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Tag: Punit Goenka

  • Siddharth Roy Kapur bags ‘40 Under Forty’ India’s Hottest Business Leader Award 2014

    Siddharth Roy Kapur bags ‘40 Under Forty’ India’s Hottest Business Leader Award 2014

    MUMBAI: Disney India managing director Siddharth Roy Kapur has been awarded The Economic Times – Spencer Stuart ‘40 under Forty’ India’s Hottest Business Leaders Award 2014. Kapur received the award from HDFC executive chairman Deepak Parekh, one of the doyens of Indian industry.

     

    Spencer Stuart and The Economic Times initiated the study by assembling a jury responsible for evaluation of all individuals under play in this category. A list of 2000 business leaders was drawn up and this was condensed on the basis of early market due diligence to a long-list. The assessment was done against criteria predefined by the jury, which shortlisted 80 business leaders in the interim meeting, who were taken to the final stage. The final 40 winners were identified based on a combination of quantitative business results (growth, margins and turnaround) as well as qualitative attributes (innovation, reputation, people leadership, and contribution to the ecosystem).

     

    The jury was chaired by Parekh, while the other members on the panel were Spencer Stuart India managing director Anjali Bansal, Tata Communications chairman Subodh Bhargava, Boston Consulting Group, Asia Pacific chairman Janmejaya Sinha, Hindustan Unilever non-executive chairman and Unilever COO Harish Manwani, PepsiCo India chairman and CEO D Shivakumar and Info Edge India CEO and co-founder Sanjeev Bhikchandani.

     

    Some of the other prominent names who received the honour included Zee Entertainment MD & CEO Punit Goenka, Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl, Parle Agro CEO Schauna Chauhan and Flipkart co-founder and CEO Sachin Bansal, amongst others.

  • Punit Goenka receives ‘ET – ‘40 under Forty’- India’s Hottest Business Leaders Award’

    Punit Goenka receives ‘ET – ‘40 under Forty’- India’s Hottest Business Leaders Award’

    MUMBAI: ZEEL MD & CEO Punit Goenka has received the prestigious ‘The Economic Times’40 under Forty’ – India’s Hottest Business Leaders Award 2014’. The award ceremony was held on 29 April at a glittering function held at the Four Seasons, Mumbai.

     

    The award was presented to him by HDFC executive chairman Deepak Parekh. The list of the 40 winners was finalised by a study conducted by The Economic Times and Spencer Stuart to identify India Inc’s upcoming leadership.

     

    Out of the original list of 2000 leaders, the final 40 were identified based on a combination of quantitative business results (growth, margins and turnaround) as well as qualitative attributes (innovation, reputation, people leadership, and contribution to the ecosystem). The jury was chaired by Deepak Parekh. The members on the panel were Spencer Stuart India managing director Anjali Bansal, Tata Communications chairman Subodh Bhargava, Boston Consulting Group, Asia Pacific chairman Janmejaya Sinha, Hindustan Unilever COO, Unilever and Non-executive chairman Harish Manwani, PepsiCo India chairman and CEO D Shivakumar and Info Edge India CEO and co-founder Sanjeev Bhikchandani.

     

    Other notable names who received the honour are Flipkart co-Founder & CEO Sachin Bansal, Parle Agro CEO Schauna Chauhan, IndiGo Air president Aditya Ghosh and The Walt Disney Company India MD Siddharth Roy Kapur.

  • Media Pro: The unwinding of a joint venture

    Media Pro: The unwinding of a joint venture

    MUMBAI: When the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) came out with its regulation on the role of aggregators, everyone in the industry was sure that this would herald the death of content aggregators, at least in their current form. Industry insiders revealed that the leading and strongest content aggregator Media Pro would be among the first to break up, but it would take time, probably by mid-2014 or probably a little later.

     

    So when the announcement came last week that the Zee Turner and Star Den joint venture had decided to go their separate ways, it sent shock waves through the industry.  Some said it was premature and that the joint venture could have run a little longer. But sources indicate that the decision was taken at the very top between Subhash Chandra, Punit Goenka and Star India head Uday Shankar directly with only a handful of executives being informed. Industry insiders say that the joint venture had hired a consulting firm to give guidance on what should be done and when.

     

    The breakup will see the two partners setting up independent cable TV affiliate distribution teams. Exactly as it was like almost three years ago when both decided to get together to extract more revenues out of India’s reluctant cable TV operators and multi system operators (MSOs).

     

    Questions are being raised as to where will Media Pro India CEO Arun Kapoor – an old Essel group hand – be placed?  Will he head the Zee Entertainment distribution initiative or will he go the Star way? He was earlier group CEO distribution businesses at Essel Group (he also headed the joint venture which had been set up to distribute the Zee TV and Turner channels in India).

     

    Sources indicate that the Turner channels will continue to be distributed by Zee Entertainment at least for now without any cross network bundling. So does that mean that the Zee and Turner joint venture arrangement will in effect not be revived?

     

    Most observers expect COO Gurjeev Singh Kapoor to move onto the Star distribution team. Gurjeev began his media career with Zee and then went to Discovery before moving on to The OneAlliance as its business head. He was finally lured to lead Star Den Media services when it was set up as a joint venture between Sameer Manchanda’s DEN and Star India.

     

    The bets are out whether the Star Sports bouquet will be distributed by the Star India team or whether an independent team will be given that responsibility.  Most expect the former proposition to be realised.

     

    Industry observers state the Media Pro office in north Mumbai is a hub of activity with senior management working on splitting up the teams and also drawing up plans for recruitment wherever needed.

     

    “There is a lot of movement which is taking place currently, with some of the executives already going the Star India way,” says a source from the industry.

     

    MSOs and cable TV operators expect the two new teams to start approaching them soon with new packages and offerings. Others however indicate that this could be a month or two away, until Star and Zee draw up their individual teams. Gurjeev had told indiantelevision.com around a month ago that most of the MediaPro contracts with both cable TV and DTH operators are slated to come up for renewal by sometime in April.

     

    If that is true then Zee Entertainment and Star India don’t have much time on their hands. And the teams have their task cut out for them.   

  • MediaPro breaks up

    MediaPro breaks up

    MUMBAI: In one of the biggest announcements after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) came out with its regulation, two months ago, that prevented aggregators from bundling channels of different broadcasters, Star Den Media services and Zee Turner have decided to part ways with distribution JV MediaPro coming to an end.

     

    The networks will be setting up their independent affiliate sales team for their respective channels. The networks are also banking on the recent tariff hike given by TRAI as a positive boost to subscription revenues.

     

    Zee Entertainment MD Punit Goenka said,  “We  had  created  this  Joint  Venture  to  address  various  anomalies  in  the  analog market, curb  piracy  and introduce  transparency for the benefit  of all stakeholders.  I must say that we have been very satisfied with the outcome  of the partnership.  In the last three years, with  DAS getting  implemented, India  is truly on  the path  to digitization. First  two phases of DAS have already been implemented. Given the new regulation, Uday and I have taken a call to continue the business at an independent  level. I wish our JV partners all the very best in their future endeavors.”

     

    Star India CEO Uday Shankar  added,  “MediaPro  has been  a truly delightful and path breaking  partnership.   Punit  and I created MediaPro with the objective of accelerating  digitization, promoting transparency and introducing best practices  in distribution.  Thanks to the commitment  of both parties the JV has delivered exceptionally well on each of these.   I am proud  to say that MediaPro also led the industry consensus for the most efficient way of moving to a digital domain.  This in turn allowed  us to offer better content to our viewers.  In the light of new regulation, both partners have decided  to build independent affiliate sales. I take this opportunity to compliment the entire MediaPro team lead by Arun Kapoor for creating  a best-in-class organization  that  helped  pioneer  digital transformation of cable.”

  • Zee launches its new music label ‘Zee Music Company’

    Zee launches its new music label ‘Zee Music Company’

    MUMBAI: In a country where music is a part of everyday life, music labels have seen a tremendous growth over the years.

     

     And to give a tough competition to the existing ones, Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zee) has announced its foray into the music label space with its latest venture, Zee Music Company (ZMC).

     

    The ZMC has plans to acquire the music rights of over 20 major motion pictures in the financial year 2014-15.

     

    Introducing the label, Zee managing director and CEO Punit Goenka exults: “Zee has always been a leader in the media and entertainment space, be it films or television, and branching out into the music label space gives us an opportunity to widen our business. The music industry is a large playing field and there is scope for us to explore the opportunity in this market. Technology has also emerged as a key transformer of the music industry and digital revenues are driving growth in the market. Since we are a content company, it is essential to own intellectual property as content is the king.”

     

    The music industry in India currently stands at a staggering figure of Rs 960 crore and projected figures for 2014 is Rs 1,010 crores. The industry is expected to only grow over the years and reach Rs 1,780 crore in 2018.

     

    ZMC business head and EVP Anurag Bedi, believes that ZMC will be a valuable addition to the business. He stated: “It’s a great space to be in, as music is something that is consumed universally. The Hindi film industry is currently in its best phase musically and there is a plethora of talent. We had been toying with this idea and finally we have entered this space.”

     

    Talking about the acquisitions, Bedi says, “We are thrilled at having acquired the rights to the music of the Akshay Kumar-Sonakshi Sinha starrer ‘Holiday’ which is jointly produced by Reliance Big Entertainment, Sunshine Pictures and Hari Om Entertainment Company.”

     

    Bedi further adds, “We have also partnered with Fox Star Studios and signed the latter for the music of five of its Hindi releases for the year, including the Saif Ali Khan and Riteish Deshmukh starrer ‘Humshakals’, Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif starrer ‘Bang Bang’ and one of the most anticipated releases of the year ‘Bombay Velvet’ starring Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma.”

     

    Future partnerships of ZMC include the big players; Dharma Productions, Excel Entertainment and other top studios.

  • Remember your first tweet?

    Remember your first tweet?

    MUMBAI: After tweeting hundreds of time, do you sometimes wonder what your first tweet was? Well, just use the newly launched tool by Twitter as it celebrates its eighth birthday.

     

    Ideas, anecdotes, opinions, experiences and achievements, among other things have been expressed in 140 characters since 2006, the year the now-much talked about social networking site was first introduced.

     

    While in these eight years, many have posted thousands of posts on Twitter to share joy, sadness, crib or even socialise. But there was no way one could find out their first tweet, except for scrolling down the long list to see it.

     

    So, to make life easier, Twitter is now taking people on a nostalgic ride.

     

    And as many people are busy finding out their own first tweets, we bring to you a list of the first tweets by the media biggies.

     

    @rupertmurdoch: Have just. Read The Rational Optimist. Great book.

     

    @ManishTewari Good Morning world on Dec 7 th 2012
     

    @SrBachchan: @juniorbachchan hey baby !! I made it on twitter !!! Yeeaaaaaahhhh !! … sorry..just got carried away ..safe onward flight and love

     

    @sachin_rt: Finally the original SRT is on twitter n the first thing I’d like to do is wish my colleagues the best in the windies,

     

    @iamsrk: hi everyone. being extremely shy i never thought i would be here. but my friend @kjohar25 insisted that i should learn to share my life.

     

    @punit_goenka: #MaryKom is the perfect example of what ZEE has always stood for – empowering people! May she bring home the gold medal!

     

    @cvlsrinivas: ’tis bird has flown..

     

    @haritnagpal: Finally on Twitter too!

     

    @SunilLulla: Hectic Parleying Before The Weekend That My Daughter Moves Cities

     

    @rajcheerfull:  Fireworks must be banned and If it cant be done then it should only be allowed in public places like playgrounds, beach, parks etc.

     

    @jawharsircar: RBI monitoring situation: Subbarao http://bit.ly/KhG0QO

     

    @BeingSalmanKhan: Arbaaz ne kaha ke tweet kar toh banta hai boss

     

    @NSaina: Entering the world of Twitter for the first time! Looking forward to great interactions with Fans!!! So here goes my first tweet! 🙂

     

    @ShereenYT: Young Turks Awarded For Consistent Coverage Of Innovation& Social Entrepreneurship At The unconvention Summit In Chennai

     

    @itsmeanuj: nothing is happening…dont know if i am waiting for something to happen…

     

    @parthodasgupta: off to delhi tom

     

    @Rajesh_sethi Indian Govt’s fiscal deficit may be harder to reign in than popularly envisaged. How will Govt reduce expenditure & still be populist ? #in

     

    @vikramchandra checking mail

     

    @ramankalra1 DND limiting Sabeer Bhatia’s next big idea of free global txtng…#TRAI listening? …#Infocom2011

     

    @AjitkThakur: Back on twitter after months. Under pressure from team to do some Life OK tweets! For now just saying life is OK @LifeOKTV

     

    @LloydMathias: hanging loose

     

    @nairsameer: Japs outsourcing to India…with Japan’s aging populace producing few new engineers, there is a real business opportunity here.

     

    @FRIEDFOODBRAIN:  Spilled ink on my pants. No really, it’s ink. The kind that helps a pen make squiggly lines that the learned called writing. Yup that ink.

     

    @ bhogleharsha: @Nagaraju_Dovari i do too and you do too.and cricketers and authors and singers are no different from you and me

     

    @Lk_Gupta: Ganpati statues on trucks n guys dancg arnd thm wth branches brokn fm trees. Wot?!

     

    @Sanjay_Tripathy: Going to watch the movie ‘Seven Pounds’

     

    @shaileshkapoor: Checking Twitter out!

     

    @kvpops: This is my new account. Henceforth i shall tweet from this id

  • Punit Goenka crowned ‘Entrepreneur of the year’

    Punit Goenka crowned ‘Entrepreneur of the year’

    MUMBAI: Enterprise Asia conferred the esteemed title of ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ on Mr. Punit Goenka, MD & CEO of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) at the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards 2014 which was held on 4th March 2014 in New Delhi. The award was presented to Mr. Goenka by former Chief Election Commissioner Dr. GV Krishnamurthy.

     

    The prestigious Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards (APEA) recognises and honors business leaders who have shown outstanding performance and tenacity in developing successful businesses within the region. Mr. Goenka was bestowed this award for leading an ever-growing media conglomerate with passion and determination.

     

    On receiving the award, Mr. Goenka said, “I accept this award on behalf of the entire ZEE Family, for it is the result of their hard work and dedication. Our visionary Chairman, Mr. Subhash Chandra, pioneered the private Satellite Television Industry way back in the year 1992, and has proven the importance of foreseeing the market demands well in advance, setting higher benchmarks of entrepreneurship for all of us at ZEE. With great pride, the entire ZEE Family aspires to take his vision forward.”

     

    Mr. Goenka further commented, “During the initial days of my career at ZEE, I came across this beautiful quote on ‘Entrepreneurship’ by Peter Drucker, which said that ‘A true entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.’  In my opinion, it is the best definition of a true entrepreneur in today’s era. An Entrepreneur in this era, has to be all ears to these ever-rising demands of today’s consumers across the globe, and has to satisfy the consumers, by proactively presenting them, the customized offerings. This evening, I believe is a celebration of this entrepreneurial spirit, across Asia Pacific, and I am glad to be a part of it.”

  • Q3: Digitisation boosts broadcasters’ revenues

    Q3: Digitisation boosts broadcasters’ revenues

    MUMBAI: Digitisation of cable TV services in major cities has helped broadcasters improve their income from subscriptions in the third quarter ended 31 December, 2013, but the cap on advertising has hit some of them badly as the regulation got implemented at the beginning of the quarter.

     

    The advertising revenues of the industry rose by about 10 per cent in the third quarter, largely on account of robust growth at general entertainment channels (GECs), according to analysts.

     

    ADVERTISING REVENUE

     

    Sun TV saw its advertising revenue fall 7.2 per cent on year to Rs 272 crore in the third quarter, as the cap on advertising hurt the leading television network from south India. The fall in Sun TV’s advertising revenue was despite an increase in advertising rates, analysts said.

     

    GroupM’s Senior Director, Analytics, Central Trading Group, Harsh Deep Chhabra, says news channels are expected to take a bigger hit than the GECs because of the ad cap. While the impact of the advertising cap on news channel could be as high as up to 35 per cent, it could be 10-15 per cent on GECs.

     

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises’ ex-sports advertisement revenue growth was more than 20 per cent year on year, due to gains in market shares and launch of new channels.

     

    Barring the short-term impact of reduction in advertising inventory, advertising spends on television are expected to grow in healthy double digits over the next many years, according to Zee Entertainment Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Punit Goenka.

     

    The advertising revenue growth at Zee Media, which has a group of general and business news channels, was 3.1 per cent at Rs 61.39 crore in the third quarter, against its subscription revenue growth of 21.6% at Rs 270 crore.

     

    The third quarter had seen relaunch of Zee News channel with refreshed programming and look.

     

    TV18 Broadcast’s consolidated advertising revenues grew 3 per cent year on year, as entertainment channels led by Colors and MTV delivered strong double digit advertising revenue growth. Advertising environment for news and infotainment continued to be sluggish.

     

    In the first half of 2013-14 too, advertising revenues at TV18 Broadcast had grown by 3 per cent year on year, with the advertising revenues at Colors growing by more than 15 per cent.

     

    SUBSCRIPTION REVENUE

     

    Sun TV’s subscription revenues rose 27% year on year to Rs 167 crore in the third quarter, basically driven by a 45.9% increase in analogue subscription revenue and a 19.6% rise in direct-to-home subscription revenue. The company expects robust growth in subscription revenue to continue as the full benefits of phase I and Phase II digitisation of cable TV are yet to be reflected as Chennai and Coimbatore are yet to be fully digitised.

     

    The Chennai-based broadcaster’s operating profit margin came under pressure because of higher cost of content, in addition to a decline in advertising revenue.  Multiple non-fiction shows telecast during the quarter led to a 428 basis points year-on-year contraction in operating margin to 73.6%, according to a results update by Angel Broking.

     

    It said Sun TV management expects content cost to go down in the next quarter as no non-fiction shows are planned to be telecast in the fourth quarter of 2013-14.

     

    TV18’s net distribution income (subscription revenues minus carriage/placement fees) continued to grow steadily. In the third quarter, the net distribution income was  Rs 43.6 crore, a growth of 145 per cent year on year.

     

    Zee Entertainment’s subscription revenues were up 11.4 per cent year on year to Rs 456.50 crore in the third quarter. The company’s domestic subscription revenues grew by 12.2 per cent year on year to Rs 332.20 crore in the third quarter.

     

    ZEE Media’s subscription revenue was up 21.6 per cent year on year at Rs 270 crore in the third quarter.

     

    New Delhi Television did not provide a break-up of its revenues from its broadcast operations. The news broadcaster said its Hindi news business remains buoyant with NDTV India reporting robust revenue growth. NDTV only said its revenues from broadcast operations in the third quarter were up 22 per cent year on year at Rs 131.02 crore.

     

    B.A.G. Films & Media reported improved a 29.1 per cent year on year rise in operating revenue to Rs 23.60 crore in the third quarter. The break-up of the revenue was not available.

     

    OPERATING PERFORMANCE:

     

    TV18 Broadcast reported its highest ever quarterly operating profit at Rs 77.5 crore, up 61 per cent year on year. Its net distribution income continued to grow steadily. In the third quarter, the net distribution income was  Rs 43.6 crore, a growth of 145 per cent year on year.

     

    On a proforma basis, including the results of ETV Entertainment, TV18 Broadcast’s operating profit was Rs 108.1 crore. ETV Entertainment reported a sharp reduction in losses compared to the previous two quarters as programming and marketing investments made in the first half led to an upswing in ratings and revenues.

     

    NDTV’s reported Rs 3.29 crore of operating profit in the third quarter against an operating loss of Rs 1.98 crore a year ago.

     

    B.A.G. Films too had an operating profit (of Rs 8.56 crore) in the third quarter against operating loss of Rs 1.51 crore a year earlier.

     

    Zee Entertainment’s operating profit in the third quarter was Rs 290.70 crore, up 11.3 per cent despite operating profit margin contracting to 24.5 per cent from 27.8 per cent a year ago.

     

    Sun TV’s operating profit fell 1.1 per cent year on year to Rs 372 crore in the third quarter, as its revenues were impacted by fall in advertising revenue and increase in content cost due to reality shows.

  • CASBAA India Forum 2014 Indian Content: Going Global?

    CASBAA India Forum 2014 Indian Content: Going Global?

    MUMBAI: CASBAA’s annual India Forum will take place on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at the Shangri-La New Delhi where an international and local roster of high-level speakers will explore the Indian cable and broadcasting markets in the context of the global economy and challenging regulatory regimes.

     

    “With over 146 million non-terrestrial TV connections in the country representing a 92 per cent reach of the population and multichannel TV accounting for nearly 90 per cent of TV advertising, India continues to be one of the most important markets in the Asia Pacific,” said Christopher Slaughter, CEO, CASBAA. “But to be truly successful nowadays, it takes more than doing well in your own back yard. This year’s forum will explore what it takes to be factor on the global stage.”

     

    Bringing their unparalleled knowledge and experience, thought-leaders representing the many facets of the broadcasting industry will participate in a variety of keynotes, panel discussions and conversations to explore the India market. Confirmed guests for 2014, up to now, include Dr. Rahul Khullar (Chairman, TRAI), Terry Bleakley (Regional VP, Asia Pacific Sales, Intelsat), Paul Brown-Kenyon (CEO, MEASAT), Thomas Choi (CEO, Asia Broadcast Satellite), Jawahar Goel (MD, Dish TV), Punit Goenka (MD & CEO, Zee Entertainment), Siddharth Jain (MD, South Asia, Turner International India), Bharat Ranga (Chief Content & Creative Officer, Zee Network), Narayan Rao (Exe. Vice-Chairperson, NDTV; President, NBA), Shailesh Shah (Secretary-General, IBF) and many others.

     

    Themed “Indian Content: Going Global?”, the forum programme will provide a platform to look inwards on issues such as the ongoing digitization of country’s cable networks and the state of the DTH industry as well as global matters including foreign direct investment and the ‘internationalisation’ of Indian content.

     

    The CASBAA India Forum 2014 continues the Association’s mandate to inform, represent and connect its membership base with key market influencers in the multichannel TV sphere.

    The CASBAA India Forum 2014 recognizes Supporting Sponsor SES and Sponsors AsiaSat, Eutelsat and MEASAT for their generous participation at this year’s event.

     

    For more information about the event, please visit http://www.casbaa.com/events/events-calendar/details/431-casbaa-india-forum-2014.

  • Zeel reports 10 per cent higher y-o-y PAT for Q3-2014

    Zeel reports 10 per cent higher y-o-y PAT for Q3-2014

    BENGALURU: The Subhash Chandra led content and broadcast player Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) reported an improvement by about 10.5 per cent in consolidated Q3-2014 PAT at Rs.213.59 crores as compared to the Rs.193.3 crores for the corresponding period last year on the back of a 26.5 per cent jump in consolidated total income from operations at Rs.1188.36 crores for Q3-2014. The company had reported consolidated total income of Rs.938,82 crores for Q3-2013.

     

    Consolidated PAT for the current quarter was however lower by 9.6 per cent than the Rs.236.27 crores the company had reported for immediate preceding quarter. Zeel had reported 8 per cent lower consolidated total income at Rs.1101.28 crores for Q2-2014 as compared to Q3-2014.

     

    Zeel has two main revenue streams – advertising sales and subscription revenues, the third revenue stream – with sales and services contributing a small fraction to the overall revenue. All the three streams saw healthy y-o-y growth for Q3-2014.

     

    Lower q-o-q consolidated Other Income, an increase in operating cost and other expenses were the chief reasons for the q-o-q consolidated PAT. Sports business revenue in Q3-2014 was Rs.191.5 crores against an expense of Rs.295.6 crores, hence wiping out Rs.104.1 crores from the profit figures reported by the company.

     

    Let us look at the other Q3-2014 results reported by Zeel

     

    Advertising revenue jumped 34 per cent to Rs 684.3 crore for Q3-2014 as compared to the Rs 509.4 crore for Q3-2013 and 17.3 per cent higher than the Rs 583.3 crore for Q2-2014.

     

    Subscription revenue for Q3-2014 at Rs 456.5 crore was 11.4 per cent higher than the Rs 409.8 crore for Q3-2013, but 0.3 per cent lower than the Rs 458.1 crore for Q2-2014. Domestic subscription revenue at Rs 332.2 crore for Q3-2014 showed an increase of 12.2 per cent over the corresponding period of last year, but was 8.3 per cent lower than the Rs 335 crore for Q2-2014. International subscription revenue at Rs 124.3 crore for Q3-2014 was 9.4 per cent higher than the corresponding period of last year and 1 per cent higher than the Rs 123.1 crore for Q2-2014.

     

    Other sales and services income at Rs 47.6 for Q3-2014 crore was more than double (2.416 times) the Rs 19.7 crore for Q3-2013, but 20.5 per cent lower than the Rs 59.9 crore for Q2-2014.

     

    Zeel’s overall expense for Q3-2014 increased y-o-y by 32.5 per cent to Rs 897.6 crore from Rs 677.7 crore in Q3-2013 and 13.5 per cent higher than the Rs 790.8 crore for Q2-2014.

     

    The company reported a sharp increase of 45.6 per cent in operating cost at Rs 609.5 crore as compared to the Rs 418.5 crore for Q3-2013 and 20.8 per cent higher than the Rs 504.1 crore for Q2-2014. The company attributes this higher operating cost to higher programming cost on account of big sporting events in the quarter.

     

    Selling and other expenses for Q3-2014 also increased by 13.3 per cent to Rs 192.3 crore from Rs.169.7 crore in Q3-2013 and 4.8 per cent higher than the Rs 187.5 crore for Q2-2014.

     

    Said Chandra, “While the overall economic environment stays challenging, Zeel continues to grow its business at a healthy pace. The network shares are on an uptrend, buoyed with the addition of new channels in the network. Our investments in sports channels continued during the quarter. We also look to expand our portfolio to take advantage of growth opportunities ahead of us.”

     

    Zeel managing director and CEO Punit Goenka said, “The two new launches &pictures and Zee Anmol have made handsome gains and added to the network strength. Operating margins were lower due to higher losses in sports business due to a heavy event calendar. Rupee depreciation earlier this year also had a negative impact on sports business performance. We are hopeful of an improved sports performance in the years ahead.”

     

    Click here for full report