ITV

Tag: Zeel

  • Zee TV evolves its core proposition

    Zee TV evolves its core proposition

    MUMBAI: It was in June 2011, when Zee TV announced a new brand identity featuring a new logo with a slogan ‘Ummeed Se Saje Zindagi’, conveying a progressive outlook for the channel. And keeping abreast with time, the channel has added another layer to its core proposition, making it even more relevant to everyday life scenarios that its viewers are faced with.

     

    Zee TV’s new brand slogan ‘Har Lamha Nayi Ummeed’ captures the beauty of rediscovering a new ray of hope with every moment of life.

     

    The new identity was unveiled by ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka at Zee Rishtey Awards 2014.

     

    Speaking on the new packing, Zee TV business head Pradeep Hejmadi said, “Zee TV’s core proposition of ‘Ummeed se saje Zindagi’ was about a celebration and vindication of a woman’s emerging beliefs and a reflection of her changing hopes, dreams and optimism. This essence was embodied by each of our protagonists who emerged as role models and harbingers of hope for the masses. In that sense, Zee TV will always stand for Ummeed. It is the articulation that will change to reflect the changing times. Today, with India poised for growth, there is a feeling of ‘a new hope, every moment’.  Zee TV’s new slogan ‘Har Lamha Nayi Ummeed’ captures this spirit and its brand philosophy as also its content will reflect the same!”

     

    The new packing is designed and developed by design studio Les Telecreateurs. Zee TV’s aqua blue logo now makes way for a deeper shade of blue, lending it a stronger, more dynamic edge. The new motif of the packaging is a spinning top, originally derived from the left top portion of the ‘Z’ itself. It spins, taking the form of a beautiful flower-like element. Here, each spine is perceived as a new lamha. “Every show of Zee TV is a new lamha, a new emotion, a new sense of exuberance, a new cherishable moment. And from this thought stems the new brand slogan ‘Har Lamha Nayi Ummeed’. The color scheme of the new packaging is further fine-tuned to a strong blue for weekday fiction shows evoking the faith and trust of our viewers, yellow for weekend fiction signifying warmth and optimism, orange for weekend non-fiction that stands for cheer, confidence and celebration. The red packaging for movies and events represents excitement and youthful energy,” added Hejmadi.

     

    Zee TV has rolled out a 360-degree marketing campaign across Hindi speaking market (HSM) to unveil the new identity. The creative agency, FCB Ulka, has conceptualised a simple yet memorable visual device of ‘fingers crossed’ to bring alive the new proposition. The channel has also brought on board ace music composers, Salim Sulaiman, to compose a very upbeat and memorable audio pneumonic to bring alive the essence of the new brand proposition.   

     

    In the wake of this brand refresh exercise, the channel will call out to its viewers to share their ummeed stories – slices of their life that will go on to inspire content on Zee TV as well as be showcased on digital platforms. Some of the most impressive, crowd-sourced stories will even be curated into a book by a best-selling author. Zee TV also plans to encourage its viewers to begin contributing videos of their acting, dancing or singing to an online talent repository, with gratification for the best entries every single month.

     

  • Zee Entertainment strengthens its digital team

    Zee Entertainment strengthens its digital team

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) in order to strengthen its digital presence has appointed Anjana Kshetry.

    As Zee Digital brand solutions head, Kshetry will report to Essel Group chief knowledge officer Debashish Ghosh.

    Kshetry will be working in close coordination with the India Web Portal, Ditto TV and Zee Digital teams. She will also be responsible for leveraging the Zee sales team for integration of digital propositions with TV sales propositions in the most optimum manner. Furthermore, she will be looking at brand integration opportunities in the digital arenas being explored with Essel Vision.

    Kshetry was previously the senior vice president – sales and brand solutions, heading the national sales portfolio for brand solutions and Zee Khana Khazana. She has been associated with Zee for about 14 years, and has worked with the organisation in multiple capacities.

     

  • Sunil Buch joins Zeel as chief business officer

    Sunil Buch joins Zeel as chief business officer

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) has appointed Sunil Buch as its new chief business officer (CBO) to drive the business deliverables to the company.

     

    He joined the company on 3 November and will report to Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka. Buch will be responsible for effective and quick implementation of prioritised strategic initiatives across the organisation.

     

    Speaking on his appointment, Goenka said, “We are extremely happy to have Sunil join us as the chief business officer. As we work towards accomplishment of our Vision 2020 goals, we want to undertake enterprise-wide strategic initiatives that focus on not only enhancing business performance but also bring in operational excellence and efficiency across the network. We are confident that Sunil’s high degree of consumer connect, his creativity and communication skills coupled with his sharp business focus and ability to manage a wide spectrum will enable us to gain significant competitive advantage.”

     

    Commenting on his new venture, Buch said “I look forward to joining Zee at this exciting juncture. The path ahead is challenging yet filled with immense opportunity and I hope to contribute positively to this growth.”

     

    Sunil has over two decades of experience in functional and general management across various sectors including FMCG, advertising, media and entertainment and telecom retail. Prior to joining Zee, he was the business head – Reliance Own Retail at Reliance Communications. He has also worked at Colgate – Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson, Leo Burnett and Marico.

  • Zee Café brings all eight seasons of Desperate Housewives

    Zee Café brings all eight seasons of Desperate Housewives

    MUMBAI: Zee Café will be airing all eight seasons of the American television comedy-drama series, Desperate Housewives, and is spinning a new flavour to the show giving it the theme of Sin is In. Targeting young urban females this time around, Zee Café is promising to ensure engagement levels a notch higher.

     

    Zee Café is running a digital campaign for the promotion of the show through a website created especially for the show: www.sinisin.in . The site is created to intrigue young urban women about the show as well as give them an opportunity to engage with activities on the website which are related to the show. The site has been designed in such a way that without answering a few basic fun questions in the beginning, one cannot access the site. The site also includes pictures, trivia, and more.

     

    Speaking on the occasion Zee Niche Cluster and ZMC EVP and business head Anurag Bedi stated, “We are quite excited about the different viewer engagement activities and have been getting a great response from the viewers so far. Airing all eight seasons of the most watched show worldwide is definitely a milestone”

     

    In addition to the digital consumer engagement , Zee has also roped in radio channels for direct outreach in the metros for that will not only push for episode tune ins, but engage the viewer via hashtags, contests and RJ mentions. In an effort to connect with the audience pan India the channel will be airing promos of the show during the Diwali blockbuster movie-Happy New Year across premium multiplexes in the metros.

     

    ZEEL English entertainment head content and marketing Sharlton Menezes commented that the campaign is a very targeted one with clear mindset of reaching out to young urban women. “Therefore  we have opted for radio, social media and movies in addition to network promotions on television. Every little detail, be it the theme or the language used, everything has been created and designed as to what would appeal to young urban women.” he added.

     

    Sensodyne is the powered by sponsor with Snapdeal and Emirates is the associate sponsor for the show. Desperate Housewives starts 29 October, Monday to Friday at 9 pm on Zee Café.

  • Zee Studio to show entire gamut of movie genre

    Zee Studio to show entire gamut of movie genre

    MUMBAI: Zee Studio with its recent rebranding has decided to take forward its previous philosophy of ‘Hollywood on Television’ to the next level with its new tagline ‘See it all’.  The channel in its bid to stand out in a cluttered environment decided to rebrand in order to provide an opportunity to Indian viewers, access to the biggest Hollywood films.

     

    Zeel vice president and business head Anurag Bedi informs, “Our positioning is unique; we are not talking about just premieres, or a certain genre of movies, but staying true to See It All. The new brand look and ideology focuses on younger audiences and we wish to create a niche audience base with the refreshed look and high quality content.”

     

    When asked what research was undertaken by the channel before deciding a makeover, Bedi says, “As a result of our research we observed certain changes in consuming pattern like popularity of Hollywood movies growing more than ever in the country. In our effort to offer best content to the viewers, we decided to renew our identity completely. The new look is even more technologically sound and the movie viewing experience is heightened.” The channel has partnerships with leading studios like Disney and Paramount.

     

    The channels target audience is young urban movie enthusiasts, primarily males, residing in the metros. The channel has seen good growth in the key metros and in the 1 million plus towns as well. It has managed to bring in new consumers from the tier II towns as well says Bedi.

     

    The channel has renewed its library with a line-up of movies from genres like action, animation and comedy. The channel had previously come up with the property ‘Death By Laughter’. The other is ‘The One Movie You Must Watch’ and has launched a property called ‘Premier Action’ showcasing a big action movie of the month. With a new look, the channel has a strong line up this October including channel premieres such as How To Train Your Dragon, Lincoln, Shrek Forever After and Shutter Island. The new look comes just ahead of the festive season. It has launched a festival property ‘Studio Dynamite’ which will include blockbusters such as Mission Impossible, Transformers, Avengers etc. In the past, Marvels The Avengers, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Transformers: Dark of the Moon have worked well for the channel.

     

    The afternoon 1 pm slot has performed well for the channel especially on the weekends where it has viewership which is comparable to the evening primetime slot according to Bedi. Larger than life movies, legendary characters and onscreen iconography will be used to leverage the popularity of some of the iconic characters and famous actors.

     

    To promote the refresh, the channel has worked out a 360 degree communication plan. This includes print ads, TV commercials, outdoor campaigns and innovative social media contests and engagement. To create visibility for the brand the channel is in the middle of a large outdoor campaign across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore which announces their new ideology.

     

    It has kept outdoor as a part of their marketing plans for their big ticket movies. A 10 feet tall Transformer model (Optimus Prime) has been placed at key locations, where one could click pictures with the model. Additionally there will be photo-booths wherein people can click pictures that can be superimposed on backgrounds from movies of their line up. As part of the campaign, Zee Studio will be reaching out to over 30 trade media agencies across these cities.

     

    On the digital front Zee Studio is promoting its refresh via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The channel is running a contest for its viewers wherein they have to answer questions while watching movies and win gadgets such as iPhones and iPads. This contest has been running for first fifteen days of the refresh. On a parting note, Bedi says that their social media presence has increased as they currently have 1.4 million fans on Facebook and over 60,000 followers on Twitter.

     

  • Q2-2015: ZEEL reports 7 per cent growth in ad revenue

    Q2-2015: ZEEL reports 7 per cent growth in ad revenue

    BENGALURU: The Subhash Chandra led content and broadcast player Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) reported a 7.3 per cent hike in advertising revenue in Q2-2015 at Rs 625.94 crore versus the Rs 583.30 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year and a negligible 0.6 per cent more than the Rs 622.10 crore in Q1-2015. The company’s ad revenue in HY-2015 reported at Rs 1248.04 crore is 12.1 per cent more than the Rs 1133.37 crore in HY-2015.

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 Lakhs = 10 million = 1 crore.

    According to the company, due to mandatory accounting changes necessitated by change in content aggregator regulation by TRAI, the current quarter’s subscription and TIO figures can’t be compared with the figures of last year.  

    ZEEL’s subscription figures stood at Rs 424.45 crore in Q2-2015 with domestic subscriptions of Rs.337.3 crore and international subscription figure at Rs 87.2 crore. Subscription figures for Q1-2015 was Rs 412.13 crore while Rs 458.12 crore for Q1-2014. HY-2015 subscription revenue has been reported at Rs 836.58 crore versus Rs 882.19 crore in HY-2014.

    The company reported PAT at Rs 227 crore (20.3 per cent of Total Operating Revenue or TIO) in Q2-2015 which is 7.8 per cent more than the Rs 210.57 crore (19.4 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 crore and 3.9 per cent less than the Rs 236.31 (21.5 per cent of TIO) crore in Q2-2014. HY-2015 PAT at Rs 460.18 crore (21.2 per cent of TIO) was 5.3 per cent more than the Rs 437.04 crore (21.2 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.

    Let us look at the other Q2-2015 and HY-2014 reported by ZEEL

    The company reported other sales and services income (other income) of Rs 67.43 crore in Q2-2015, which is 3.24 times the Rs  20.83 crore in Q1-2015 and 12.7 per cent more than the Rs 59.86 crore in Q2-2014. Other income announced by the company for HY-2015 at Rs 88.26 crore was 11.8 per cent more than the Rs 78.97 crore in HY-2014.
    ZEEL’s TIO in Q2-2015 is at Rs 1117.82 crore versus Rs 1085.70 crore in Q1-2015 and Rs 1101.28 crore in Q2-2014. In HY-2015, the company reported Rs 2172.88 crore TIO and Rs 2074.53 crore for HY-2014.

    The company’s Total expenditure (TE) for Q2-2015 at Rs 810.75 crore was 1.8 per cent more than the Rs 796.10 crore in Q1-2015 and 1.4 per cent more than the Rs 799.89 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015 TE was 5.8 per cent more at Rs 1576.21 crore as compared to the Rs 1490.31 crore in HY-2014.

    Q-o-q, the company’s operating cost went up 8.4 per cent to Rs 470.03 crore in Q2-2014 from Rs 434.02 crore. The operating cost for this quarter was 6.7 per cent lower than the Rs 504.11 crore in Q2-2014. HY-2015 operating cost is 4.5 per cent lower at Rs 873.68 crore versus Rs 914.87 crore in HY-2014.

    Employee Benefit Expense (EBE) for Q2-2015 announced at Rs 107.96 crore was 3.4 per cent less than the Rs 111.71 crore in Q1-2014 and 8.8 per cent more than the Rs 99.19 crore in Q2-2014. EBE for HY-2015 at Rs 219.67 crore was 12.8 per cent more than the Rs 194.82 crore in HY-2014.

    ZEEL chairman Subhash Chandra said, “We expect the media industry to benefit from the improvement in the overall economic environment.  TV spends are likely to improve and we expect television media industry to grow faster than the recent past.”

    Commenting on the second quarter earnings,  ZEEL managing director and CEO Punit Goenka said, “It has been a mixed quarter as far as television advertising is concerned. Even though overall economic sentiment was positive during the quarter, it translated into increased advertising spends only during the fag end of the quarter.  Our expectation is that advertising spends will continue to increase during the rest of the year. Our performance in the quarter reflects the industry wise trends.”

     “On the subscription front, the transition of distribution of channels from MediaPro to Taj Television is now complete, and we continue to grow in high single digits,” he added.

     

    Click here for Financial Statements

  • Bharat Ranga bids adieu to ZEEL

    Bharat Ranga bids adieu to ZEEL

    MUMBAI: After serving Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) for close to 16 years, the network’s chief content and creative officer Bharat Ranga has decided to move on. Ranga, who put down his papers on 23 September, according to a source in the network will serve his last day on 7 October 2014.

     

    Being a part of ZEEL since 1998, he took over the content role in April 2012 where he was managing content business for all domestic entertainment channels of the network.

     

    He is the man who can be credited for the launch of &pictures, labelled as India’s first interactive movie channel.

     

    Prior to that, he was the executive director – international operations, leading and managing international business of the company. Before joining ZEEL, he was with Times of India.

     

    A commerce graduate from the University of Rajasthan, Ranga has done his MBA from the University of Ajmer and an Advanced Management Program from Wharton Business School.

     

    A letter was sent out by ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka today morning to the team in the network to announce Ranga’s resignation. The letter read:

     

    “We wish to inform that Mr Bharat Ranga has decided to pursue his career beyond ZEE. With deep regret, we have accepted his decision and will always wish him the very best for his future endeavours.

     

    Bharat has been with the organisation since 1998 and he has had a long checkered career with us. Bharat moved across functions and domains seamlessly, from sales to business head roles to being the International Business Head and then, the Chief Creative and Content Head for the organisation. During his tenure, Bharat has been instrumental in creating value and building opportunities for the organisation.

     

    During his career span with the ZEE, Bharat has contributed to the overall growth of the organisation by leveraging new revenue opportunities, bringing about path breaking content, starting new streams of content through new channel launches and transcending the business beyond geographies; to name a few. Bharat had the capability to move with ease in managing the environment and challenges. We wish to sincerely thank him and put on record his valuable contribution made to the organisation.

     

    Bharat’s last day with the organisation will be 7 October 2014. All those verticals and functions which reported to Mr. Bharat Ranga will now report to the undersigned until further advised.

     

    We wish Bharat the very best for his future endeavor and the team continued success for future.”

     

    Best Wishes

     

    Punit Goenka

     

    MD & CEO

  • &pictures airs ‘Fusion Flicks’ all week!

    &pictures airs ‘Fusion Flicks’ all week!

    MUMBAI: &pictures, India’s premium Hindi movie channel is all set to make this week enjoyable and entertaining for its patrons with ‘Fusion Flicks – The Best of Bollywood & Hollywood Film Festival’ airing on &pictures from 22 to 26 September. The Fusion Flicks film festival will give audiences the greatest movie viewing experience with the best of Desi & Videshi films!

     

    While most Bollywood movies are huge stress busters with an adequate mix of comedy and drama, Hollywood movies are more intense and thematic thus drawing audiences into a particular concept. From the time they switch on the television, Fusion Flicks will go on throughout the week of 22 to 26 September daily from 8:30 pm onwards with two absolutely gripping movie flicks aired back to back on &pictures.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, ZEEL deputy national business head, Hindi movie channels Ruchir Tiwari stated, “At &pictures, it has been our constant endeavour to bring the best of movies for our viewers. Fusion Flicks is a combination of some of the best Bollywood and Hollywood movies on prime-time slot. We are hopeful that our audiences will enjoy this experience.”

     

    From movies like ABCD – Any Body Can Dance, Ramaiya Vastvaiya, Commando to Main Tera Hero, &pictures will air some popular Bollywood movies ranging from edge-of-the-seat drama to comedy beyond compare. This paired with some of the most popular and intense Hollywood movies of like XXX, Men in Black 2, Terminator 3, Resident Evil and Spiderman, ‘Fusion Flicks’ brings to its audiences the best of both worlds. What’s more, you ask? The ‘Fusion Flicks’ festival also features the World Television Premiere of the most recent hit movie Total Siyappa on the last day of the week to end the filmi journey with a bang!

     

    So, when you step into your home after a long day at work… drama, romance, thrill and comedy will take over your lives to reward you with the best movie viewing experience ever with Fusion Flicks – the Best of Bollywood & Hollywood Film Festival all of this week only on &pictures!

     

    So tune-in to experience the best of both worlds – Hollywood & Bollywood from 22-26 September,  8pm onwards only on &pictures!

     

  • Bombay HC clears Zeel acquisition of DMCL’s media business undertaking

    Bombay HC clears Zeel acquisition of DMCL’s media business undertaking

    MUMBAI: Finally passing all the hurdles, Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) announced to the BSE that the company has finally got the Bombay High Court nod for the ‘Scheme of Arrangement between Diligent Media Corporation Limited (DMCL) and the Company and their respective shareholders and creditors, for demerger of Media Business Undertaking (MBU) of DMCL’.

     

    The undertaking comprises media and entertainment business, event management activities, TV channel license and TV reality show formats for game based shows. Through this business, Zeel is planning to give an impetus to its event management capabilities. Planned are events and game shows.

     

    The scheme looks at the demerger of the MBU from DMCL and then vesting it with Zeel. Equity shareholders of DMCL will be given preference shares by Zeel in the ratio of one preference share of Re 1 of Zeel for every four equity shares of Rs 10 each held in DMCL. The company says that 2.23 crore preference shares shall be issued in all.

     

    DMCL was formed in 2005 with a 50:50 JV between Essel Group and Dainik Bhaskar Corp (DB). In 2012, Essel Group bought out DB’s 50 per cent.

     

    The entire DMCL is now under the two arms of Essel – Zee Media with DNA and Zee Entertainment with the MBU.

     

    Zeel was also recently included in the 50-share CNX Nifty index replacing Diageo-controlled United Spirits. The network has been included in the recently launched CNX Media Index on the NSE and carried the maximum weight of 45.45 per cent in the index that comprises 15 media and entertainment stocks.

     

    Reacting to the news, the share price of Zeel rose to 285.25 during trading on 12 September and closed on 283.75

  • Zee Cinema brings back ‘South Ka Superpunch’ on public demand

    Zee Cinema brings back ‘South Ka Superpunch’ on public demand

    MUMBAI: Carrying its legacy forward and with a mission to entertain their viewers, Zee Cinema, India’s largest Hindi Movie Channel, is all set to allure movie aficionados with its second season of ‘South Ka Superpunch-Returns’ on special public demand. The film festival will screen five super hit South Indian movies from 15 -19 September 2014 at 9pm.

     

    ZEEL deputy national business head, Hindi movie channels Ruchir Tiwari said, “Our campaign, South Ka Superpunch’ showcased the new age villain and the property garnered rave reviews from all quarters including word-of-mouth and social networking to deliver high ratings for the films. Since the film festival is back on public demand, we are confident that it will get even bigger this time!”

     

    Starting from 15 September, raise a toast to the flashy flamboyance of south Indian cinema. Kick starting the festival with action thriller movie- ‘Shiva: The Super Hero’, the channel goes on to show   comedy drama –‘Daringbaaz’. From 15 to 19 September, the channel will also showcase famous blockbusters like ‘Mahaveer No.1’, ‘Chennai vs. China’ and ‘No.1 Businessman’ which will leave the audience thoroughly entertained because when it comes to the raw and debonair charm, no one can do it as well as the South Indian actors!

     

    Zee Cinema, recognided for promoting its campaign in innovative and engaging ways, had bagged the Global PromaxBDA awards in 2013, by winning 11 awards in various categories for their campaign – ‘South Ka Superpunch’. The objective was to bring the cross-section of Hindi movie audiences to view these films that are perceived as whacky and surreal and the creative strategy was to highlight the quintessential quirkiness of these films – that are exaggeration of action, emotion and drama.