Tag: Zee News Ltd

Challenge for the TV news industry is to find the right balance: Barun Das

NEW DELHI: The TV news industry in India is going through a tough phase with high distribution cost, softening of ad revenues, falling standards of news and too many players fighting for a small pie.

But what happens when suddenly the industry realises that the challenges are too many and efforts are too less? It calls for the top bosses to sit together and scratch their heads to find the right balance.

Delivering the keynote address at the fourth News Television (NT) Summit in New Delhi, News Broadcasters Association (NBA) VP Barun Das said the need of the hour is to find the right balance.

Das, who is also CEO of Zee News Ltd, accepted that the challenges the news TV business is facing are bigger than what the industry can handle.

Ruing the overdependence on ad revenue, Das said: “We are dependent on advertising revenue to run the business. Unlike other markets, subscription, which should have been the revenue leader, has turned into a cost head.”

Das said there is a mad race for eyeballs and the need to attract the lowest common denominator, which is leading to trivialisation of news. “We should present content in an exciting manner but we have to strike a balance here,” he said.

Das also mentioned three milestones that shaped the news industry. The first was in 1992 when the government allowed private channels to broadcast news; the second important milestone was the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack coverage, which led the NBA to swing into action and come out with guidelines and advisories. He quoted the example of the coverage of the Ayodhya Verdict, when “everything went right.”

The third and the most significant milestone was the recession. “Though the Indian economy was never exposed to the kind of recession that gripped the other parts of the world, it helped the Indian news channels to get their focus back on costs,” Das said.

March 21, 2011
Zee News Ltd Q3 net profit up as ad revenue surges

MUMBAI: Zee News Ltd (ZNL) has posted a fiscal third-quarter consolidated net profit of Rs 61.84 million (after minority interest), gaining from the festive season and a better all-round performance coming from its old and new channels.

Advertising revenue has seen a healthy growth while subscription has seen a slower pace in the quarter as it has moved into a fixed fee regime with DTH operator Tata Sky. The company posted a revenue of Rs 744.44 million for the three-months ended December.

On a more positive note, ZNL has a 18 per cent margin, including the losses from the newly launched channels. The margins stand at 33 per cent for the existing businesses.

ZNL had posted a net profit of 191.48 million for the third-quarter of FY‘10 on a revenue of Rs 1.71 billion.

However, the company, which operates the news channels of the Zee brand, said that the corresponding quarter financials are not comparable as there were six regional general entertainment channels at that time under ZNL, which were demerged from the company with effect from 1 January 2010.

ZNL has posted a strong sequential growth. For the fiscal second-quarter, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2.24 million on a revenue of Rs 615.87 million.

ZNL chairman Subhash Chandra said, “The news genre on television is marked by intense competition in India, unlike any other country in the world. Most news channels in India are incurring losses. Our objective is to create a focused news organization which can create value for the shareholders in the long term. I am happy that Zee News Limited, not only differentiates itself by delivering unbiased, serious and credible news to its viewers, but does it profitably.”

He added, “Our company continues to outperform competition due to its quality of manpower, which is kept motivated with several training schemes to build leadership in the organisation. We aim to create a news powerhouse which is close to the action and can reach out to every viewer in his/her preferred language and I am happy to say that we are progressing very well toward the goal.”

ZNL MD Punit Goenka added, “Zee News Limited has shown significant growth in profitability in this quarter. Evidently, the editorial and business decisions taken by the company in the recent past are reaping rich dividends. The consistent emphasis on serious news has made Zee News Limited not just the largest, but also the No. 1 news network of India. The leadership position of the network has in turn helped augment the company’s financial position thus creating a win-win situation. Business performance during the slowdown and beyond shows great potential of growth from here. I am hopeful of continued improvement in business performance as we start are planning for the next fiscal.”

Ebitda for the quarter under review stood at Rs 134.5 million and profit before tax at Rs 103.6 million In the previous quarter, Ebitda was Rs 70.2 million and PBT Rs 32.1 million.

ZNL‘s advertising revenue grew stood at Rs 541.7 million, as compared to Rs 407.2 million in in trailing quarter (for year ago period figures see table). Subscription revenue for the quarter was Rs 185.9 million, which constituted 25 per cent of the total revenue.

Though, the company has seen a surge in ad revenue (sequentially), the subscription revenue has fallen as compared to Rs 194.1 million in previous quarter (31.5 per cent of the total revenue).

The expenses of the company stood at Rs 609.9 million, slightly higher on a sequential basis (Rs 545.7 million). In the year ago period, the expenses were Rs 1.34 billion.

ZNL posted Ebitda profit of Rs 225.2 million (186.8 million in previous quarter) from its existing business (Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi and 24 Ghanta). The company, however, suffered Ebitda loss of Rs 90.7 million (from loss of Rs 116.5 million) from its new business (Zee Tamizh, Zee 24 Ghantalu and Zee News UP).

ZNL CEO Barun Das said, “ZNL has shown that pragmatic and creative approach works best in the news market – national and vernacular. EBITDA margin of 18 per cent is quite healthy considering that there are three new channels which are still on way to break even; whereas the EBITDA of Rs 225.2 million and margin of 32.6 per cent for the group of existing channels demonstrates the quality of operational efficiency. In the context, the all-round performance of our bouquet of channels would continue to be our critical success factor. Our focus on “news that matters” has established our credentials as a network.”

January 20, 2011
Zee News Ltd Q2 net at Rs 2.2 mn on revenue of Rs 615.9 mn

MUMBAI: Zee News Ltd (ZNL) has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 2.24 million (after minority interest) for the three-month period ending September on a revenue of Rs 615.87 million.

The corresponding quarter a year ago had six regional general entertainment channels which powered a net profit of Rs 131.49 million for the second-quarter of FY‘10. Since 1 January 2010 the regional GECs have moved to group company Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.

On sequential basis, ZNL had posted a net profit of Rs 33 million on a turnover of Rs 648.5 million in the fiscal first quarter.

ZNL chairman Subhash Chandra said, “The company has utilised the last two quarters to consolidate its position post demerger, and is poised to expand from here. The balance sheet looks sanguinely healthy and advertising and subscription revenues have continued to grow. What is particularly heartening is that the company has managed to show robust growth at a time when most players in the industry have been facing degrowth.”

Ebitda for the quarter under review stood at Rs 70.2 million and profit before tax at Rs 32.1 million.

The trimmed down ZNL‘s advertising revenue grew 16.3 per cent over the year-ago period, while subscription revenue for the quarter was Rs 194.1, which constituted 31.5 per cent of the total revenue.

The expenses of the company stood at Rs 545.7 million.

ZNL posted Ebitda profit of Rs 186.8 million from its existing business (Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi and 24 Ghanta). The company, however, suffered Ebitda loss of Rs 116.5 million from its new business (Zee Tamizh, Zee 24 Ghantalu and Zee News UP).

ZNL CEO Barun Das added, “Our performance in the second quarter of this fiscal reflects all round growth. All our existing channels continued to perform, while both the newly launched news channels are on path to meet their respective breakeven targets. Our focus to offer a bouquet of channels in national and vernacular languages has reaped rich dividends, giving us an edge over competition. Advertising revenues of 16.3 per cent would possibly standout as an exception in TV News industry. Moreover, our strategy to concentrate on the middle line besides top line has ensured that the company remains in fine fettle. Usually Q2 is the slowest quarter in terms of advertising revenue. Despite that, we are pleased to post a healthy Ebitda. In this context, the buoyant figures in Q2 set the pace for an even more successful Q3.”

October 27, 2010
Zee News Ltd misses regional GECs, Q4 net shrinks to Rs 28 mn

MUMBAI: Zee News Limited (ZNL) has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 28.2 million for the quarter ended 31 March, a 56.9 per cent fall from the year-ago period, as it has learnt to live without its six regional general entertainment channels since 1 January.

The channels – Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Talkies, Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada and Zee Cinemalu – have now been demerged from ZNL and merged into Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel). ZNL now operates Zee News, Zee Business, Zee Punjabi, Zee 24 Taas and Zee Tamil.

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ZNL’s total consolidated revenues for the three-month period stood at Rs 600.6 million compared to Rs 1.38 billion a year ago

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Meanwhile, expenses also came down to Rs 561.8 million from Rs 1.18 billion a year ago.

ZNL chairman Subhash Chandra said, “Zee News Ltd is all set to embark on a new and promising trajectory after the demerger of the company was formally concluded. Our aim is to consolidate our commanding position in the news genre and spread out our wings even further in the regional and national arena. The company is uniquely poised to accrue benefits from the synergies possible from such an arrangement. Resources from across the spectrum of channels will be pooled together and shared, giving us an edge over competition and also immense cost benefits.”

ZNL CEO Barun Das added, “The demerger will throw up some exciting opportunities as we go ahead. We had leveraged the low cost entry opportunity during the economic recession and are now well placed to grow from here.”

The company also announced that Zee Akaash News Private Limited – a subsidiary, where ZNL holds 60 per cent stake and operates Bengali news channel 24 Ghanta – has made an operating profit of Rs 50.11 million for the year ended 31 March 2010.

April 21, 2010
Zee News Ltd to invest Rs 600 mn in Telugu and UP news channels

MUMBAI: Zee News Ltd. (ZNL) is investing Rs 600 million in its two regional news channels which are slated for launch this month, a senior executive said.

Telugu news channel Zee 24 Ghantalu will require a capex of Rs 220 million and an operating expense of Rs 180 million for one year. The news channel for Uttar Pradesh will have an investment need of Rs 200 million towards capex and operating cost for a year.

“We are looking at launching these two channels between 20 March and 31 March. They will take up the positioning of being serious news channels. These markets have a high consumption of hard news,” said the executive.

The Telugu news market is flooded with 12 channels while Sahara is the only player which runs a dedicated news channel for Uttar Pradesh.

ZNL had earlier announced it had suffered a loss of Rs 9.26 million for the yet-to-be launched Zee 24 Ghantalu during the third-quarter of the current fiscal.

March 14, 2009

‘The downturn will bring in corrections not just in carriage but in every other aspect’ : Barun Das – Zee News Ltd CEO

Churn. The television industry has been going through turbulent times with the economy downsliding and ad growth decelerating. Like its peers Zee News Ltd (ZNL) too has been riding the wave of turbulence with its unique mix of national news and regional language channels.

While Zee News, Zee Marathi and Zee Bangla have been growing rapidly and notching up profits, Zee Telugu has turned operationally cash positive. The management has managed to keep losses from its ‘new businesses’ (channel launches in the south and Zee Talkies) under control; full fiscal loss forecasts stay unchanged at Rs 700 million, even though it is planning to launch a regional channel targeted at Uttar Pradesh. Simultaneously, it has decided to pull the shutters down on Zee Gujarati from 30 April as it was bleeding.

ZNL is also pursuing growth through the franchisee model, an experiment not tried yet by the other news broadcasters. After partnering with SB Multimedia for a regional news channel in Chattisgarh, the company is keen to tap local entrepreneurs who desire to get into the TV news space in regions which do not occupy Zee’s immediate direct expansion plans.

In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Sibabrata Das, Zee News Ltd CEO Barun Das talks about the success of the Zee News channel following a repositioning exercise, the turn around of Zee Business, the emergence of new driver channels within the bouquet, the challenges of tiding over the global economic turmoil, and the company’s growth plans.

Excerpts:

Media companies are reeling under a severe ad slowdown. How has Zee News Ltd bucked this trend so far?
We are helped by the fact that the regional language markets are growing faster. What is working for us is the composition of the bouquet. Some of the new regional channels have started delivering while the driver channels continue to post strong growth. The positive thing is that more channels like Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada and Zee Business are positioning themselves to get into the driver category over the next 12-18 months.

Isn’t the economic downturn affecting regional markets as well?
There is an overall slowdown. But regional television media markets are still in their nascent stages. The size of these markets is small and there is a lot of potential to grow them. The Marathi news market, for instance, is new. Even in the general entertainment space, the regional channels arrived much later than the invasion of private satellite television in national languages. Outside the southern region, it is the Marathi and Bengali markets that really matter. The other regional markets are small and I don’t see them growing to any significant size in the near future.

Is this the time to take hard calls like shutting down Zee Gujarati?
We critically reviewed the channels that are not likely to make profit in the near future and decided to close down Zee Gujarati with effect from 30 April. Our learning in that market shows that the revenue is too small as entertainment consumption happens primarily in Hindi. It didn’t make sense to linger with the channel and burn cash any more. We would rather focus on the bottom line of the company while strategically expanding our presence in other markets, products and services.

Has the break even success of the Telugu general entertainment channel put you in a comfort zone in the southern region to launch more channels?
We are backing up the progress of Zee Telugu with the launch in this quarter of Zee 24 Ghantalu, a Telugu news channel. Though Zee Kannada will not break even this fiscal, it would happen in the first or second quarter of FY’10. So yes, we have managed to open up the southern space for ourselves.

How bullish are you about cracking the Tamil market, particularly when the Marans (Sun TV promoters) and DMK party chief and Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi have smoked the peace pipe?
We are investing Rs 900 million for the Tamil channel in the first year (capex+one year opex). We expect Zee Tamil to break even over 36-48 months. We have signed up with Sun Group’s cable TV arm SCV and the channel is well distributed. We are also in talks with Sun Direct for a presence of the channel on the DTH platform.

What makes us stay bullish is that Tamil Nadu is the biggest regional market. Besides, there is only one player (Sun TV) in that market, giving us space to climb the ladder. We feel we have a good opportunity to be a strong No. 2 or No. 3. Also, we have started understanding the nuances of the southern market from our experience, planning and research in running a Telugu and a Kannada channel.

‘What is working for us is the composition of the bouquet. Some of the new regional channels have started delivering while the driver channels continue to post strong growth. The positive thing is that more channels like Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada and Zee Business are positioning themselves to get into the driver category over the next 12-18 months‘

How much is ZNL going to lose from its new businesses this fiscal?
We are sticking to our original guidance of an EBITDA loss of Rs 700 million from our new businesses (Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Tamil, Zee Talkies and Zee 24 Ghantalu) this fiscal. There is no revision upwards despite us planning to launch a regional news channel in Uttar Pradesh.

With the Indian economy coming under the shadow of a global recession, have you shelved plans to launch an English news channel?
There is no additional expansion plan at this stage outside the launch of Zee 24 Ghantalu and a regional news channel in Uttar Pradesh. But we are exploring opportunities in the English business news space. There is a lot of potential, but we have not concretised our plan as yet.

Marathi movie channel Zee Talkies got transferred from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) to ZNL. Will the company launch regional movie channels in each market where it runs a GEC?
Theoretically, we should have a GEC, a news, a movie and a music channel in each regional market where we have a presence. But we are not getting into that gear at this stage. Our Marathi presence is the most widest, followed by Bengali where we are involved in two GECs. While we have the market leader in Zee Bangla, we have taken a 26 per cent stake in Akaash Bangla along with a channel management agreement.

Will you be expanding in the near future through the franchisee model?
After launching Zee 24 Ghante Chattisgarh under this model, we are exploring more such opportunities. There is a huge upside in revenues when the economic climate is more favourable; and the money goes straight into the bottom line.

Is the flagship Hindi news channel growing at a slower pace?
Along with the growth in viewership share, there is a significant revenue growth as well. After we relaunched the channel with a game-changing strategy, premium brands from sectors like cosmetics, automobiles, and IT – who were earlier not present as our advertisers – have come on board.

How are you planning to push Zee Business which is considered as a laggard in comparison to its competitive channels?
Zee Business has made rapid strides over the last several weeks and has moved up from a 11 per cent share in a four-channel market to a 26 per cent share in a five-channel market scenario. We have changed the look and feel of the channel, beefed up our research team, took it beyond a eight metro approach, targeted specific audiences, and focused on the SME sector. We have also concentrated on events; we would have conducted 47 events in the second half of the year. All this seems to be working for us.

In fact, 2008 is also the year when 24 Ghanta went ahead to emerge as a leader in the Bengali news market with its focus on content, events and communications. We nullified Star Ananda’s strength in football coverage by acquiring the rights of the National Football League.

Do you have plans to launch add-on channels like Tez to guard your flagship Hindi news channel?
Primarily, our strategy is to have state-based news channels. This will continue to be our going-forward direction in the near future.

Is subscription revenue looking positive with the entry of more DTH players?
DTH is a growing segment and we stand to benefit from it. It currently accounts for 32 per cent of our subscription income.

Will carriage costs continue to climb as more channels launch and continue to jostle for space on cable networks?
With digitalisation growing, carriage rates will continue to slide. The downturn will bring in corrections not just in carriage, but in every other aspect.

Including downsizing staff?
Retrenchment is not required. But going forward, we will see how much we need to rationalise on our costs. We will scrutinise every cost, review every deal, and re-negotiate with our suppliers.

In such a tough market, will you cut down on rates and play the volume game to consume ad inventory?
The right strategy would be to provide better value than cut rates. Our plan is to offer tailor-made solution for clients and work on innovations. We are, for instance, getting four co-branded programmes on Zee News channel. The truth is that all of us have to stretch more than what we have ever done so far.

How do you plan to survive the woes of 2009-10?
It will probably be the worst year any of us have ever seen. Our endeavour will be to strongly hold on to the ground and use this period to prepare ourselves for being able to take the next big leap when we finally move out of the global recession.

January 27, 2009

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.

January 22, 2009

‘We are open to a foreign equity partner for the English channels’ : Laxmi Narain Goel – Zee News Ltd MD

Zee News Ltd (ZNL) plans to invest Rs 5 billion in a slew of channels over two years, expanding its presence in regional markets and new segments.

Immediately on the agenda is the launch of a Tamil general entertainment and a Telugu news channel. Plans are also afoot to launch an English business and a global news channel.

The company is also bringing to its bouquet mix a clutch of regional movie channels. It will soon apply for a Bengali movie channel while Zee Talkies is being transferred from sister company Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.

In an interview with Sibabrata Das, Zee News Ltd managing director Laxmi Narain Goel chalks out the company’s growth roadmap.

Excerpts:

When Zee News Ltd was spun into a separate entity a few years back, it was making a loss due to the Telugu channel. How did things turn around?
The losses from the new businesses have substantially reduced. Zee Telugu, in fact, should break even in the third quarter of this fiscal and Zee Kannada in the subsequent quarter. Our turnover has also gone up from Rs 2 billion to Rs 3.58 billion (standalone) for the fiscal ended 31 March 2008, with Zee Marathi and Zee Bangla seeing exponential growth in the last one year.

Is the company still taking a cautious approach and waiting for some recent channels to break even before launching new ones?
We are launching a Tamil general entertainment channel (GEC) with an investment plan of Rs 900 million in September as the Telugu and Kannada channels are close to earning profits. The Telugu news channel will launch in October while the Malayalam GEC should make its appearance in the next fiscal.

ZNL is also planning to launch an English business and a global news channel. Do you see this the right stage for the company to leap into such high-cost investments?
We plan to invest Rs 5 billion by FY’10 which will include the launch of several channels. Our intention is to have a complete presence in all the segments.

The company is on a high growth curve and expects to clock Rs 3.55 billion in advertising revenues for FY’09, a 25 per cent jump over the prior year. Subscription revenues are expected to grow even faster, soaring to Rs 1.19 billion (from Rs 667.5 million in FY’08). The Telugu and Kannada channels have started generating pay revenues from the last quarter of FY’08 and would only add to this growth.

Will you be inducting a foreign equity partner for the English channels?
We are open to bringing in an equity partner. But all will depend on what proposals we receive from whom and what model is on offer.

ZNL so far has been a mix of news channels and regional language GECs. Will we also see regional movie channels forming the bouquet?
We will soon be applying to the information and broadcasting ministry for clearance to operate a Bengali movie channel. We are also transferring Marathi movie channel Zee Talkies from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) to Zee News Ltd. The broad plan is to bring regional movie channels under the company. This will give us a unique mix and add to the growth of the company.

‘We plan to invest Rs 5 billion. Our intention is to have a complete presence in all the segments‘

Zee News has also started a franchising model to enter into new markets. Will you restrict this to smaller markets where it doesn’t make commercial sense for you to enter directly?
The first such channel will roll out in Chattisgarh with SB Multimedia as our local partner. We will be leveraging our brand while the local partner will make the investments. We hope to strike such deals with other players in these smaller markets. Once we have a cluster of such channels, we can sell as a package to advertisers and command better rates. Significant revenues can then flow in from the franchising model. It can turn out to be a successful business model.

What made Zee change the positioning of its flagship Hindi news channel?
We have relaunched as a serious news channel and see it as a differentiator in a segment that is witnessing lots of competition. We have decided not to go the tabloid or sensationalism way. This is not the first time that we are changing our positioning. But our motto continues to be the same: We will show what interests the masses and is in the interests of the nation.

When you dramatised the ‘Gudiya’ story, was this to do more with ratings than anything else?
We saw the story as having a genuine mass interest among our audiences. It was a national interest story.

Isn’t it time for the Hindi business news channel to get a makeover?
We will be relaunching Zee Business and making it more market-oriented. But we will not just be a stock market channel; we will address all kinds of markets and segments.

Do you see the surge in personnel and distribution costs upsetting the profitability of the TV news business?
There is a lot of new manpower and talent available in the market today. The supply can only increase. I believe that manpower costs as a share to revenues will not go up, but indeed fall.

As far as distribution expense is concerned, the industry will take 3-4 years to settle down. But with DTH (direct-to-home), HITS (Headend-In-The-Sky) and new platforms emerging, we could see carriage costs peaking once the digital systems take off in a big way.

Zee is continuing to bleed in the Gujarat market. Are there plans to address this by launching a Gujarati news channel to support the GEC?
Zee Gujarati is making a small loss. The local viewers watch a lot of Hindi entertainment content. But we have no plans to launch a Gujarati news channel.

Why is the ZNL scrip lowly priced in the market?
Zee News Ltd is a terribly undervalued stock. It is a profitable company in the news business, has leading regional GECs, and will continue to post strong subscription growth. The market should adequately react to this.

August 25, 2008

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.

February 10, 2007
Demerged Zee Telefilms starts trading on a strong note

MUMBAI: Subhash Chandra couldn’t have hoped for a better start to the first day’s trading of Zee Telefilm’s demerged entity. Zee Entertainment Ltd, which also temporarily houses the direct-to-home (DTH) business, opened on Monday at Rs 249 on the BSE, touched a high of Rs 297.80, before closing the day at Rs 272.20 with 3.45 million shares changing hands at the counter.

On the NSE, the scrip opened at Rs 275 and closed marginally lower at Rs 273. “This was more or less in line with the market expectations. Though the scrip fell 20 per cent from the previous close of Rs 341, this was the first day’s trading of the demerged entity. The stock witnessed heavy trading,” a market analyst said.

Zee’s other two demerged entities – Wire & Wireless India Ltd. (WWIL) and Zee News Ltd. (ZNL) – would get listed independently, after relevant approvals from the stock exchanges. Listing is likely in January 2007.
The process of getting approval of Zee’s DTH business under Dish TV is underway. A separate record date for the demerger of Dish TV will be announced. Till then, Zee Entertainment Ltd will include Dish TV while trading on the stock exchanges.

“The value of both the companies is embedded in the current scrip price. Investors, after all, will get shares in Dish TV when it is demerged,” said an analyst in a stock broking firm.

After Dish TV gets listed, Zee Entertainment Ltd could see a drop in price. “But the sum of parts will be higher than the current level. We see it somewhere in the Rs 320-330 range,” the analyst said.

Zee TV’s ratings are also going up and as the second largest general entertainment channel, it will be able to exploit advertising revenues which should get more properly reflected in the next fiscal, the analyst added.

December 18, 2006