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Tag: Zee

  • ZEE Entertainment donates ambulances, PPE kits and oxygen humidifiers to Karnataka

    ZEE Entertainment donates ambulances, PPE kits and oxygen humidifiers to Karnataka

    MUMBAI:  Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) in line with its national level CSR drive against Covid2019 officially handed over critical healthcare equipment to the state of Karnataka, further strengthening its fight against Covid2019. In the presence of the chief minister, B. S. Yediyurappa, the healthcare requirements were handed over to the Karnataka Government.

    The Company will be utilizing the sanctioned CSR budget (for the fight against Covid2019) to provide the following essentials to the state:

    • Ambulances – 20 ambulances to be donated to the state.

    • PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) Kits – 4,000 kits donated to the state.

    • Oxygen Humidifiers: 25 oxygen humidifiers donated to the state.

    Read more news on ZEEL

    ZEE CEO and MD Punit Goenka said, “The Karnataka Government has taken some strong steps to ensure that the health and safety of its citizens is safeguarded. ZEE is committed to provide strong support to the state in its fight against Covid2019. We sincerely hope that the donated healthcare requirements will further enable the state to address the challenges faced due to the ongoing pandemic and strengthen its overall healthcare ecosystem."

     Karnataka CM B. S. Yediyurappa said, “The Government of Karnataka is doing everything to keep the people of the state safe and follow all precautions against Covid19. We would like to thank Mr. Punit Goenka and ZEE for their support in this time of need towards Covid2019 response and relief.” 

    In its national level CSR drive towards enhancing the country’s healthcare infrastructure against Covid2019, ZEE had committed to donate 240+ ambulances, 46,000+ PPE kits and 90+ oxygen humidifiers. The donation to the state of Karnataka is in line with this national level CSR drive.

    Read more news on Punit Goenka

     At a national level, ZEE has also financially supported over 5000 Daily Wage Earners working directly or indirectly with the Company. Further, 3400+ employees have contributed towards PM CARES Fund.

  • Star leads TV network sweepstakes

    Star leads TV network sweepstakes

    MUMBAI: Which is the ruling television network in India? Which of them has  raced ahead in the viewership stake post the opening up of the lockdowns? Which network’s content is resonating better with viewer cooped up in homes?

    Well, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has released data for four weeks from week 32 to week 35 for All India 2+ audiences to give us its take. And the winner, according to that is the Star network with a share of 22 per cent. Clearly, Uday Shankar, K. Madhavan, and team are doing something right.

    And very close behind it is the Zee network with its 21 per cent slice. Clearly, CEO Punit Goenka is living up to his commitment that he is going to put his best foot forward and help the network regain its leadership position.

     Network18, it looks, like has a lot of catching up to do with a 11 per cent piece.

    The Sun network, which was once ruling is at fourth position with its share of 11 per cent while Sony brings up the rear with a nine per cent piece.

    BARC has clarified that the Star network includes Star, Disney, Asianet, and NGC. Zee, Zee Media ancd Zee Akash have been considered as part of the  Zee network . Network18 includes Viacom18, AETN18, TV18, IBMN Lokmat.

  • Zee is becoming a part of advertisers’ culture: Ashish Sehgal

    Zee is becoming a part of advertisers’ culture: Ashish Sehgal

    NEW DELHI: Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd has gone through turbulent times for the past 18 months but under the able leadership of CEO Punit Goenka it seems to have managed to win the market confidence despite the impact of Covid2019 pandemic on revenues and the new NTO orders of channel pricing. With the confidence of investors back and advertising slowly clawing it's way back, the network is looking to a better tomorrow. Its chief growth officer of advertisement revenue Ashish Sehgal sat down for a virtual fireside chat with Indiantelevision.com founder CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari discussing the way ahead for the network and TV industry at large, on Tuesday evening. 

    Sehgal claimed that television, as a medium of entertainment as well as advertising, has a lot of scope in the country. “The first fact is that the penetration of TV itself is only 67 per cent in this country and so we see a huge growth opportunity there. Secondly, the consumer still has this habit of watching videos on television.”

    He added that TV was recording double-digit growth till 2018-19, a pretty handsome growth from the perspective of how TV ad volumes work. “It’s just in the last financial year, 2019-20 that the economy started to take a dive and then this pandemic happened. The loss was pretty hard on other mediums too but recovery is faster on TV.” 

    Sehgal shared that the medium has already reached 70- 80 per cent of pre-Covid numbers and will match that by the end of this year. “FMCG, which is the mainstay for television contributing around 65 per cent of the overall ad revenues is coming back. And there is a lot of competition in that category, so I am expecting the other similar categories will also come back soon. Advertisers have realised that as the economy opens up they should start promoting themselves.”

    He insisted that television has a bright future and the industry will pick up on a month-on-month basis from here on. 

    Sehgal said while he will not compare it to the last year numbers, in comparison to how the previous 3-4 months went, they had a good run during Ganpati and Onam. 

    He elaborated, “The sentiment is coming back. For example, I stay in Delhi and when you go out, you can see the traffic jams happening again and people are visiting markets. People have started venturing out. They are understanding that while they should be careful, they can’t be staying in the fear of the virus forever.” 

    According to him a number of channels have already started consolidating. During Onam, the Malayalam language channel Zee Keralam locked in numbers similar to last year and also maintained a steady viewership. The network’s Bhojpuri channels are market leaders and doing great in the Telugu market too. He is also expecting IPL to be a good time for his channels as well as the whole medium. 

    However, despite high viewership and ad volumes, one problem that still remains with TV as a medium of advertising is the cheap ad rates and the negotiations that are made on the advertisers’ part.

    Sehgal quipped, “Television is still the cheapest medium to advertise and which is why it is also the preferred medium for advertising. It is also because advertisers are still paying on CPR basis but if you look at BARC ratings, it is (not) representing a very large population. A lot of genres, like English, are not very well represented by these ratings. Digital is monitoring each and every impression and TV is not doing that.”

    To counter this, Zee has been working on newer approaches to help clients. Rather than just providing a medium to advertise, they are providing them solutions catering to their specific needs. 

    “We don’t have an approach of selling on our network any more. We are working with them to extend solutions helping them generate good ROI. We are working more like consultants to them. Be it curating special ads as we did for Cadbury where they wanted to thank all Covid2019 warriors or using our characters as influencers for their products, we are assisting them with a tactical understanding of their brands and TG.”

    He added that each advertiser has its own culture and if a media partner starts becoming a part of that culture and not work on a transactional basis, it will retain the client for a long time. 

  • How Zee re-oriented its international strategy in FY2019-20

    How Zee re-oriented its international strategy in FY2019-20

    NEW DELHI: With the world grappling with a slowdown and a potential recession, companies have been tinkering around with their domestic and international strategies. India’s leading broadcaster Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zeel)- which had been grappling with its own ownership issues –  is no different. Even as it has realigning its domestic business to build its digital offerings and some niche television channels, it has been doing the clipping some services in some markets, while adding some in others internationally. 

    Recognised as one of the most international of India’s TV networks, Zeel has been serving content in 19 languages, including nine foreign ones, through its channels which reach more than 170 countries.

    It follows a two-pronged strategy for internationally– reaching the Indian and south Asian diaspora with channels in Indian languages and serving the non-Indian audience in their native languages, as it
    says in its annual report for FY 20.

    The change is mostly perceptible in Europe. Three channels were shut down in the UK in 2019-20, which is now a primarily an FTA market for south Asian networks. Zee One, a network channel – which it tomtommed two years ago – was also shut down in Germany in May 2020.

    The network has strengthened its distribution reach in the US with a multiscreen platform presence across smart TVs, mobile, and set top box devices. It signed new distribution deals in Mexico, Peru, and Trinidad and organized the first-ever Indian Film Festival at the Embassy of India in Mexico City.

    During the year, Zeel also worked towards increasing the distribution reach of its channels in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. A total of eight productions were executed in the year of which three were in Tamil.

    In Africa, the distribution reach of Zee Magic was expanded on new platforms (on digital entertainment platforms StarTimes and Starsat) and Zee Alem was introduced in the Ethiopian market in June 2020. This channel is in Amharic language.

    Zeel was impacted in the middle east and north Africa (MENA) region owing to the shutting down of the south Asian language Pehla platform from OSN, one of the largest DTH operators, in the region. However, the network expanded its reach in the UAE and Qatar through the  launch of new channels on existing platforms and three local Arabic series productions in Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon based on stories that were picked from the Zee format library.

  • Focussing on the Long Term, Gozoop Announces Appraisals for its team

    Focussing on the Long Term, Gozoop Announces Appraisals for its team

    Gozoop – India’s leading independent digital-first communication company has announced appraisals for its employees.

    In these unprecedented times, while most companies are cutting costs and laying off staff, Gozoop has prioritised its team’s best interests. It has decided to reward its top performers for their consistent contributions before and during the pandemic 

    The company had also promised no COVID related job losses as early as April despite the business being hit as companies aggressively cut down on marketing budgets. Since then the company has aggressively won new businesses such as Gulf Oil, Bisleri, British Council and Zee. As a result, the independent agency has continued to attract best marketing talent from the industry, resulting in a significant increase in its headcount. 

    Gozoop’s culture and people-centric decisions have time and again made a positive impact not only on the media industry but across sectors. Gozoop was also one of the first companies in India to announce menstrual leave as well as mental wellness leaves. 

    The company has also been recognised by Great Places To Work Insitute for five years now. In 2020, the company was named as Best Workplace in the Media Industry as well.

    Speaking on the announcement, Rohan Bhansali, Co-Founder & Director, Gozoop said “The Gozoop way has always been to do the best we sustainably can for our people. I am grateful for as well as proud of the team’s valiant effort through the pandemic. We are also confident that we will emerge through this stronger. Our decision on appraising our team stems from this same sense of gratefulness as well confidence.”

    Bansi Raja, Chief Happiness Officer, Gozoop said “I am so proud of Gozoop. Pandemic or not, great talent should be celebrated and acknowledged. Nothing makes me happier as head of HR than my team as well as my company prospering. We are Building to Last.”
     

  • Shyamala Venkatachalam joins Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd as chief legal officer

    Shyamala Venkatachalam joins Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd as chief legal officer

    MUMBAI: Shyamala Venkatachalam has been appointed as the chief legal officer of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL). She started her career as legal and corporate affairs professional at Dynamatic Technologies which designs and builds highly engineered products for automotive, aerospace, hydraulic and security applications in Europe and India.

    After spending close to eight years there, she handled a wide range of issues related to domestic and international contracts, intellectual property, foreign collaborations, banking finance, indirect and direct taxation. 

    With over 15 years in the media industry, Venkatachalam was associated with several coveted brands like Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, Sony Pictures Network, Discovery Communications and, Star India Private Ltd, a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. She joined Star India in 2014 as executive vice president head business counsel.

    After her stint at Star India, she founded ‘The REMEDIATION Company’. Throughout her career, she continued to manage the legal, regulatory and corporate affairs in the television media and moved up to a senior leadership role over the years.

     Venkatachalam has also authored several media-related research papers and a book titled "Remediation – Digital Transformation of Television.”

  • ZEEL’s Punit Goenka expects advertising growth to be back in H2, moderate sub growth for FY 21

    ZEEL’s Punit Goenka expects advertising growth to be back in H2, moderate sub growth for FY 21

    KOLKATA: The unprecedented Covid2019 crisis has had a major impact on media and entertainment business, the leading player Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) reported a revenue decline of 34.7 per cent YoY in the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year (FY) 21, led by the sharp decline in ad revenues. As the economy has started showing signs of slow recovery, ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka expect the growth of the advertising to be back in the second half of the year.

    “On the advertising side, our outlook is quite positive. We do expect the growth to be back in the second half of the year. We are targeting growth from the third quarter itself. We have factored in IPL into the same number. I don’t want to comment on what IPL is going to do, what is the industry going to do. It’s a very normal feature now,” Goenka stated in an investors call after declaring Q1 results.

    The company executives stated that the recovery has already begun and the advertisers are coming back as consumer spending has started again. ZEEL is seeing improvement in ad revenue on a month-on-month basis. 

    Goenka also mentioned that FMCG is the largest sector of advertisement that ZEEL gets. Hence, this sector is the first one to start moving for the broadcaster to have any semblance of growth coming back. 

    “If we look at the initial days, almost all discretionary companies completely stopped advertising and advertising was primarily dominated by FMCGs in the month of April. So, as things have progressed, FMCGs have been scaling up their investments. On top of that, we are seeing discretionary categories like Auto, Handset all are coming back. But primarily, it is FMCG where the rebound is strong. As festive seasons kicks in we will expect other categories like telecom, consumer durables, e-commerce to scale up their investment. And on the basis of that, we are projecting that we will see acceleration starting September,” ZEEL corporate strategy and investor relations head Bijal Shah said.

    ZEEL does not predict any major enhancement in CAPEX for the FY. Although it will be better positioned to guide the EBIDTA margin at the end of Q2 given the persisting uncertainties, it emphasizes that there will be an improvement compared to Q1. ZEEL expects the margin to improve sequentially every quarter, gradually inching back to 30 per cent. If everything is normal, it expects the margin to be at 30 per cent or above at FY 22. 

    The broadcaster will go back to its normal run rate on content cost in q2 itself because all channels have started going back to normal production level which was before pre-COVID. However, the content cost-revenue ratio may go up for this FY given the drop in advertising revenue. 

    “We have been really working on collections. While the receivables went up last year, we will see our receivables coming up as things settle down. In the coming quarters of FY 21, our receivables should be in line with what there were in earlier years,” ZEEL CFO Rohit Gupta said.

    “ In terms of domestic subscription revenue, we have factored in several price increases in channels and bouquets. Since a stay has been put on NTO 2.0, we have not been able to take those hikes. We do expect the domestic subscription growth will be moderated for the current year. NTO 2.0, whenever implemented, will have very short term impact as we do believe our content has the ability for consumption pull. Our ZEE5 subscription growth will also aid the growth,” Goenka commented. 

  • ZEEL donates 20 ambulances, 4,000 PPE kits and 1,50,000 daily meals to Telangana

    ZEEL donates 20 ambulances, 4,000 PPE kits and 1,50,000 daily meals to Telangana

    MUMBAI: ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEE) as part of its  its national level CSR drive against Covid2019, officially handed over 20 Ambulances and 4000 PPE kits to the state of Telangana in the presence of minister of municipal administration and urban development, industries, and IT and commerce KT Rama Rao, to further strengthen its fight against Covid2019. Over and above the support towards healthcare relief, the company is providing 1,50,000 daily meals to migrants and daily wage earners across the state, leveraging its partnership with Akshaya Patra Foundation. The company has utilised the sanctioned CSR budget (for the fight against Covid2019) to provide the following essentials to the state of Telangana:

    • Ambulances – 20 ambulances donated to the state.

    • PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) Kits – 4,000 kits donated to the state.

    • Daily Meals – 1,50,000 daily meals provided to migrants and daily wage earners.

    ZEE MD and CEO Punit Goenka said, “ZEE is committed to provide a strong support to the Telangana Government in its fight against Covid-19, with a key focus on strengthening the overall healthcare infrastructure. We sincerely hope that the donated healthcare requirements will further enable the state to address the challenges faced due to the ongoing pandemic and strengthen its overall healthcare ecosystem."

    Minister of MA & UD, industries and IT & C KT Rama Rao said, “The government of Telangana has strengthened the health infrastructure on a wide scale during this pandemic and is working to ensure health and safety of all citizens in the state. We would like to thank Punit Goenka and ZEE for their support in this time of need towards Covid2019 response and relief."