimer’s – the investor’s  – offer was at Rs 400 per share and it had been holding on to 7.11 per cent of Zeel’s equity since 2002. And the fact that it took up another 11 per cent of the Indian owned global media group for Rs 4244 crore emphasises the confidence it has in the medium to long-term future of Zee as well as the faith it reposes in the ability of Subhash Chandra and his sons Punit and Amit Goenka and the teams within the group to ride over the current storm that it is facing. It has not demanded a board seat and has asked for no changes in the functioning, giving the family total management oversight.

    Some industry professionals snickered in private saying the deal is a damp squib. For one, the Zeel team failed in its efforts to get a strategic investor who would bring in global and technical expertise like Punit had proclaimed a few months ago. Second, the pricing of Rs 400 places the valuation of Zeel at about Rs 40,000 crore, which is much lower than what many expected.

    But Punit believes he has got the best deal in place for Zeel. Said he on the investment analysts’ call: “We had a strategic investor’s proposal on the table and the financial investor’s. We opted for the financial investor’s as the strategic investor would have taken time which would have gone beyond the deadline given to our lenders.”

    His view is that the valuation is something that can go only up, and even at Rs 400, it is at a premium of the Zee low for 2019.

    “The floor price has been laid now,” said Punit. “The next deal will happen much beyond this if it is required.”

    He, however, is sanguine that it will not be needed, as the Essel Group will be lopping off and hawking its non-media assets to cover the gap of Rs 6,800 odd crore.

    Punit, though, did not rule out the promoters offering further equity or partnering with other strategic investors in the media and entertainment space going forward.

    Other analysts point out pricing aside, the Invesco Oppenheimer deal is a coup for Punit Goenka. For one, it has allowed the management to be in the Indian promoters' hands. And they have been running a tight ship, with EBITDA margins being really healthy for several quarters.

    The second benefit is that acquisition by a strategic investor like Sony or Comcast or Reliance could have led to concentration of power in the hands of one of these three. As a consequence, a reduction in competitive forces in the media and entertainment – more specifically broadcasting – space.

    Having cleared the first hurdle of proving the doomsayers wrong, Punit now has to complete the Invesco Oppenheimer transaction, which he says will happen by end-August. (read: Zeel’s Punit Goenka on Oppenheimer divestment)

    But the bigger challenge is finding the rest of the Rs 6,756 crore which he has to pay to the Essel Group lenders without divesting any more equity in the media mother ship.

  • ZEEL’s Punit Goenka on Oppenheimer transaction, strategic investor, additional stake sale

    ZEEL’s Punit Goenka on Oppenheimer transaction, strategic investor, additional stake sale

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) on Wednesday announced what much of the media and entertainment as well as the investor ecosystem had been waiting to hear for a while. ZEEL reached an agreement with US-based Invesco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund for 11 per cent (around Rs 400 per share) of the promoter stake for Rs 4,224 crore. This essentially means the fund will intensify its shareholding to 18.7 per cent in the company.

    This is the second round of good news for the Essel Group promoter family after acing Q1 of FY20 with a 40 per cent jump in its profit at Rs 512 crore on a revenue of Rs 1,789 crore, capping off a 14.5 per cent year-on-year growth.

    The infusion of Rs 4,224 crore will give some relief to the group as it races to meet the 30 September deadline to pay off loans to the tune of Rs 11,000 crore to mutual funds, NBFCs and banks.  

    ZEEL MD & CEO Punit Goenka expects the Invesco Oppenheimer transaction to get completed by 31 August. He added that the deal will be done through an escrow mechanism wherein “the lenders will have to pool their shares and once the escrow agent confirms that the requisite number of shares have been placed, they will tell Oppenheimer to wire the funds and therefore on that day, the transfer of both will happen.”

    Goenka is confident that the promoters will be able to raise the remainder Rs 6,800-odd crore it needs to repay lenders by selling off some of its non-media assets in which it has invested like roads, infrastructure and solar energy. He was speaking to investment analysts late in the evening of 31 July.

    Invesco Oppenheimer, which until now owned 7.74 percent stake in ZEEL, is a pure equity shareholder and won’t have a seat on the board, he pointed out.

    “There’s no such agreement but I am pretty confident once investor like Invesco Oppenheimer is buying 11 per cent stake at certain price that validates our value. Therefore anybody else who may look at ZEE can’t really question it and that price should be very easily selling through,” said Goenka responding to whether ZEEL would sell rest of the stake below Rs 400 per share.

    Notably, Goenka did not rule out selling more promoter stake in the company. He also added that the Essel Group has zeroed in on buyers for some of its non-media assets. However, should the sale of these assets disrupt the repayment timelines, then the company will “step it up with the Zee stake sale,” Goenka revealed.

    ZEEL opted against a deal with a strategic partner for it would have taken longer to close the transaction thereby delaying the repayment process. 

    “Strategic investor is off the table for now,” Goenka remarked.

    He, however, briefly touched upon the possibility of ZEEL partnering some of its other media assets with like-minded strategic partners.

    Having consistently delivered profits and maintained a good growth trajectory, ZEEL’s prospect of finding a financial investor or strategic partner was doubted by few. This was despite mutual funds having witnessed their investments in the group turn illiquid of late.

    The sentiment was echoed by Invesco-Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund portfolio manager Justin Leverenz who described the transaction as “highly compelling” for investors in the fund due to the “sound fundamentals of Zee.”

    The latest development is bound to cheer investors and lenders like mutual funds and insurance companies that had lent considerably to ZEEL’s promoters against collateral.

    “After this entire episode, promoters will be left with enough stake in ZEE for them to get motivated and excited to continue running the company with the legacy it has done so far,” Goenka remarked.

    With the ZEEL promoters now set to repay the debt to lenders and investors from the proceeds of the stake sale, some of the debt funds that have been under the pump will now also be able to fulfill commitments to their investors.

    It has taken ZEEL extended deadlines to get to this point. In a sense, the entire process from taking the tough call to sell promoter stake to striking the right deal amidst back-to-the-wall negotiations has been synonymous with what founder and chairman Subhash Chandra has embodied all his life – living to fight another day.

  • ZEE Entertainment to sell up to 11% promoters’ stake to Invesco Oppenheimer Fund for Rs 4,224 crore

    ZEE Entertainment to sell up to 11% promoters’ stake to Invesco Oppenheimer Fund for Rs 4,224 crore

    MUMBAI: Essel Group, on Wednesday, announced that Invesco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund has agreed to make an additional investment in ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL). Oppenheimer Fund has agreed to buy up to an 11% stake in ZEEL from its promoters, for a total consideration value of up to Rs. 4,224 Crore.

    Essel Group had initiated the process of divesting its key assets, with an aim to repay all the lenders by September 2019. During this divestment process, the Group has received positive response from multiple partners expressing interest to buy the stake in ZEEL and the other key Non Media Assets.

    Speaking on this development, ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka said “I’m extremely glad to share that the Fund as a Financial Investor has further reposed its faith in ZEEL. It also gives me immense pleasure to note their strong belief and trust in the intrinsic value of our precious asset. It is the valuable belief and support of our esteemed financial investors that enables us to consistently generate great value, year after year”.

    The announcement of 11% stake sale of ZEEL to Oppenheimer Fund is a strong step in the overall divestment process, giving the promoters the required financial fillip to initiate the repayment process.

    The Invesco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund, which is an investment company registered with the US Securities & Exchange Commission, has a long history of investing in India as a financial investor. It has been a financial investor in Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. since 2002.

    Along with ZEEL, Essel Group is also in the process of divesting some of its Non-Media Assets. Essel Group is confident to complete the overall process of repayment, well within the agreed timeline.

  • New tariff order helped ZEEL’s strong domestic subscription revenue growth in Q1 FY20

    New tariff order helped ZEEL’s strong domestic subscription revenue growth in Q1 FY20

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) experienced strong growth in domestic subscription revenue in the first quarter of FY 2020 where the new tariff order played an important role. The leading broadcaster has guided for domestic subscription revenue for the overall year to grow in mid-twenties.

    “The implementation of the new tariff order has allowed us to price our channels in line with their popularity, thereby leading to a sharp improvement in monetisation. Additionally, uniformity in pricing across platforms and increased transparency have led to a step jump in this quarter’s subscription revenue growth,” ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka said in an earnings call after Q1 results.

    The broadcaster also witnessed sharp growth in subscription revenue in the southern market too. Apart from the digitisation of the Tamil market, the new tariff order also played an important role here.

    Goenka, talking about the growth in the Southern market, mentioned that either ZEEL channels were free in certain markets or their pricing was not proportionate with their viewership share while the new pricing regime gave them the opportunity to re-price content.  He pointed out that the tariff has been frozen since the last 16 years and no price change was done since then for any of the channels after launch.

    “Despite having built significant viewership over the last several years, our channels were really not priced in line with their popularity. Under the old tariff order, it would have been a long journey but the new tariff order gave us a chance to reset this pricing. So, that has allowed us to significantly improve our monetisation,” ZEEL corporate strategy and investor relations head Bijal Shah commented on the overall subscription growth.

    “And on top of this, in this tariff order, discrimination between the platforms is not possible, which has also led to an improvement in subscription revenue growth. So, this is much more on expected lines. In fact, for the last 2-2.5 years, we have been guiding that tariff order will allow us to properly monetise the viewership which we have, and we are seeing that evolving the way we had envisaged,” he added.

    However, the broadcaster did not outline any clear guidance in terms of advertising growth but Goenka did mention that ZEEL would beat the industry growth.

    Goenka said this fiscal year also will not be very high on free cash flow generation despite slight improvement. But next year onwards, there will be a lot more cash conversion from the company’s bottom-line to cash with an actual ramp-up in free cash flows.

    “It is the first quarter right now, so a bit difficult to give you an exact amount, but total working capital investment in FY20 will be in the range of Rs 500-700 crore, that is the kind of increase we will see in total in working capital in full year FY20. It could be closer to the lower-end of the range but we just want to keep some buffer for ourselves right now,” Shah noted.

  • ZEEL’s Punit Goenka says ZEE5 to see peak investment in FY 20

    ZEEL’s Punit Goenka says ZEE5 to see peak investment in FY 20

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s (ZEEL) digital venture touched 76.4 million monthly active users (MAU) in the first quarter of FY20 making the media conglomerate more bullish on its new bet. While the over-the-top (OTT) platform is coming up with a number of original shows in different languages, ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka said this year will see the highest investment in ZEE5.

    “This year will be the peak investment in ZEE5. I am not guiding for any specific number for ZEE5,” Goenka said in an earnings call after Q1 results. He also noted that the company’s margins guidance is factoring in the losses on account of ZEE5, or any other investment that they may have. Content costs, which are already rising, will be impacted due to the ramp-up in ZEE5.

    Goenka also re-emphasised his confidence in the company’s ability to monetise ZEE5. Though revenue is in accordance with its plans and targets, it isn’t enough to have a significant impact on the top-line.

    The streaming service had a global daily active user (DAU) base of 6.6 million in June. It also witnessed a hike in user engagement as users spent an average of 33 minutes per day on the platform in contrast to 31 minutes per day in the last quarter.

    “So, a part of the earlier quarter, the number I gave were only India numbers. Now that international has launched that also contributes to the MAUs. Yes, we did see an increase in India as well. But it got further strengthened with the international numbers,” Goenka commented on MAU growth.

    Although there has been a sharp increase in ZEE5’s MAU in every quarter after its launch, Goenka said the company is not satisfied with the DAU-MAU ratio yet. While it ranges between 8 or 9 per cent, the industry standard is 25 per cent. He expects ZEE5 to touch this mark in six quarters’ time.

    The current trend being OTT tying up with telcos, ZEE5 is yet to take a step in that direction. Out of the three large telcos, while it is yet to strike a deal with one, about 50 per cent partnership has been established with another. But, Goenka denied giving any particular completion timeframe for it.

    On competitor Netflix’s newly-launched mobile-only plan, Goenka said, “It’s too early to comment as to how mobile-only will impact, because, in the end, that is just a pricing strategy that they have done. It does not really tell me too much about the content strategy. And therefore, as you will appreciate, for any OTT platform or content-driven business, the basic need is content. Until that does not change, life would not change significantly.”

    A recent PTI report stated that ZEE5 is planning to test mobile-only packs too.

  • ZEEL reports 13.3% YoY growth in total revenue for Q1 FY20

    ZEEL reports 13.3% YoY growth in total revenue for Q1 FY20

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has reported 13.3 per cent YoY growth in total revenue at Rs 20,081 million. The company mentioned domestic broadcast and digital business as the growth driver for strong performance.

    Its advertising revenue also witnessed 3.6 per cent YoY growth. In Q1 FY 20, the advertising revenue was at Rs 11,867 million. Domestic advertising revenue grew by 4.2 per cent YoY to Rs 11,322 million. International advertising revenue for the quarter was Rs 545 million.

    In Q1 FY20 the subscription revenue was Rs 7,088 million, marking a 36.7 per cent growth YoY. Domestic subscription revenue grew by 46.7 per cent YoY to Rs 6,240 million. International subscription revenue was Rs 848 million.

    Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 16.6 per cent to Rs 6,598 million with an EBITDA margin of32.9 per cent. PAT for the first quarter was Rs 5,306 million.

    ZEEL managing director and CEO Punit Goenka commented, "We delivered another quarter of strong performance despite the operational challenges faced by the industry due to the implementation of TRAI tariff order. We have witnessed a strong uptake of our channels across markets which is reflected in the 47 per cent growth of our domestic subscription revenues. It validates our standing as the #1 entertainment network of the country, built on the foundation of strong position in each of the markets we operate in. We are confident that the new tariff regime is going to be beneficial for all the stakeholders and will greatly improve the consumer experience.”

    Goenka further stated, “Domestic advertising growth of 4.2 per cent Yo Y is considerably lower than the growth in past quarters. This is primarily on account of the decision to convert our two leading FTA channels to pay, which significantly impacted the ad growth for the quarter. Additionally, the implementation of the new tariff order in the previous quarter negatively impacted reach and viewership of most entertainment channels, leading to a temporary shift in some of the ad spends from entertainment to sports. We believe that the underlying demand for advertising still remains strong and we are confident that spends would come back as the tariff order settles down and the festive season kicks in.”

    “Zee TV was the #2 channel in the pay Hindi GEC segment, led by leadership in the core weekday primetime viewership band. The channel's viewership experienced temporary weakness during the movement to the new tariff regime but saw an improvement towards the end of the quarter. Our strong movie library helped further consolidate our # 1 position in the pay Hindi movie genre,” informed Goenka.

    The company’s regional portfolio continued to gain traction across markets during the quarter. It has maintained leadership position in the Marathi, BangIa and Kannada markets. Zee Tamil continued to increase its market share on the back of strong performance of fiction shows. “We are confident that with our consumer-centric approach and insight driven creative output, we will continue to build market share,” said Goenka.

    Goenka also informed, “Zee Telugu and Zee Sarthak were the #2 channels during the quarter. Our youngest regional channel, Zee Keralam, continued to gain share in the Malayalam market led by performance of the fiction shows. Our portfolio of regional movie channels – Zee Talkies, Zee Bangla Cinema and Zee Cinemalu continued to perform strongly.”

  • Punit Goenka on Zee Entertainment stake sale: Have one binding offer, awaiting another

    Punit Goenka on Zee Entertainment stake sale: Have one binding offer, awaiting another

    MUMBAI: With speculation rife over the stake sale of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), MD and CEO Punit Goenka on Tuesday suggested that the company was inching closer to ink the high-profile deal.

    Goenka revealed that the media and entertainment conglomerate now has one binding offer with them, and expects another one to come in the next few days. Goenka had earlier stated that the stake sale would be completed by July .

    “I accept that we have received two non-binding term sheets. Out of that we now have one binding offer with us, we are expecting to receive another binding offer over the next few days. Once both the offers are on the table the family will evaluate and take a decision,” Goenka said during an earnings call after the Q1 result for FY20.

    ZEEL reported 13.3 per cent year-on-year growth, with total revenue standing at Rs. 20,081 million. The company highlighted domestic broadcast and digital business as growth driver for the strong performance.

    ZEEL’s advertising revenue also witnessed a 3.6 per cent year-on-year growth. In Q1 FY20, the advertising revenue was at Rs. 11,867 million. While domestic advertising revenue grew by 4.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs. 11,322 million, international advertising revenue for the quarter was Rs. 545 million.

    Goenka, however, did not reveal any information about the nature of the deal. He also added that it is now a matter of days before ZEEL makes a formal announcement on the stake sale.

    Goenka also clarified that ZEE Media cannot be part of any stake sale process because of the FDI norms that exist in that sector.

    “On the offer on stake sale, I am expecting the second offer to come in a matter of days. If that offer was not to come in, then we will be of course going with the binding offer that we already obtained. But I am quite hopeful that the second offer will also come in,” he commented on the timeline of the second binding offer.

    In November last year, ZEEL had revealed the decision of its promoters to sell up to 50 per cent of their equity in the company to a strategic partner.

    The objective of the stake sale was to transform Zee into a global media tech player. In the last few months, a slew of big companies have rumoured to have shown an interest in picking up a stake in one of India’s most iconic companies.

  • ZEE5 MAU touches 76.4 mn in Q1 of FY 20

    ZEE5 MAU touches 76.4 mn in Q1 of FY 20

    MUMBAI: Media conglomerate Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s (ZEEL) digital arm ZEE5 continues its growth in user base reaching 76.4 million monthly active users (MAU). ZEEL in its first quarter financial result of FY 20 revealed the MAU of the streaming platform as of June 2019 while it had 61.5 million MAUs in the quarter ended March 2019.

    The streaming service had a global daily active user base of 6.6 million in June. It has also witnessed a hike in user engagement as users spent an average of 33 minutes per day on the platform in contrast to 31 minutes per day in the last quarter.

    During the quarter, ZEE5 launched 18 Original shows and movies including seven in regional languages. The company said that many of the shows helped ZEE5 to grow its paid subscriber base. The streaming service also entered into new partnerships with Hathway and ACT Fibernet in the quarter to offer bundled package to consumers. Moreover, ZEE5 also tied up with players in the online ecosystem like Myntra, Qwikcilver, Netmeds and Gaana.com.

    “ZEE5 continues its strong run and is working towards achieving its aim of becoming India's # 1 digital entertainment platform. In the international markets, it has seen an encouraging response in the initial phase. I am confident that with its strong content line-up and partnerships with leading players in the digital eco-system, value proposition of the platform and engagement with the consumers will continue to improve," ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka commented in the earnings release.

    Along with the expansion in the domestic market, ZEEL is looking at an international expansion of its digital business as well. Following the launch in priority APAC markets, ZEE5 commenced marketing activities in the neighbouring countries to leverage its language and content affinity. To tap into the existing demand for Indian content in several markets, it also soft-launched dubbed content in five international languages. Moreover, the roll-out in APAC will be followed by MENA, Europe, Canada and Caribbean markets.

  • ZEEL’s Punit Goenka on FY19 performance, future of digital platforms, new tariff order

    ZEEL’s Punit Goenka on FY19 performance, future of digital platforms, new tariff order

    MUMBAI: The changing nature of content as well as distribution has led to a major overhaul in traditional media companies. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd(ZEEL) is also inking partnerships with new-age content distributors, device manufacturers and other digital players in this context. ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka recognising the need for modification of ZEEL’s processes. He said that the media conglomerate is investing in data and analytics capabilities along with traditional functions like marketing and customer service.

    In a message to shareholders published in ZEEL’s FY19 annual report, Goenka spoke on the performance of the company in FY19, the journey ahead both in front of traditional and digital business. Here are edited excerpts:

    Gearing-up for next phase of growth

    Over the years, ZEEL has evolved from a single-channel network into a multi-faceted entertainment content company by consistently expanding its content offering. Till recently, television was the primary medium for taking new content to audience. However, our emerging businesses – digital, movies & music, and live events, provide us new touchpoints for reaching consumers as well as access to audience which was out of reach. This has added new dimensions to content consumption and is allowing us to experiment with new genres of content and create formats which are suited for smaller audience segments. We have significantly ramped up our content investments to capitalise on this new opportunity. Along with an evolving content repertoire, the distribution landscape is also changing with audience using multiple devices and platforms for consuming content. To enhance the reach and engagement of our products, we are stitching partnerships with new age content distributors, device manufacturers and other digital players. In this changing landscape, we also need to modify our processes and develop new capabilities to sustain growth and take advantage of emerging opportunities. Increase in share of direct to consumer businesses, especially digital, and changes in television distribution space give us greater insights into consumer preferences. While consumers have always been the focal point for content creation, these insights will enable us to serve them better. We are investing in data and analytics capabilities to use consumer insights for content creation and product design. Even traditional functions like marketing and customer service are undergoing significant changes and we are equipping our workforce for success in this new environment.

    The year gone by

    Digital video viewership continues to see tremendous growth as the reach of internet increases and people spend more time watching content. Till now, the growth has been primarily driven by user-generated and TV content which is monetised through advertising. I believe that the next phase of growth would be driven by content that the digital platforms are creating. The themes, talent ensemble and production value of these shows make it markedly different and have caught the fancy of a set of audience which found TV shows too slow. Once digital platforms scale-up their production of original content, it will enable them to drive subscription model. Younger audience, primarily from urban  areas, have been the early adopter of SVOD, and digital content reflects the sensibilities of this segment. As more consumers join the pay bandwagon, the content offerings will explode to cater to varied user segments. In a market characterised by low ARPU and aversion to online payments, bundling of SVOD with telecom and other services, tiered pricing and innovation in payments would be key to growth of the paid subscriber base. Though advertising is the mainstay for digital revenues currently, I believe subscription would develop as a long-term revenue driver.

    Television remains the mainstay for entertainment in India and continues to see growth in reach and engagement. Over the last 4 years, 50 million households have bought a TV set, but still a third of Indians (~100 million households) do not own one, and this provides a long run-way for growth. Constantly improving choices and quality of content across languages have led to growth in time spent. The new tariff order has further improved television’s value proposition for consumers by empowering them to select and pay for content of their choice. It also gives broadcasters flexibility to price their content which would incentivise innovation. The radical change in content distribution dynamics brought with it several challenges which made the transition to new regime uneven. However, once the transition is complete, it will benefit all the stakeholders. Digitisation of distribution space led to proper accounting of subscriber base and this tariff order provides for fair distribution of revenue across the value chain. This increase in transparency would accelerate growth of subscription market in India.

    Our domestic broadcast business delivered another year of strong performance. Strengthening the network viewership share, it consolidated its position as India’s #1 entertainment network. The performance was led by the regional and movie channels portfolio. In line with our strategy of expanding the regional portfolio by entering new markets, we launched Zee Keralam, making our language footprint the biggest in the country. We continued our investments in acquisition of movie rights which will help us launch exclusive movie channels in regional markets and bolster our existing portfolio. There were two major business developments during the year – getting into distribution contracts as per the new tariff order and conversion of our two FTA channels to pay. Both impacted our revenue growth in the short term, but we are confident that once the transitory challenges settle down, they will help us further improve our competitive position across markets. The strength of our pan-India network is a result of our understanding of consumers and the processes built around it, enabling us to replicate success in multiple markets.

    Our international business continued its focus on building reach and improving engagement across geographies. Launch of channels on new platforms helped our linear portfolio increase reach and local programming initiatives in some of the markets helped us engage more with the audience. The performance of our Indian and local language channels continues to be strong across markets. In addition to strengthening our linear business, we also started rolling out ZEE5 in select markets starting with APAC countries. We are working on a market by market strategy and selecting partners for taking our product to consumers. I believe that the revenue opportunity for ZEE5 in international markets is substantial.

    Our consolidated revenue grew by 18.7 per cent in FY19 to `79,339 million. This strong growth was led by 19.8 per cent and 13.9 per cent growth in advertising and subscription revenues, respectively. Movies, music and content syndication businesses registered an impressive 29.7 per cent growth. The EBITDA margin for the year stood at 32.3 per cent and our EBITDA grew by 23.5 per cent to `25,639 million. The strong EBITDA growth for the year, despite increased investments in digital and other new initiatives and impact on revenue in fourth quarter, reflects the strong underlying performance of the business.

  • Campaign For Good! IAA partners Rotary, to show you love elders

    Campaign For Good! IAA partners Rotary, to show you love elders

    MUMBAI: In a unique effort to use communication as a force for good, the International Advertising Association (India Chapter) and the Rotary District 3141 will help promote a contest along with Campaign India and invite entries for an awareness campaign that will challenge Young Creative Professionals to show how they love their elders.

    The winners would be felicitated at the prestigious IndIAA Awards presentation night on 26th August and their campaign would be showcased across all media platforms. Says Punit Goenka, President, International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter, "The IAA has always stood firm by its ethos and value system, which is based on the fact that what's good, is good for business. I think this gives us a great opportunity to partner with the Rotary District and spread an important & noble message about elder care. In fact, respecting and honouring our elders is the foundation of rich values and traditions in India. The younger generation certainly needs to be sensitized about the needs of their elders, in order to make them more aware about their responsibilities and duties. The IAA has also capitalized on its enhanced focus on Young Professionals, in order to restrict entries to professionals under the age of 35."

    Adds Harjit Singh Talwar District Governor Rotary (District 3141), "Highlighting the importance of elder care we have a specific Avenue of Service that deals with this subject. We are delighted that the IAA and others are coming together to create awareness about this. We have 104 Clubs in the Mumbai region and will be able to use the service-oriented membership of these clubs to amplify the winning message manifold".

    Says Abhishek Karnani Chairman IndIAA Awards Committee, this is a special category for Young Professionals (YP's) and entries received would be shortlisted by a jury of creative experts before being placed before our main jury for the IndIAA awards. We will have this category called "YP's for Good" addressing different topics in the public service space each year, going forward.

    The contest is open to all professionals in the advertising industry below the age of 35. There will be no entry fee and the last date for receipt of entries would be 28th. July 2019. There would be no extensions.  Entries are invited for an integrated campaign (print, poster, social and film) that shows how young adults show their love for their elders.

    It takes off from a brief received from Dignity Foundation the leader in elder care, that having invested a large part of their life in bringing up children, what elders really want from young adults is their time. And that is probably the most difficult for young adults to give.