ITV

Tag: Zee 24 Taas

  • Zee News Ltd bucks trend, posts strong Q3 growth

    Zee News Ltd bucks trend, posts strong Q3 growth

    MUMBAI: Bucking the trend of a slow ad growth, Zee News Limited (ZNL) posted a 45.4 per cent jump in third-quarter revenue over the year-ago period, with regional channels driving the pace.

    Consolidated revenue stood at Rs 1.43 billion for the quarter ended 31 December 2008, sending signals that regional advertisers can come to the rescue of channels that successfully target such audiences.

    Net profit was up 18.38 per cent to Rs 151.27 million for the quarter under review, as ZNL kept costs under control.

    Says Zee Group chairman Subhash Chandra, “Our bouquet composition, aggressive and innovative strategy and an ever cost-conscious approach to business helped us achieve this feat – something seemingly impossible for most other media organisations.”

    ZNL’s advertising revenues grew by 38.8 per cent to Rs 1.12 billion while subscription earnings stood 46.4 per cent up to Rs 236 million for the third quarter of the fiscal.

    ZNL’s standalone net profit stood at Rs 153.71 million, up 19.7 per cent from a year earlier. Revenue was up 45.78 per cent to Rs 1.39 billion for the quarter under review.

    Says Zee News CEO Barun Das, “The existing businesses continued to grow and recorded 23 per cent growth in operating revenues while the same for new businesses was 333.3 per cent. This has helped us outperform the market.”

    Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Tamil, Zee Talkies and Zee 24 Ghantalu (yet to launch), which are considered as ‘New Businesses,’ have incurred an operating loss of Rs 394.83 million during the nine-month period ended 31 December, 2008. The loss on Zee 24 Ghantalu (Telugu news channel) was Rs 9.26 million during the period.

    The company is critically reviewing the performance of its channels and has announced the closure of Zee Gujarati from 30 April. Says Chandra, “While we are strategically expanding our presence, the channels which are not likely to make profit in the near future have been critically reviewed by the company. The board has approved the closure of Zee Gujarati with effect from 30 April, 2009. The forthcoming UP news channel launch will be a key strategic expansion along with other regional proliferation of our products and services.”

    Zee Akaash News Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ZNL that operates Bengali news channel 24 Ghanta, has incurred an operating loss of Rs 6.96 million during the nine-month period ended 31 December, 2008.

  • Bhushan Khot is Zee 24 Taas biz head

    Bhushan Khot is Zee 24 Taas biz head

    MUMBAI: Bhushan Khot has joined as the business head of Zee 24 Taas, Zee’s Marathi news channel.

    Prior to this appointment, Khot was head of the language brand team at Times group.

    Khot will report to Zee News Ltd CEO Barun Das. “I have taken charge and will see the business expansion of Zee 24 Taas,” avers Khot.

  • IBN-Lokmat soft launches, commercial launch on 6 April

    IBN-Lokmat soft launches, commercial launch on 6 April

    MUMBAI: IBN-Lokmat, the the GBN-Lokmat joint venture’s Marathi news channel, began its test signals and soft-launched on some cable networks in the city this evening. However, the channel will see its commercial launch on 6 April.

    IBN-Lokmat editor Nikhil Wagle says, “We are launching on Gudi Padwa (New Year as per Marathi calendar) as it is an auspicious day for the ‘Marathi Manoos’ (Marathi speaking people).”

    The channel will be available on cable networks in the state from 6 am on Sunday and will show many special programmes throughout the launch day.

    “We have a one-and-a-half hour exclusive interview with Sachin Tendulkar in Marathi in addition to our other offerings,” says Wagle.

    IBN-Lokmat has 13 fully functional bureaux and will also be using Lokmat’s reporters. IBN-Lokmat will join Zee 24 Taas and Star Majha in a market that currently generates under Rs 600 million in annual revenues.

  • Time for global news in Marathi

    With national news broadcasters feeling the need to expand into regional markets, it is the Marathi space that is grabbing their attention.Joining Zee 24-Taas and Star Majha in the fight for the 120 million TV viewers of Maharashtra will soon be IBN-Lokmat, the Marathi news channel from the GBN-Lokmat joint venture (JV) company.

    So, is the Marathi TV news market getting cluttered or will there will be a slice of the cake big enough for them?

    For starters, let us look at the fight between the two existing channels – Zee 24-Taas and Star Majha, the eight-month-old channel from the JV between the ABP group and Star.

    Star Majha is leading the race by far, stepping ahead since its second month of launch (See table for channel share).

    Channel Share 2007 (%)
    Channel Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
    Star Majha 30 56 56 58 59 63 58
    Zee 24 Taas 70 44 44 42 41 37 42
    Source: TAM Peoplemeter System, Maharashtra Market, CS 15+

    The gap has widened in 2008 with Star Majha enjoying a higher channel share (See table).

    Channel Share 2008 (%)
    Channel WK 1 WK 2 WK 3 WK 4 WK 5 WK 6 WK 7
    Star Majha 70 69 69 65 77 78 75
    Zee 24 Taas 30 31 31 35 23 22 25
    Source: TAM Peoplemeter System, Maharashtra Market, CS 15+

    Zee 24-Taas explains its slip to distribution issues. “In terms of reach, we are less than half of that of Star Majha. There are issues that involve revamping the deals with cable operators,” says Zee 24-Taas news head Ravikant Mittal.

    Mittal, however, claims viewers spend more time on the channel than on Star Majha. “Though our reach is limited, a viewer spends about 33 minutes on our channel as compared to the 26 minutes on Star Majha. We have faith in our content,” he adds.

    In terms of content, Zee 24-Taas claims of being a regional channel with national outlook and an international look, whereas Star Majha says it is a national news channel in Marathi.

    “The reason for our growth is that we know our viewers like to see global news in their mother tongue. That is what we are providing them – world-class news in their own language,” maintains Star Majha editor Rajiv Khandekar.

    IBN-Lokmat is looking at a different positioning. Says editorial director Nikhil Wagle, “Ours will be a global news channel in Marathi language; we are not regional players.”

    IBN-Lokmat is banking on a large infrastructure network to cover the state. Says Wagle, “We will have 13 bureaux spread across the state. We are also going to have the latest technology to support our news flow.”

    Zee 24-Taas has a network of eight bureaux and 30 stringers across Maharashtra while Star Majha has six bureaux. For news outside Maharashtra, both rely on their national news networks.

    The Marathi news channels agree that the needs of the local viewers are different. They cannot be fobbed off with infotainment; what they look for is hardcore news – be it regional, national or international. For informative entertainment, they have the option of tuning in to other Marathi and Hindi general entertainment channels.

    “More competition will prompt us to bring quality to our viewers,” says Wagle.

    As far as revenue is concerned, Zee 24-Taas and Star Majha claim to have roped in a long list of advertisers. Says Mittal, “We have every big advertiser with us. Maharashtra being a big and financially important state, it is natural to see ad growth.”

    Agrees Khandekar, “30 per cent of all the GRPs of national Hindi news channels come from Maharashtra. With the kind of ratings and programming we have, revenue is kicking in.”

    The climate may get spoilt with the entry of IBN-Lokmat. The size of the Marathi TV news market isn‘t big enough, with estimates putting it at under Rs 600 million. Besides the two dedicated satellite news channels, there is ETV Marathi which runs a popular band of news slots and DD Sahyadri.

    The channels, however, feel that the size of the pie will only grow with more entrants. Says Mittal, “The space is not cluttered; it can fit in more players.”

  • Zee News Q3 operating revenue up 38.6 % at Rs 955 million

    MUMBAI: Zee News Limited (ZNL) has posted operating revenue of Rs 955.3 million on a stand alone basis for the quarter ended 31 December, 2007, up 38.6 per cent as against Rs 689.1 million in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

    Zee News’ stand alone net profit was 128.4 million for the third quarter of FY 08 and Rs 242.2 million on a consolidated basis.

    On a consolidated basis, the company’s operating revenue stood at Rs 983.1 million during the period.

    Commenting on the results, Zee News Limited chairman Shubash Chandra said, “Zee News Limited has delivered a laudable third quarter performance with a growth of 38.6 per cent in operating revenues compared to the corresponding quarter. This growth has been led by a substantial increase in advertisement revenues, which have grown 48.8 per cent. The Zee News channel deserves special mention given the excellent revenue and viewership performance in the quarter.

    Zee Marathi maintained its leadership position, while Zee Bangla attained the number one position in the third quarter. Channels under the ‘New Business’ comprising Telugu, Kannada and 24 Taas have done very well, with Zee Telugu and Zee Kannada registering a GRP growth of 93 per cent and 23 per cent respectively. With rapid transformation in the Indian media via digitization, the coming years hold a lot of promise, and we are confident of delivering long term shareholder value.”

    The ZNL owns and operates nine news /current affairs and regional entertainment channels namely Zee News, Zee Business, Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Punjabi, Zee Gujarati, Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada and Zee 24 Taas.

    Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada and Zee 24 Taas which are considered as ‘New Businesses’ have incurred an operating loss of Rs. 397.4 million during the nine months period ended 31 December, 2007.

    For the period ended December 2006 ‘New Businesses’ consisted of only two channels. Zee 24 Taas was launched in February 2007.

    Zee Akaash News Private Limited – a subsidiary of the company (60 per cent equity holding) which operates 24 Ghanta, a Bangla news channel has incurred an operating loss of Rs. 6.9 million during the nine months period ended 31 December, 2007.

    Zee News Limited MD Laxmi Narain Goel said, “The quarter witnessed a sound growth in all our channels. Our flagship channel, Zee News continued to grow in revenue in this over crowded genre, which is still attracting new players. Zee News remains the only pay channel in the Hindi news channel genre. The other existing businesses of Zee News Limited have also shown consistent growth, with Zee Bangla attaining the number one position. Our efforts to add value to the content of Zee Telugu, has paid off, with the channel achieving encouraging ratings during the third quarter. Overall, the results have been very satisfactory with the revenues of both existing as well as New Businesses registering a growth of 37.8 per cent and 50.6 per cent respectively.”

    Zee News CEO Barun Das said, “Our tremendous revenue growth is doubly encouraging given that 8 of our 9 channels are Pay channels. In addition, the pay channels have continued to grow in viewer ship as well, which will result in further revenue enhancement. Our future strategy would be to have a focused business approach for every channel, which will certainly enhance growth potential. With a slew of initiatives, we have been able to achieve both our top and bottom line targets. We are committed to scale much higher than industry benchmarks for the next quarter as well.”

  • News b’casters form association to confront issues in radio & TV

    NEW DELHI: Clearly not satisfied by the clarification issued by the government regarding the Content Code, major news broadcasters in the country have formed the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) to address problems specific to radio and television news broadcasters.

    The broadcasters who got together to form the NBA are TV Today Network (Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, Delhi Aajtak and Tez), NDTV Limited (NDTV24x7, NDTV India and NDTV Profit), Times Global Broadcasting Company (Times Now), TV 18 Group (CNBC TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNN-IBN and IBN7), Media Content and Communication Services (Star News, Star Ananda and Star Majha), Independent News Service (India TV) and Zee News Ltd (Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas and 24 Ghanta).

    Registered as a Section 25 company under the Companies Act, the Association is headquartered in Delhi. It held its first Board Meeting on 25 July to elect its Board and office-bearers for 2007-08.

    The Board members are:TV Today Network executive director and CEO G Krishnan, Global Broadcast News joint MD Sameer Manchanda, NDTV group CEO K.V.L. Narayan Rao, Times Now CEO Sunil Lulla, India TV CEO Chintamani Rao, Zee News CEO Harish Doraiswamy and Star India COO Uday Shanker.

    The office-bearers elected for 2007-08 are: G. Krishnan, president, Sameer Manchanda, vice-president, and K.V.L. Narayan Rao, honorary treasurer. Annie Joseph has been appointed secretary general.

    Meanwhile, Krishnan told Indiantelevision.com that it was erroneous to conclude that the Association had only been formed to oppose the Content Code.

    In fact, he said, the Association had been set up to address issues that are specific to news broadcasters in radio and television who work in a 24×7 environment and cannot necessarily be addressed by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation.

    Answering a question, he said he would only be too happy to have DD News as a member of the Association.

    Referring to questions about the Content Code, he said the government should leave this matter to the stakeholders. This was a matter of self-regulation and not of policing, and the government should realize that those running news channels are mature and seasoned broadcasters who will take care of the sensibilities of the people.

    A press statement said the vision of NBA is to help create and nurture an environment in which news broadcasters can best serve audiences and also engage with policy makers on behalf of its members in order to promote an industry grounded in the principles of democracy and freedom of expression. This initiative will help to further promote the broadcaster’s role as an important contributor to the country’s cultural, social and economic fabric.

    The NBA will help members to chart a course that facilitates news broadcasters in responding to the rapid socio-economic changes in the country, and in taking advantage of the opportunities ushered in by economic growth as well as new technology. To this end the NBA will concern itself with ethical, technical, operational, regulatory and legal issues affecting news and current affairs channels.

    Earlier this week, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in a background note emphasized that the Code would not be imposed on broadcasters or advertisers and would be implemented through a three-tier mechanism separate and distinct from the Government.

    The Code, which is facing strong opposition particularly from news broadcasters, has been put on the Ministry’s website www.mib.nic.in for public and stakeholders’ comments to be sent in by 5 August. The Code will form part of the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill which the Government wants to introduce shortly.

    The note said the mechanism was intended to ensure that the complaints of the public were addressed and broadcasters and advertisers keep the viewing and listening needs of the public in view when designing programmes.

    In the first tier, there will be a content auditor to be appointed internally by each channel who would be responsible for pre-viewing of the content to be broadcast. He would also be the point of contact for complaints in relation to any programme or advertisement.

    At the second level, there would be the evaluation of the content in cases of complaint by Consumer Complaints Committees to be set up by a peer body like the Advertising Standards Council of India, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, and the News Broadcasters Association, or any organization as may be notified by the Central Government.

    The lodging of grievances at these two levels is expected to take care of public grievances regarding content, and broadcasters/advertisers would themselves make suitable modifications in future content.

    It is only when they fail to do so or a complainant aggrieved with the order of the Consumer Complaints Committee files an appeal that the role of the proposed Broadcast Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) would come into play, the ministry said. The regulator will be an authority distinct from the government and I&B ministry and a second appeal against its order can also be filed before the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal.

  • Zee launches Marathi news channel

    Zee launches Marathi news channel

    NEW DELHI: Zee News Ltd. has launched its Marathi news channel Zee 24 Taas as part of a “region-specific strategy.” This is the country’s first 24-hour news channel in Marathi.

    Says Zee News Ltd managing director Laxmi Narain Goel, “The news businesses of Zee group have had a history of ‘firsts’. Zee News is the first 24-hour Hindi news channel, Zee Business is the first 24 hour Hindi business channel, and now Zee 24 Taas continues the tradition by becoming the first 24 hour Marathi news channel.”

    Adds Zee News chief executive officer Harish Doraiswamy, “The launch followed careful thinking and a whole slew of researches in the market. Obviously, our understanding of Marathi viewer preferences through our experience of Zee Marathi helped us a great deal. I am sure the channel’s content and its presentation will appeal to the discerning Marathi audience.”

    Zee Network chairman Subhash Chandra had announced the launch of Zee’s Marathi news channel at the Zee Gaurav Awards on 5 February. The channel is already a strong player in the GEC with Zee Marathi.

    Zee News Ltd. is building a cluster of news, current affairs and regional channels. The company’s offerings include Zee News, Zee Business, Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Punjabi, Zee Gujarati, Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada, 24 Ghanta and now, Zee 24 Taas. It also provides news and entertainment content to Zee in USA, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific, the company said in a statement.