ITV

Tag: Subhash Chandra

  • Zee Kannada’s kerchief campaign draws good response

    Zee Kannada’s kerchief campaign draws good response

    MUMBAI: The handkerchief signature campaign on Zee Kannada is said to have drawn a good response from people across the country.

    The campaign was kicked off by Essel Group and Zee Network chairman Subhash Chandra signing the first handkerchief followed by Chief Minister H D Kumarswamy, Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, other personalities in the state such as Home Minister M P Prakash, Infosys Member of the Board & Director HR Mohandas Pai, Jain Group of Institutions chairman, Chenraj Jain state artiste Umashree and swimmer Nisha Millet amongst others who wanted to express their solidarity with the Indian cricket team by signing wishes on their handkerchiefs.

    Zee Kannada’s ‘Handkerchief Signature Campaign’ team has been traveling across Karnataka collecting wishes to be passed on to the Indian players.

    The channel has already received good response from several schools, colleges, NGOs, institutes for the physically challenged, malls, theatres and Government offices.

  • Zee Kannada supports Men in Blue through signature campaign

    Zee Kannada supports Men in Blue through signature campaign

    Bangalore: Team India will appreciate all the support it can get. If the initiative is as novel as Zee Kannada’s signature campaign it will also bring in more cheer.

    The channel is launching a unique handkerchief signature campaign to support Indian players in the forthcoming Cricket World Cup.

    The campaign will be launched on Thursday 22 February with the first handkerchief being signed by Essel Group Chairman Subhash Chandra.

    The Zee Kannada team will travel across the state and put up collection boxes at select locations like schools, colleges, orphanages and institutes for the disabled, malls and coffee shops. People have to sign wishes on their hankies and drop it off in the collection boxes.

    Fans can also SMS or email their messages to the channel.

    All the handkerchiefs received will be tied together to form the biggest ever chain of signed handkerchiefs which will be handed over to the Indian Cricket team before the start of the tournament.

  • Zee forays into Marathi feature film production

    Zee forays into Marathi feature film production

    MUMBAI: Zee Network’s chairman Subhash Chandra has announced its foray into Marathi feature films, by which the network will provide the financial backing to produce, market and distribute the movies in India and Internationally.

    “After the making of the film, the responsibility of its marketing, distribution, telecast etc (for Indian and overseas territories) shall be the responsibility of the Zee Group,” added Chandra.
    Zee executive vice president regional channels Nitin Vaidya told Indiantelevision.com that the network will attempt to raise the bar for financial investments in Marathi movies, by about 50 per cent depending upon the content requirements and production elements. The normal monies pumped in towards Marathi films varies between Rs 50,000,000 – 60,000,000.

    As a start up, the network has commissioned five production houses, namely Mahesh Manjrekar’s Ashvami Films, Gautam Joglekar’s SOC, Shrirang Godbole’s Indian Magic Eye, Smita Talwalkar’s Asmita Chitra and Rakesh Sarang’s Cams Club. In the next two years, these producers are to present the network with 15 Marathi films, three films each. Zee is also looking to tie-up with other production houses for the same.

    “With almost 60 -70 Marathi films produced this fiscal, we saw the strength of this market and decided to develop a business process to boost Marathi cinema,” added Vaidya.

    Chandra announced the latest Marathi film venture at the 8th Annual Parachute Jasmine Zee Gaurav Awards, where he also announced the launch of Zee 24 Hours, the first dedicated Marathi news channel.

    The Zee Gaurav Awards recognizes excellence in the Marathi film and theatre industry across 18 categories in films, 12 categories in commercial plays and five categories in experimental plays.

    This year in the films category Mission Champion bagged six awards for the best film, direction, story, screenplay, dialogue and child artist. In drama, Makdachya Hati Shampaign won five awards for music, script, actor, director and best drama, informs an official release.

    Zee Marathi also felicitated legendary actor Dr Shreeram Lagu and veteran music director Datta Davjekar for the lifetime achievement award – Zee Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar. While the Mee Marathi Award was given to Lage Raho Munnabhai lyrist Swanand Kirkire by Bollywood’s director Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

    The Zee Gaurav Awards will be telecast on Zee Marathi on 10 February at 7.30 pm.

  • Zee News net profit Rs 93 million

    Zee News net profit Rs 93 million

    MUMBAI: Zee News Limited (ZNL) today reported nine months revenues of Rs 1,665 million representing a 39 per cent growth over the corresponding period in the previous fiscal, compared on proforma numbers.

    Overall net profit stood at Rs 93 million.

    Subhash Chandra, chairman, stated, “Zee News Limited finished the nine months with a good performance, highlighted by strong advertising revenue growth of 54 per cent and robust operating profit growth of 179 per cent. We believe that Zee News Limited has the potential to grow into a media giant with a regional focus.”

    “We are extremely pleased to see the steady steps towards digitization of the Indian cable and satellite industry. CAS has been successfully implemented in the notified areas of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. With more subscribers opting for digital services even in other parts of the country, it will give a big boost to our subscription revenues in the near future. All these have extremely positive and long term impact on our business given that most of our channels are pay.” Chandra added.

    Commenting on the restructuring exercise, Chandra continued, “The restructuring exercise for ZNL is now complete. ZNL is ready to exploit the vast emerging opportunities and will deliver long term shareholder value.”

  • WWIL Q3 net loss at Rs 159 million

    WWIL Q3 net loss at Rs 159 million

    MUMBAI: Wire And Wireless India Limited (WWIL), Zee Group’s demerged cable company, has posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 159 million for the third quarter ended 31 December 2006.

    The consolidated revenues stood at Rs 513 million for the quarter and Rs 1.5 billion for the nine-month period. Operating losses were at Rs 33 million after expensing Rs 38 million for office infrastructure. Being the first year of operations for WWIL, the previous period figures are not available.

    Commenting on the results Zee chairman Subhash Chandra said, “WWIL has just begun its rollout of digital cable services in the three metros of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata and it is encouraging to learn that we have been able to capture almost half of the market in these areas. Our analogue cable business continues to lead industry in connecting millions of television homes. The business initiatives of WWIL towards digitization of cable homes and upgrading of cable infrastructure would become visible in the performance from FY2008 onwards.”

    Added WWIL MD Jagjit Singh Kohli, “There is more than expected demand for set top boxes in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. We expect that the industry will need at least 6 million set top boxes for complete roll out in these three metros. Demand for digital signals is equally strong in other cities, not notified under CAS. We see cable providing lot more value added services through digital mode. WWIL is heading towards its goal at an accelerated pace.”

    WWIL claims to have deployed 200,000 boxes. Said Kohli, “We believe there is a vast opportunity in cable TV industry, which is going through a rapid phase of consolidation and digitization simultaneously. Our goal is to add 3.4 million subscribers in next two years. Looking ahead, we are confident that continued execution of our distribution strategy would result in a revenue growth faster than that of industry.”

  • Zee TV to soon have entertainment channel sibling; Zee Next working title

    Zee TV to soon have entertainment channel sibling; Zee Next working title

    MUMBAI: Star Plus has it, so too does Sony’s SET channel; and now Subhash Chandra’s Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd will soon have it as well – a flanking channel that is.

    If all goes according to schedule, Zeel will be launching a sibling to its flagship channel Zee TV within the next three to five months. While the name of the channel is yet to be finalized as yet, reliable sources at Zeel say that it has been given a working title Zee Next.
    Zee Next is envisioned as a metro-centric entertainment channel that will have content that in scope and feel will be quite similar to what was envisaged for Star Plus’ sibling Star One, when it first launched in late 2004, the sources say.

    This news comes alongside the further closing of the channel share gap between Zee TV and Star Plus in the latest ratings issued by Tam Media. Tam is now beginning to deliver better numbers as function of new markets being added to the panel as well as expansion in peoplemeter numbers.

    Overall, Star Plus’s gross rating points (GRPs) are down from 518 in December to 403 this week. Zee’s GRPs have also dropped from 240 in December to 217 in the current week.

    There are those in the industry who question Zee’s move to launch another entertainment flanking channel, saying that it would only distract Zee TV from a focused assault on Star Plus. The logic of the new channel is reportedly that it will essentially be targeted as a channel that is focused more at marking its presence on addressable systems. That Zee owns both cable (WWIL) and DTH (Dish) platforms also means that packages can be created that will push the new channel to the maximum possible.

  • Subhash Chandra’s mother passes away

    Subhash Chandra’s mother passes away

    MUMBAI: Just as the fortunes have started favouring Zee Group, founder-promoter Subhash Chandra lost his mother today.

    Tara Devi passed away at around 5.30 pm.”She was ailing for some time now,” says Zee spokesperson Ashish Kaul.

    “Her body will be taken to Hissar in Haryana on Wednesday morning and the cremation will take place at 2.30 in the afternoon,” he adds.

  • Zee demerger scheme for Dish TV gets nod

    Zee demerger scheme for Dish TV gets nod

    MUMBAI: Subhash Chandra is all set to list the direct-to-home (DTH) business of Zee Group after having got the demerger scheme approval from the court. Already listed are the other entities – Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), Wire & Wireless India Ltd (WWIL) and Zee News Ltd (ZNL).

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited today announced the approval of its demerger scheme by the Hon’ble High Court of Judicature of Bombay. “This approval paves the way for setting the record date for the demerger of the direct consumer business undertaking of Zee into ASC Enterprises Limited (ASCEL), which is soon to be renamed to Dish TV India Limited,” the company said in a release. Dish has 1.6 million DTH subscribers.

    Says Zee Chairman Chandra, “This is the last phase of our current restructuring process – WWIL and ZNL are already independent companies listed on the stock exchanges in India. Dish TV would also get listed very soon and we are confident that all four companies will deliver long-term shareholder value.”

    The record date is likely to fall in the latter half of February. The shareholders of ZEEL as on the record date shall be allotted 57.50 shares in ASCEL for every 100 shares held.

    “Dish TV would then apply for listing of such shares to the BSE, NSE and CSE, in compliance with SEBI guidelines. ZEEL expects the listing process to be completed by February,” the release said.

  • WWIL, Zee News begin trading; price range as per market expectations

    WWIL, Zee News begin trading; price range as per market expectations

    MUMBAI: The debut performance of Wire & Wireless India Ltd (WWIL) and Zee News Ltd (ZNL), Zee Group’s demerged entities, on the boursess was along market expectation lines.

    Though WWIL, the cable distribution company, opened at the BSE much lower at Rs 80, it inched up to touch a high of Rs 139.80 before closing the day at Rs 120.80. Putting their faith on digitalisation, analysts had predicted the scrip to trade in the region of Rs 120-140.

    ZNL, on the other hand, opened higher at Rs 50 even as the market had expected it to be valued at Rs 35. The scrip touched a high of Rs 58.85 before tapering off to a low of Rs 33.65 and closing Wednesday’s trading at Rs 34.40.

    Speaking to a business channel, Zee Group chairman Subhash Chandra said WWIL would touch a revenue of Rs 10 billion in 12 months but the company would still not be profitable as it is in an investment mode. The multi-system operator (MSO) has already seeded 155000 set-top boxes (STBs) in the Cas (conditional access system) areas, enjoying a 50 per cent market share.

    ZNL should end the current fiscal with a revenue of Rs 1.8-2 billion and the target in five years is to have a turnover of around Rs 10 billion, Chandra said. The company is planning to launch a Marathi news channel this month.

    Meanwhile, another media and entertainment company listed on the bourses today. Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision closed at a premium of Rs 228, or 42 per cent higher from its IPO price.

  • Star Plus prepares ground for ‘KBC’ arrival

    Star Plus prepares ground for ‘KBC’ arrival

    MUMBAI: Paving the way for King Khan to make his grand re-entry onto the small screen with Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), Star Plus is rejigging its week day prime time line up.

    In a strategic move, the channel has uprooted Karam Apnaa Apnaa from its well-ensconced 9:30 pm slot and placed it in the lower profile 8 pm slot, where it will take on rival Zee TV’s Banoo Main Teri Dulhaan, a show that is giving decent ratings returns to Subhash Chandra’s flagship channel.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on the prime time strategy of Hindi entertainment’s lead network, Star India creative director Shailja Kejriwal asserts that Karam Apnaa Apnaa currently grabs the third top spot on the channel alongside Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi…… and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki and therefore, it is a good way to kick start prime time viewing on Star Plus.

    In sync with this, Star Plus’ Viraasat which the industry buzz has it is expected to go off air, has now been shifted to sibling Star One’s 8:30 pm slot. Ironically, this position may give way to its gradual demise as it competes with the heavyweight Kasautii Zindagii Kay on Star Plus.
    However, Kejriwal is optimistic about Viraasat and says, “Even if Viraasat carries one third of its audience to Star One, that will be great for the channel.”

    Stretching the prime time line up further, the channel will bring Star One’s Paraaya Dhan with all original episodes to Star Plus at 11:30 pm. Presently, repeats of the show air in the given time slot on the channel.

    Star Plus will have virtually no competition with sister channel Star One for the 9 to 10 pm duration of KBC as Sathi Re whose ratings are almost negligible, remains in its 9 pm slot. In the 9:30 pm position, what will air are repeat telecasts of Paraaya Dhan.

    All hopes that the channel had in the big budget sci-fi series Antariksh, seem to have been short lived as the show is being taken off air. Along with its poor performance, Kejriwal admitted that “it was also too expensive.”

    The rescheduling means that Star Plus has beefed up its week day line up to the extent that Karam Apnaa Apnaa will get the ball rolling from 8 pm, followed by Kasauti… while KBC is positioned at the peak of prime time viewing at 9 pm. This will be followed by the likes of Kahaani…., Kyunki…., Kahin To Hoga and Paraaya Dhan.

    All of these changes will come into effect with the launch date for KBC, 22 January.

    What’s left to be seen is whether season three of KBC with its new look and host can once again rewrite ratings records for Star Plus in the 9 to 10 pm slot and in the process stymie Zee’s resurgence which has been scripted on the back of Kasamh Se and Saath Phere.