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Tag: Punit Goenka

  • BARC signs deal with Médiamétrie today

    BARC signs deal with Médiamétrie today

    MUMBAI: It was just last week that the  Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) notified the TV ratings agency registration regulations. And the industry-backed Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) reps were summoned to New Delhi to give the ministry an update on how much progress has been made on the new proposed TV ratings system for India. They did. Today, BARC also gave the press an insight into how far down the road it has gone.

     

    Indiantelevision.com was the first to report that  BARC had chosen  French audience measurement company Médiamétrie as its ratings partner. No cofirmations came from BARC. But today its chairman Punit Goenka  announced that Médiamétrie is indeed BARC’s official technology partner and will also provide licences to BARC to use its TV metering system.

    “Médiamétrie has an in-house research team that helps it to understand the needs of the industry just as how BARC realises what the industry needs. I have heard people ask that BARC is just barking but when will it bite? But now I say we are here to bite!” Goenka remarked candidly while signing the deal at Mumbai’s ITC Grand Central hotel. Médiamétrie will assist the council in procuring its own metering hardware.

     

    The French audience measurement system will be providing the audio watermarking technology to BARC to monitor TV consumption through its 20,000 strong panel. “Médiamétrie wrote to BARC months back. It uses watermarking technology so it is very accurate and can measure data when it is simulcast. Meters are easy to make so we spoke to agencies and advertisers in France to do our background study on Médiamétrie. It is a landmark day for us,” said BARC tech committee chairman Shashi Sinha.

     

    Sinha also stated that the new ratings system should be up and running by 1 October, 2014. “Around 25 vendors approached us out of which we shortlisted four to five. We have got the best of vendors, technology and price of meters. The most important thing for us is transparency,” he said. It will soon be announcing media partners as well.

     

    BARC has been scouting for a technology partner since several months now and finally it has concluded the deal with the French company. BARC CEO Partho Das Gupta said at the conference: “Since the past few months we have been researching the tech we should use and have finally selected the right one.”

     

    Present at the conference was also Médiamétrie senior VP Benoit Cassaigne who was excited to be a part of the deal. “We are among the top five companies in the world and the leading research company in France,” he said.

     

    Goenka emphasised that since BARC is a non-profit body, broadcasters will comply with it. “We are not here to make profits, we are here to help the industry,” he said.

    However, no one was willing to talk about the future of TAM. “We hope there is no ratings blackout in the coming months, but if there is then it can’t be helped. We are working towards getting a better system,” he added.

     

    Star India COO Sanjay Gupta says that TAM and government need to sit and decide now. “Advertisers are obviously worried as to what will happen if there is no rating system in place. Maybe they will look at the past ratings and set prices,” he said.

     

    The contract with Médiamétrie has been signed for a 1+5 year term. The Council says it is totally  open to regular external audits. The funding to put up the new system in place has been divided as follows: 60 per cent Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), 20 per cent ISA and 20 per cent Indian Advertisers Agencies Association of India (AAAI).

     

  • Zee Cine Awards scales up for 2014

    Zee Cine Awards scales up for 2014

    MUMBAI: All roads and the biggest names in Indian cinema and television converge at Mumbai’s Film City on 8 February this year. Reason is the 14th edition of the Zee Cine Awards aka the ‘World’s Biggest Viewers’ Choice Awards’ to be held there.

     

    Among A-list acts, Shah Rukh Khan will perform to some of the hit numbers from his films including Lungi Dance, 1234 and so on. This year, Lux Cozi has been roped in as title sponsor. Additionally, the network is pitching for a special partner and looking for more sponsors across categories.

     

    The Zee Cine Awards, started in 1998, were the first ever awards to be introduced by a television network and have since grown into an institution of sorts.

     

    Exults Zeel managing director and CEO Punit Goenka: “Zee Cine Awards is a property with growing global reach and audience share. The success of this award over the years makes it an indispensable component of advertisers’ media mix and this year, they will further leverage it across the network’s varied channels.”

     

    This edition of the Zee Cine Awards will see a partnership with the Neeraj Pandey scripted film, Total Siyapaa, starring Ali Zafar and Yami Gautam and several initiatives on this front are to be announced shortly.

     

    Says Goenka: “Every year, the talent recognized by our viewers continues to inspire us with the depth and richness that the Hindi film fraternity represents. We will support extraordinary new films that need a platform like Zee Cine awards to showcase them to the industry, and that’s why we are pleased to support Total Siyapaa. We are looking forward to celebrating their achievements in a fittingly glamorous way at the awards.”

     

    What also makes the Zee Cine Awards unique is that viewers’ votes decide winners. For instance, last year’s awards drew an unprecedented over 4.5 million votes from across the globe. This year too, in keeping with its promise Haq Hai Aapka, the network will only declare nominees across popular categories and then pass the baton of selecting Best Actor, Best Film and so on to its loyal audience through a transparent and hassle-free voting mechanism.

     

    As Zeel chief sales officer Ashish Sehgal puts it: “We are amongst the first broadcasters to come up with an award like this. And secondly, we were the only ones to give them out as per viewers’ voting. Earlier, all the awards were constituted by film magazines – be it Screen or Filmfares.”

     

    Significantly, the Zee Cine Awards 2014 will be telecast on 23 February on multiple channels (Zee TV, Zee Anmol, Zee Tamizh, Zee Cafe etc.) across multiple geographies in different languages and genres, with a programming reach of over 700+ million viewers across 168 countries.

     

    So why are the Zee Cine Awards being held in Mumbai for the second consecutive year after creating a worldwide footprint across destinations like Singapore, London, Mauritius and Dubai?

     

    Replies Sehgal: “With almost all awards airing overseas, after a long period, we brought it back to India, thinking we should give a chance to Indian audiences also.”

     

    Zee Network is pulling out all stops to promote one of its biggest properties across platforms.

     

    Viewers can log onto www.zeecineawards.com for a visual treat that traces the journey of the awards from 1998 through 2000 and till date, complete with over 2000 exclusive photographs and over 500 videos showcasing some of the best performances, award acceptance speeches, Kodak moments and behind-the-scenes buzz.

     

    Apart from this, the awards will be promoted on all network channels, giving advertisers an opportunity to reach out to different audiences across categories. Digitally too, the awards will be promoted in a big way with SRK’s performance as one of the highlights.

     

    With the channel having achieved its targeted revenue of Rs 300 million last year, what is the target for this year, given there are restrictions on inventories unlike last time. Apparently, the network plans to make the extra moolah by showcasing the event on Zee’s HD channels as well (Zee HD, Zee Cinema HD and Zee Café HD). “Given the restrictions on inventories, the only thing that can go up is pricing,” says Sehgal.

     

    “This year, we are looking at kind of maintaining those revenues because we believe they are the highest revenues generated by an award show. The advantage we have this year is we can make extra money by showcasing these awards on our HD channels (Zee, Zee Cinema HD and also Zee Café). For evolved and discerning audiences, we are selling it separately. Though title and powered by will be common in both the channels, there will be more numbers of associate sponsors separately,” signs off Sehgal.

  • ZEE confirmed as Title Sponsor for 2014 Jaipur Literature Festival

    ZEE confirmed as Title Sponsor for 2014 Jaipur Literature Festival

    MUMBAI: The Jaipur Literature Festival has announced ZEE Entertainment as the new title sponsor for the 2014 Festival, taking place next week between 17 – 21 January 2014. The Festival will now be known as the ‘ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival’.

     

    Launched in 1992, ZEE is one of the largest media organisations in the world, entertaining over 700 million viewers across the globe weekly. Their sponsorship of the Festival furthers their commitment to quality entertainment in Indian languages, at home and abroad.

     

    The Festival, which is now in its seventh edition, will welcome a wealth of world-class literary talent next week, including Jonathan Franzen, Jumpha Lahiri, Amartya Sen, Harold Varmus, Tash Aw, Samantha Shannon and Reza Aslan.

     

    Inspired with this thought, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – (The World is my Family), ZEE has partnered with the Jaipur Literature Festival to extend its commitment to the Arts and culture, by bringing Festival audience and visitors the best literary minds from across India and the world.

     

    Mr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, said, “Literature, as they rightly say, preserves our cultural ideals, customs and morals. ZEE has been the cultural ambassador of our nation to the rest of the world for over two decades. Our traditions and rich culture, weaved into our content, reaches over 700+ million viewers across the globe. Our brand positioning – Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, resonates this effort of ours, to unify the diverse cultures and traditions across the world into one Family. Celebrating this legacy further, we are extremely proud to associate with Jaipur Literature Festival.”

     

    Mr. Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, commented “ZEE has redefined itself from being a broadcaster to a content company. We at ZEE, believe that one has to constantly innovate and offer creative content solutions to audiences to enhance their engagement. The ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival association further strengthens our endeavour in creating compelling and engaging story telling for our viewers.”

     

    Sanjoy K. Roy, Producer of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival, said: “We are thrilled to welcome ZEE Entertainment as title sponsor to the Jaipur Literature Festival, the world’s largest free literary festival. Their support will allow us to keep the Festival open to all, whilst bringing a wealth of world class talent to Jaipur each year. We look forward to a strong partnership as the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival.”

  • Zee TV felicitates good shows of rival channels

    Zee TV felicitates good shows of rival channels

    MUMBAI: Over the last 21 years, Zee TV has entertained its viewers around the world with a variety of shows. The channel that is known to have been a trendsetter has done something remarkable once again. Acknowledging the presence of good shows on other General Entertainment Channels (GECs), at the recently held annual Zee Rishtey Awards 2013, Zee TV gave away the ‘Zee Anmol Ratna Awards’ to three shows on rival channels.

    The three shows that were honored at the awards ceremony by Zeel managing director and CEO Punit Goenka, included Star Plus’ Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Colors’ Balika Vadhu and Sab’s Taraak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. The channel awarded the shows for their impact of being original, creative and finely crafted works of fiction that continue to entertain audiences on television.

    Punit Goenka felicitating Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma

    The awards were given to the people behind these three shows – Rajan Shahi (Director’s Kut Productions) for producing Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Purnendu Shekhar, the writer of Balika Vadhu along with Asit Modi (Neela Telefilms), and Disha Vakharia, the producer and lead actress of Taraak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah.

    Zee’s brand philosophy, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, is all encompassing as it embraces everyone in the world as a part of its family. This has been taken one step ahead by the ‘Zee Anmol Ratna Awards’.

    Talking about it, Goenka said: “At Zee Rishtey Awards, we come to celebrate our relationship with our viewers but we also know that our viewers have a long standing relationship with shows from other channels…it’s time to acknowledge them.”

    Excited at receiving the award, Shahi opined: “It is a very big honour to be receiving an award from Zee TV as in my career of 20 years, my best work has been on Zee and after a gap of four years, I am coming back with a new show on the channel.” 

    Punit Goenka felicitating Purnendu Shekar, writer of Balika Vadhu

    Shekhar said: “This award is extremely special.. Balika Vadhu has received various awards but this is the first time that I am taking away an award for the show from a competition channel. This is the first time ever that any channel has done it, and it is none other than Zee and hence proves that they were pioneers, are pioneers and will always be pioneers in the industry. My association with Zee goes back to the days of a very popular show called Amaanat. I have also written the script for another show on Zee called Saat Phere, which was equally big and won equal number of accolades as Balika Vadhu. At Zee, it always feels like I’m returning home.”

    Modi added, “It is a big honour to be awarded by a competitor channel and it just proves that our bond with Zee TV is eternal. I would like to thank Zee and the entire team.”

    Zee Rishtey Awards, 2013 will be telecast on 1 December at 8:00 pm on Zee TV.

  • Zeel Q2-2014 results exceed Q2-2013 results

    Zeel Q2-2014 results exceed Q2-2013 results

    BENGALURU:  The Subhash Chandra led content and broadcast player Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) reported total income from operations of Rs 1,101.28 crore for Q2-2014, up 15.5 per cent as compared to the Rs 953.50 crore for the corresponding quarter of FY-2013  and  13.2 per cent higher than the Rs 973.25 crore for the preceding quarter Q1-2014. PAT for Q2-2014 at Rs 236.31 crore was 26 per cent higher than the Rs 186.7 crore for Q2-2013 and 5.5 per cent more than the Rs 223.9 crore for Q1-2014.

    Let’s take a look at Zeel’s Q2-2014 performance

    Advertising revenue for Q2-2014 at Rs 583.3 crore was 10.5 per cent higher than the Rs 528.1 crore for Q2-2013 and 10 per cent more than the Rs 530.1 crore for Q1-2014. Zeel claims that without sports, its ad revenues would have grown by more than 20 per cent in Q2-2014 as compared to Q2-2013.

    Zeel’s subscription revenue jumped 16 per cent in Q2-2014 to Rs 458.1 crore from Rs 394.95 crore in Q2-2013 and was higher by eight per cent as compared to the Rs 424.1 crore for Q1-2014.

    The company’s total expense for Q2-2014 at Rs 799.9 crore was 7.3 per cent more than the Rs 745.4 crore for Q2-2013, and 15.9 per cent more than the Rs 690.4 crore during Q1-2014. Operating cost which formed a major chunk of expense for Q2-2014 at Rs 504.1 crore was 5.2 per cent more than the Rs 479 crore for Q2-2013, and substantially higher by 22.7 per cent as compared to the Rs 410.8 crore for Q1-2014.

    Selling and other expense for Q2-2014 at Rs 187.5 crore was 24 per cent more than the Rs 169.5 crore for Q2-2014.

    Zeel chairman Subhash Chandra said, “The M&E industry growth is marginally impacted by the overall slowdown of the economy. The television sector, in particular, continues to grow on the back of better subscriber growth linked to increasing digitisation. There was an apprehension about the trends in advertising spends given the overall weakness in the economy, but the television media industry has continued to grow in double digits during the second quarter. Zeel has outpaced the industry advertising revenue growth once again.”

    Zeel managing director and CEO Punit Goenka said, “Sports performance for the quarter has been good, but due to a heavy sports calendar and rupee depreciation, the business is expected to be in losses for some time to come.”

    “Beginning next quarter, we will see a reduction in advertising inventory across the network in line with TRAI regulations. We are in the process of negotiations with advertisers and are confident that this will not have any major impact on revenue monetization. Digitisation will lead to fragmentation of audiences. At Zeel, we believe that this creates a huge opportunity to create new products for specific segments, which will allow us to monetise this opportunity, both from advertising and subscription standpoint. Therefore, we continue to innovate in terms of our format and content,” added Goenka.

  • At Zee, we dont believe in growth without profitability : Punit Goenka MD & CEO Zeel

    At Zee, we dont believe in growth without profitability : Punit Goenka MD & CEO Zeel

    Mipcom is the biggest event for all those in the broadcast industry. But this years Mipcom was even more special. For the first time in the history of Mipcom, an Indian addressed the gathering as a key note speaker. Present today was Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka, who elaborated on Zee, the changing Indian broadcast industry and the role of digitisation and the growth of new media.

    Digitisation is one big opportunity that everyone is looking at. It will also impact the advertising market positively. If you look at the advertising market; the growth in the past five years has been roughly nine per cent and television has been growing at 15 to 16 per cent. The advertising industry will see a great boost whether it is captured on traditional media or new media.

    Zee Entertainment Television was started in 1992 with just two hours of programming scheduled at that point of time; today we have 34 channels in India, 29 on a global basis.
    Our journey outside India started in 1995 so the international business is now 18 years old, but truly, the international business started only a few years back. In the first 15 years, we concentrated on the Indian diaspora.

    In the international market, to start with, we picked up the Middle East, Russia and Malaysia, where our content is re-purposed and re-formatted to suit the local audience. Our goal is to reach one billion audiences by 2020, thereby taking Zee to the top ten channels. These markets have a lot of connection with India, especially on the Bollywood side.

     

    Opportunities ahead of digitisation in India

     

    In the traditional analogue market, there was huge piracy, approximately 70 per cent. So a broadcaster like Zee did not get its fair share of valuation. This will change with digitisation.

    The second opportunity is that India is still the cheapest content market. The ARPUs that the consumers pay is $ 3 per month for almost 200 channels. I feel this number will go up to $ 10-12 with digitisation. So the opportunity is two-fold.

    Digitisation is one big opportunity that everyone is looking at. It will also impact the advertising market positively. If you look at the advertising market; the growth in the past five years has been roughly nine per cent and television has been growing at 15 to 16 per cent. The advertising industry will see a great boost whether it is captured on traditional media or new media.

    Another development taking shape in India is the new measuring body called Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). The advertisers, broadcasters and agencies have come together to form this measurement system. Currently, the sample size in India is less than 10,000 homes, which in the next five years will go up to 100,000 sample households. This again will prove beneficial for advertisers who can find the right consumers.

     

    The profit mantra…

     

    Revenue growth is first and profitability comes in later. But at Zee, we have always followed the mantra that growth without profitability is not good. So according to us, any investment on a sustained basis that does not give a 20-25 per cent return on the capital invested is a bad investment. So when the Indian broadcast industry operates at an average of seven to eight per cent, Zee operates at a healthy 25 per cent plus.

     

    Viewer segmentation…

     

    Going forward, both digitisation and the need of advertisers will lead to further segmentation. Also, fragmentation is the order of the day. We are continually developing more content and more products to further segment the audience and grow and reach the billion mark.

    As long as there are consumers at the end of it; yes, we will move to the second screen. In India, the concept of second screen is at an early stage. It is largely the same content that is being reformatted. For example a show which is 40 minutes on traditional media, is shortened to 15 minutes for the small screen or second screen. There have been some investments specifically for this content, largely to get the youth. But, this is still at an early stage. 

     

    Content creation…

     

    We have a strong internal team working towards ideation and content creation for shows. India is traditionally known for importing formats, Zee was the first one to develop local formats in India. A lot of credit goes to the in-house team, but the credit also goes to the execution department, because investing in formats is not easy, it is expensive and the returns come in only after three or four years. So we have to continuously innovate in terms of our content and formats. The taste changes and so we have to adapt to the changing needs.

     

    Criteria for choosing international partners…

     

    The first thing we see is if my partner shares the same passion and vision. The world today is moving towards more co-operation than competition. We are actually collaborating with our competitors to see how we can mutually create content. So we have partnered with our key competitors in India. So as long as the industry grows, a company like Zee will grow.

     

    Indian talent pool…

     

    India has a dearth of talent in this industry and this is because there are no specialised schools to train people. We at Zee recruit fresh talent every year and put them through rigorous training through institutes that we have partnered with. We have created an environment where people are given the right to decide and build a culture of entrepreneurship. And therefore they take ownership which leads to positive results. I have been talking to schools as well to see if a programme can be created to develop this pool.

     

    Attrition rate in the Indian broadcast industry…

     

    Being a traded organisation, we can give equity stock options to people and that has worked for us. Currently, almost three per cent of the company is owned by the people and this combined with the environment that we create helps us keep the attrition rate as low as possible. In India, people are still moving within the Indian broadcast industry. We are not really seeing too many attritions happening from Indian companies to international markets, but the day isnt far.

     

    Moving towards second screen…

     

    As long as there are consumers at the end of it; yes, we will move to the second screen. In India, the concept of second screen is at an early stage. It is largely the same content that is being reformatted. For example a show which is 40 minutes on traditional media, is shortened to 15 minutes for the small screen or second screen. There have been some investments specifically for this content, largely to get the youth. But, this is still at an early stage. As a content creator, we will catch up soon. We were the first in the country to launch a Video on Demand service on mobile called Ditto TV, under a subscription model. Today we have 200,000 subscribers for it. I think the biggest hindrance is lack of a good broadband service. As the infrastructure improves, in the next three to five years, we will grow in this segment as well.

  • Alok Agarwal replaces Barun Das as Zee News Ltd CEO

    Alok Agarwal replaces Barun Das as Zee News Ltd CEO

    MUMBAI: Alok Agarwal is replacing Barun Das as chief executive officer of Zee News Ltd (ZNL) with effect from 1 October.

    Das, who had a five-year stint has resigned and will be serving his notice period. He will complete the handover formalities to Agarwal.

    ZNL managing director Punit Goenka said, “Over the last five years, Barun has contributed immensely to the growth of Zee News and taken the company to greater heights. We wish him the best for his future endeavour.”

    Agrawal, an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and MBA from IIM Bangalore, moves in from CHEIL where he held the position of chief operating officer. He comes with a rich experience of over 22 years.

    Said Goenka, “We welcome Alok into the Zee News family. His rich experience in the media domain would help us take Zee News to the next level of growth.”

  • ZMCL reports 112 per cent PAT growth in Q1-2014 compared to Q1-2013

    ZMCL reports 112 per cent PAT growth in Q1-2014 compared to Q1-2013

    BENGALURU: Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL), formerly Zee News Limited announced good growth figures for Q1-2014 as compared to Q1-2013, but middling to flat and lower results when compared to the previous quarter Q4-2013. The Company owns and operates seven news/current affairs and regional language channels, namely Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee 24 Gantalu, Zee Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand, Zee Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh and Zee Punjab Haryana Himachal.

     

    Let us take a look at the Q1-2014 figures

     

    ZMCL reported more than doubling of PAT (112 per cent) to Rs 8.51 crore in Q1-2014 as compared to PAT of Rs 4.01 crore in Q1-2013 and a 6.1 per cent growth as compared to Q4-2013.

     

    Operating revenues grew 12.2 per cent (y-o-y) to Rs 77.68 crore in Q1-2014 as compared to Rs 68.88 crore reported in Q1-2013. However, ZMCL’s operating revenues for Q1-2014 were 1.7 per cent lower than the Rs 79.04 crore reported for Q4-2013. Income from operations at Rs 70.2 crore in Q1-2014 grew 16.4 per cent from Rs 60.286 crore in Q1-2013.

     

    Advertising revenues which constituted 68.1 per cent of the total revenues for Q1-2014 grew 14.2 per cent (y-o-y) to Rs 52.9 crore as compared to Rs 46.32 crore (67.2 per cent of total revenues for the quarter) in Q1-2013 and were up 1.4 per cent as compared to the Rs 52.19 crore (66 per cent of the total revenues for the quarter) reported in Q4-2013.

     

    Subscription revenues in Q1-2014 also grew, albeit at a higher rate of 19.3 per cent to Rs 21 crore (27 per cent of the total revenues for the quarter) as compared to the Rs 17.6 crore (25.6 per cent of the total revenues for the quarter) reported for Q1-2013, but were 5.4 per cent lower than the Rs 22.2 crore (28.1 per cent of total revenues for the quarter) ZMCL reported for Q4-2013.

     

    Other sales and services saw a drop of 23.2 per cent to Rs 3.78 crore in Q1-2014 from Rs 4.96 crore reported in Q1-2013 and were 19.2 per cent lower than the Rs 4.68 crore for Q4-2013.

     

    In Q1-2014, total expenses saw a small jump of 7.6 per cent to Rs 68.37 crore from the Rs 63.55 crore reported in Q1-2013 and were 8.1 per cent lower than the Rs 74.4 crore for Q4-2013.

     

    ZMCL director Punit Goenka said, “Our ambition to reach deeper into the lives of our viewers has led us to change our name from Zee News Limited to Zee Media Corporation Limited. We will continue to pursue growth in the untapped regions of our country and provide them with varied news, infotainment and entertainment content across delivery platforms. Apart from the latest launch of Zee Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh, we have also launched Zee Rajasthan recently. The channel has content for all facets of the viewer from Rajasthan, be it crisper local news bulletins, entertainment programmes reflecting the typical lifestyle or discussions on issues related to the common Rajasthani man.”

     

    ZMCL whole-time director Alok Agrawal said, “Even as we are aggressively expanding our regional channel bouquet, we have not left sight of our current deliverables. We have made efforts to squeeze even more efficiency out of our operations and have restricted increase of various costs. On the other hand, both Advertising and Subscription Revenues have shown an increase over the last year. We have taken special initiatives related to the content which are expected to yield results in the coming quarters.”

  • ZMCL reports 112 per cent PAT growth in Q1-2014 compared to Q1-2013

    BENGALURU: Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL), formerly Zee News Limited announced good growth figures for Q1-2014 as compared to Q1-2013, but middling to flat and lower results when compared to the previous quarter Q4-2013. The Company owns and operates seven news/current affairs and regional language channels, namely Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee 24 Gantalu, Zee Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand, Zee Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh and Zee Punjab Haryana Himachal.

    Let us take a look at the Q1-2014 figures

    ZMCL reported more than doubling of PAT (112 per cent) to Rs 8.51 crore in Q1-2014 as compared to PAT of Rs 4.01 crore in Q1-2013 and a 6.1 per cent growth as compared to Q4-2013.

    Operating revenues grew 12.2 per cent (y-o-y) to Rs 77.68 crore in Q1-2014 as compared to Rs 68.88 crore reported in Q1-2013. However, ZMCL‘s operating revenues for Q1-2014 were 1.7 per cent lower than the Rs 79.04 crore reported for Q4-2013. Income from operations at Rs 70.2 crore in Q1-2014 grew 16.4 per cent from Rs 60.286 crore in Q1-2013.

    Advertising revenues which constituted 68.1 per cent of the total revenues for Q1-2014 grew 14.2 per cent (y-o-y) to Rs 52.9 crore as compared to Rs 46.32 crore (67.2 per cent of total revenues for the quarter) in Q1-2013 and were up 1.4 per cent as compared to the Rs 52.19 crore (66 per cent of the total revenues for the quarter) reported in Q4-2013.

    Subscription revenues in Q1-2014 also grew, albeit at a higher rate of 19.3 per cent to Rs 21 crore (27 per cent of the total revenues for the quarter) as compared to the Rs 17.6 crore (25.6 per cent of the total revenues for the quarter) reported for Q1-2013, but were 5.4 per cent lower than the Rs 22.2 crore (28.1 per cent of total revenues for the quarter) ZMCL reported for Q4-2013.

    Other sales and services saw a drop of 23.2 per cent to Rs 3.78 crore in Q1-2014 from Rs 4.96 crore reported in Q1-2013 and were 19.2 per cent lower than the Rs 4.68 crore for Q4-2013.

    In Q1-2014, total expenses saw a small jump of 7.6 per cent to Rs 68.37 crore from the Rs 63.55 crore reported in Q1-2013 and were 8.1 per cent lower than the Rs 74.4 crore for Q4-2013.

    ZMCL director Punit Goenka said, “Our ambition to reach deeper into the lives of our viewers has led us to change our name from Zee News Limited to Zee Media Corporation Limited. We will continue to pursue growth in the untapped regions of our country and provide them with varied news, infotainment and entertainment content across delivery platforms. Apart from the latest launch of Zee Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh, we have also launched Zee Rajasthan recently. The channel has content for all facets of the viewer from Rajasthan, be it crisper local news bulletins, entertainment programmes reflecting the typical lifestyle or discussions on issues related to the common Rajasthani man.”

    ZMCL whole-time director Alok Agrawal said, “Even as we are aggressively expanding our regional channel bouquet, we have not left sight of our current deliverables. We have made efforts to squeeze even more efficiency out of our operations and have restricted increase of various costs. On the other hand, both Advertising and Subscription Revenues have shown an increase over the last year. We have taken special initiatives related to the content which are expected to yield results in the coming quarters.”

  • Zeel’s Q1-2014 PAT up by 42.6 per cent (y-o-y)

    Zeel’s Q1-2014 PAT up by 42.6 per cent (y-o-y)

    BENGALURU: Content and broadcast player Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) unaudited results for Q1-2014 reported a growth of 42.6 per cent ( y-o-y) PAT, with a PAT margin of 23 per cent at Rs 223.9 crore as compared to the Rs 157 crore during the corresponding quarter of FY-2013. Consolidated operating revenues were up 15.5 per cent (y-o-y) at Rs 973.3 crore during Q1-2014 from the Rs 843 crore reported for Q1-2013.

    Let’s take a look at Zeel’s Q1-2014 performance

    Advertising revenues for Q1-2014 were higher at Rs 530.1 crore, recording an 18.5 per cent growth over Q1-2013’s Rs 447.2 crore.

    Zeel’s subscription revenues for Q1-2014 were also up by 16.5 per cent at Rs 421.1 crore as compared to the Rs 361.1 crore during corresponding period last year. Zeel’s domestic subscription revenues stood at Rs 316.8 crore (up 26.5 per cent as compared to Q1-2013); while its international subscription revenues were Rs 107.3 crore for Q1-2014 (down 5.6 per cent y-o-y as against Q1-2013.

    Other sales and services revenues were down 39.7 per cent for Q1-2014 at Rs 19.1 crore as compared to Rs 31.7 crore during Q1-2013.

    Zeel’s operating costs increased 9.6 per cent to Rs 410.8 crore for Q1-2014 from Rs 375.7 crore in Q1-2013. Its employee costs increased 7.7 per cent to Rs 95.6 crore from Rs 88.6 crore during Q1-2013. Selling and other expenses saw a 20.7 per cent jump to Rs 175.4 crore during Q1-2014 from Rs 145.3 crore reported in Q1-2013.

    Zeel offered and allotted 55,48,400 equity shares at a price of Rs 119.90 per share upon exercise of ESOP by its employees during Q1-2014. During the AGM held in July 2013, Zeel shareholders passed a special resolution approving enhancement of FII limits in the company beyond the current limit of 49 per cent to the maximum sectorial limit allowed under FDI applicable regulations.

    Zeel chairman Subhash Chandra said, “The economy during the quarter has continued to face challenges due sharp depreciation in rupee against major currencies leading to elevated current account deficit, balance of payment, inflation and adverse fiscal deficit. In spite of this lackluster growth television media industry has posted a comparatively robust growth on back of sustained advertisement spends by the consumer goods sector.”

    “Our performance during the quarter reflects the investments that Zee is making to grow its business and market share. This has been accompanied by a strong improvement in operating performance of the company during the quarter. In a highly competitive space, Zee continues to build its media assets and in the process continues to create value for the shareholders. We have a strong balance sheet and I am confident that we would take advantage of the growth opportunities ahead of us,” added Chandra.

    Zeel managing director and CEO Punit Goenka said, “The subscription revenue during the quarter has shown robust increase and with digitization rollout, will improve medium term. Sports performance for the quarter has been good, but due to heavy sports calendar and rupee depreciation, the business is expected to be in losses for some time.”

    “The phased implementation of Trai regulation with respect to advertising inventory based on clock-hour has started and in expected to be fully in place by the end of second quarter, DAS in phase I and II also moved a step further with MSOs’ making substantial progress in capturing consumer data and taking first steps towards implementing packaging”, added Goenka.

    “While competitive intensity remains high in the Indian television industry, we continue to make efforts towards further enhancing our market share. Our content focused approach combined with better monetization of subscription revenues, will contribute to company delivering steady return in the years ahead”, added Goenka further.