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Tag: ZMCL

  • ZMCL reports growth in ad, subscription revenue by 9, 18 per cent in FY-2014

    ZMCL reports growth in ad, subscription revenue by 9, 18 per cent in FY-2014

    BENGALURU: Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL), the erstwhile Zee News Limited, reported advertising (ad) revenue of Rs 220.51 crore in FY-2014, 9.2 per cent more than FY-2013. The company also reported an 18.5 per cent growth in subscription revenue to Rs 99.9 crore in FY-2014.

     

    ZMCL total income from operations in FY-2014 at Rs 335.16 crore was 10.32 per cent more than the Rs 303.82 crore in FY-2013. The company’s total income from operations in Q4-2014 at Rs 82.78 crore was (-9.72) per cent lower than the Rs 91.69 crore in Q3-2014 and 4.69 per cent more than the Rs 79.07 crore in Q4-2013.

     

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by ZMCL for FY-2014 and Q4-2014

     

     

    ZMCL PAT for FY-2014 at Rs 18.93 crore (5.65 per cent of income from operations) was (-21.67) per cent lower than the Rs 24.17 crore (7.95 per cent of income from operations) in the previous fiscal.  The company reported PAT of Rs 4.11 crore (4.97 per cent of income from operations) in Q4-2014, which was (-30.52) per cent lower than the Rs 5.92 crore (6.45 per cent of income from operations) in the immediate trailing quarter and (-40.16) per cent lower than the Rs 6.87 crore (8.69 per cent of income from operations) during the year ago quarter Q4-2013.

     

    Other income during FY-2014 at Rs 20.81 crore was (-11.7) per cent lower than the Rs 23.58 crore in FY-2013.

     

    The company has suffered operational loss in Q4-2014. Other income of Rs 9.70 crore which includes dividends of Rs 3.60 crore and Rs 4.80 crore from ZMCL’s subsidiary companies as well as exceptional item of Rs 5.98 crore and a negative tax expense of Rs 2.01 crore has resulted in a PAT of Rs 4.11 crore mentioned above in Q4-2014.

     

    The company’s total expense for FY-2014 at Rs 325.76 crore (97.19 per cent of income from operations) was 17.08 per cent more than the Rs 278.23 crore (91.58 per cent of income from operations) in FY-2013. In Q4-2014, total expense at Rs 93.09 crore (112.47 per cent of income from operations) was 12.67 per cent more than the Rs 81.30 crore (88.67 per cent of income from operations) in the immediate trailing quarter and 19.28 per cent more than the Rs78.05 crore in Q4-2013.

     

    ZMCL’s operational cost at Rs 66.13 crore (19.73 per cent of income from operations) in FY-2014 was 24.86 per cent more than the Rs 52.96 crore (17.43 per cent of income from operations) in FY-2013. The company’s operational costs in Q4-2014 at Rs 20.28 crore (24.5 per cent of income from operations) in Q4-2014 was 23.8 per cent more than the Rs16.38 crore (17.86 per cent of income from operations) in Q3-2014 and 43.34 per cent more than the Rs14.15 crore (17.89 per cent of Income from Operations) in Q4-2013.

     

    ZMCL reported a 11.49 per cent increase in Employee Benefit Expense (EBE) in FY-2014 at Rs 99.1 crore (29.57 per cent of Income from Operations) as compared to the Rs 87.71 crore (28.87 per cent of Income from Operations) in FY-2013. The company’s EBE dropped (-3.56) per cent in Q4-2014 to Rs 25.13 crore (30.36 per cent of Income from Operations) from Rs 26.06 crore (28.42 per cent of Income from Operations) in Q3-2014 and was 8.31 per cent more than the Rs 23.2 crore (29.35 per cent of Income from Operations) in Q4-2013.

     

    Other expense in FY-2014 at Rs82.82 crore (24.71 per cent of Income from Operations) was 38.17 per cent more than the Rs 59.94 crore (19.73 per cent of Income from Operations) in FY-2013. The company’s Q4-2014 other expense at Rs27.83 crore (33.62 per cent of Income from Operations) was 44.97 per cent higher than the Rs19.2 crore (20.94 per cent of Income from Operations) in Q3-2014 and 30.64 per cent more than the Rs 21.31 crore (26.95 per cent of Income from Operations) in Q4-2013.

  • Zee News brings ‘Change Maker Awards’

    Zee News brings ‘Change Maker Awards’

    MUMBAI: One of the leaders of the Hindi news channels Zee News has come up with an initiative to recognise creative talents across the country. ‘Change Maker Awards’ will be held in March 2014 to highlight areas where change is required in various sectors of society such as environment, social issues and civic issues.

     

    Online entries are being invited for print, television, radio, digital and out of home categories from creative talents across India.

     

    An official statement from the company says that the awards have been created to ‘salute and reward such creative ideas that revolve within when it comes to make things better for everyone’.

     

    Speaking on this initiative,Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL) VP-marekting Rohit Kumar said, “Zee News has always read the nerves of its audience and change itself according to demand and environment. Our constant endeavor has been to recognize and facilitate change makers to substantiate a positive India. Change Maker Award is to promote and to provide a platform to such individuals.”

     

    The jury will consist of names such as Creativeland Asia Founder and Creative Chairman Raj Kuru, Havas Worldwide India managing partner and chief creative officer Satbir Singh, Flipkart Sr. VP- Marketing Ravi Vora, Raymond Director – Marketing Mrinmoy Mukherjee, BITM Managing Partner & Chief  Creative Officer Prathap Suthan.

     

    Bang In The Middle Managing Partner & Chief Creative Officer Prathap Suthan said, “There cannot be a better time than now for these awards. The nation is on full boil as far as the youth, energy and change is concerned, especially with the elections drawing near. More importantly, I believe that inviting, including, and involving creative people from advertising to take a shot at change just might fire some big ideas. I really hope that all our talent finds and uses this opportunity to bring up braver ideas. Our country needs all the help and hope it can get.”

     

    Ex Chief Election Commissioner Dr SY Qureshi said, “I am glad that Zee News is using its preeminent position to encourage an effort towards positive thinking. The Change Maker Awards is a well intentioned initiative that should unearth innovative ideas that can change people’s lives.”

     

    Previous initiatives of Zee News include ‘My Earth My Duty’, ‘Aapka Vote Aapki Taqat’, ‘Gift a Life’ etc. The last date of submission is 15 March 2014. 

  • Zee 24 Taas repositions itself as youth centric

    Zee 24 Taas repositions itself as youth centric

    MUMBAI: It is not just politicians who are looking to grab the attention of India’s large young population. News channels too are reorienting their programming to enhance receptivity among the younger lot.

     

    A few months ago, Zee Media Corporation’s (ZMCL) national Hindi news channel Zee News introduced its campaign ‘Ab Khabar Aapke Rangon Mein’ targeting the Gen Y of the country. Now, it’s the turn of Zee Media’s Marathi news channel Zee 24 Taas.

     

    Starting today, the channel is on air with a complete makeover to its look, feel and positioning as well. With an improved tagline ‘Raha ek paul pudhe’ (stay one step ahead), Zee 24 Taas is repositioning itself to suit an audience of 15 to 45 years as compared to its earlier target group of 25 to 45 years.

     

    Nearly half of India’s population is in the age group of 15 to 45 years. ZMCL CEO Alok Agrawal says, “With the advent of digitations, researches have shown that viewers are setting up new priorities; therefore it has become imperative to refurbish the brand. Backed by Zee Media Corporation Limited’s core philosophy to innovate in order to stay ahead, the new look of Zee 24 Taas is a step in the right direction. We are confident that the new identity will be applauded by the viewer which is rich in content and vibrant in look.” 

     

    “The positioning is ‘action oriented’ because that is what the youth is interested in today. Rather than focusing on long news and discussions, we are keeping it short with more visuals. The youth wants to know how the news will benefit them in their lives,” says Zee 24 Taas business head Bhushan Khot.

     

    Over the weekend, a series of programs under the tagline will be introduced to help youngsters know about how to move up in life. An election show began last week called Whats Up India to understand the younger generation’s perspective. Major colleges in Maharashtra are being visited for the show.

     

    There is increased competition among news channels. News consumption in Maharashtra also happens in English and Hindi. “Today our competition is not just restricted to Marathi language (news channels) but the overall news genre. Our aim is to make the entire channel strong onscreen as well as digital and at the same time reflect the aspirations of the young Marathi audience,” says Khot.

     

    Additionally, viewers can also catch Zee 24 Taas live on their mobile phones via Android, iOS and Blackberry apps through Ditto TV. Zee 24 Taas will later become a subscription services, after initial free preview for a month.

     

    Zee 24 Taas has refurbished its studio and a stylist has been hired to give new looks to its anchors in addition to requisite training. The online and offline graphics have also been modified by an inhouse team. Zee 24 Taas editor-in-chief Uday Nirgudkar says, “We are re-launching the channel to fine tune our self to reflect on the changing needs of viewers. We have always been viewer focused & viewer centric hence our new offering will be more qualitative and focused.”

     

    “We are trying to tell the audience that the language is Marathi but its look and feel is at par with any other channel,” adds Khot. The language the anchors use will also undergo a slight change with shorter sentences being the goal.

     

    The marketing campaign to promote the new look will break across the state on 6 February, with print and outdoor and followed up on radio and TV next week.

     

    Print ads will be visible in the newspapers DNA , Loksatta, Mumbai Times, Lokmat, Sakaal and others. On the digital front, banners and text ads will be seen on Google display network sites and Facebook.

     

    The promotional jingle for TV and radio has been composed by noted Marathi singer and writer Saleel Kulkarni. The 20-day long campaign created by Draftfcb Ulka will see about 150 outdoor spots being adorned, with most of them being bus shelters, bus panels and hoardings in Mumbai, Pune and Nashik. The radio jingle will run across Radio City 91.1 FM, Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM, Red FM 93.5 and Big 92.7 FM.

     

    Sources say the cost of the entire rebranding exercise would be approximately Rs 15 million with nearly 80 per cent of it being spent on marketing itself.

     

    For the third quarter ended 31 December 2013, the channel had a viewership of 21.3 million (Source: TAM, CS 4+, All India, Q3 Average Monthly Reach).

  • Zee Media launches Zee Kalinga in Odisha

    Zee Media launches Zee Kalinga in Odisha

    MUMBAI:  Zee News Media Corp (ZMCL) continues to expand its presence in the regional news space. As part of its new format of Terrestrial Entertainment Network (TEN), the television news group has launched Odia language Zee Kalinga to tap viewers in the state of Orissa.

     

    Zee Kalinga replaces Telugu language Zee 24 Gantalu which discontinued its operations in November 2013 as Zee News found the Andhra Pradesh market to be a highly competitive market. In January this year, ZMCL decided to move into Odisha with Zee Kalinga. The channel has been in preparation since six months and all it had to do was to apply to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) for converting its news licence from one channel to another. The approval from the MIB came through in January this year.

     

    ZMCL has hired around 100 employees for the Odia channel, with Amitava Bhattacharya as EVP, Satya Prakash Nayak as Resident Editor, Arjya Patnaik as Programming Head and Aryabhatta Dash as Marketing Manager. In the TEN format, the programming is equally divided between news and non-news shows.

     

    News will have several bulletins, chat shows and factual entertainment capsules, while non-news will have four fiction shows and two reality shows. “The key differentiator in the content strategy of the channel is to cut across audiences and serve them varied types of content on a platter. Zee Kalinga, through its unforgettable and powerful content, will bring to life a unique philosophy of ‘all in one’ entertainment,” says Bhattacharya.

     

    News is being created in-house while non-news shows have been outsourced to production houses. Half-an-hour bulletins will be spread across the day, while one hour news discussion will be telecast during prime time for five days a week. Special bulletins are also planned on sports, business and other special stories.

     

    Some of the non-news shows are Asha Ra Akash produced by Urmi Communications, Katha Ta Etiki by Shri Ganesh Telefilms, Abhinetri by Vidisha Kraft, Mo Jejemaa by Herald, Maa Raan Micha Kahuni by Asian Shopping Club and Mr. and Miss Kalinga by Prelude Novel Ventures. Three dubbed non-news shows are also to be aired – Bikram Betaal, Ramayana and Buddha.

     

    Zee Kalinga will have its main office at Bhubaneshwar and bureaus in Sambalpore, Behrampore and Balasore. It will cater to cable and satellite homes with people above four years of age falling under socio-economic classification of A, B and C.

     

    A marketing campaign, created by Sanket Communications, has been undertaken to proclaim the tagline ‘Mu Odia, Mo Odisha’. Print ads will begin tomorow in newspapers Samay, Samvad and Samaj while outdoor advertising is planned in Bhubaneshwar and other TAM towns. Sources say the marketing spend is to the tune of Rs 1 crore. BTL activities began last week while radio and outdoor began today. About 37 spots have been bought for outdoor hoardings.

     

    Advertisers are still being sought, some of them being from the retail, education, real estate and government sectors. The channel plans to have just 20 per cent advertisers from Bhubhaneshwar while the rest will be spread from across the country. It is looking to tap into a robust Rs 100 crore advertising market (news and regional entertainment put together).

     

    The channel will be available free-to-air till March after which it will be coverted into a pay TV channel. “We are covered on Ortel, Variety, Manthan and most other local LCOs. On DTH, we are live on Dish TV and Airtel Digital. This will give us 90 per cent plus reach in overall Orissa and 95 per cent in digital,” says Bhattacharya.

     

    As far as the name of the channel is concerned he adds, “Kalinga is its old name so we just felt like keeping it.”

  • ZMCL launches Zee Purvaiya in Bihar, Jharkhand

    ZMCL launches Zee Purvaiya in Bihar, Jharkhand

    MUMBAI: It was in October last year that Zee Media Corporation got the board approval to acquire up to 100 per cent stake in the regional infotainment channel – Maurya TV. Now, with the onset of the New Year, there are few new beginnings – Zee Media Corporation Ltd (ZMCL) has rebranded Maurya TV as Zee Purvaiya and launched it on 16 January in Bihar and Jharkhand.

     

     

    As of now, ZMCL has only snared a 37.87 per cent stake in Maurya TV but plans are to hoick that to 100 per cent in a phased manner. Zee Purvaiya operates on the terrestrial entertainment network (TEN) format that the network launched with Zee Marudhara (formerly called Zee Rajasthan Plus) with a balanced telecast of news and infotainment programmes. The big focus being on regional news, viewers will get to watch full-fledged bulletins during morning and evening primetime with a short news capsule being aired every hour.  The other programmes include:  current affairs, fiction, non-fiction and factual.

     

     

    “It will be of relevance to every viewer. The content will be focused towards Bihar and Jharkhand, capturing the culture, language, rituals of the states as well as showcasing the differences in the two states in certain sections,” says ZMCL CEO Alok Agrawal.

     

    Following the footsteps of its parent company that recently came up with a campaign to woo youngsters, even Zee Purvaiya is planning to cater largely to a young audience. Even its channel branding – a bright yellowish-golden logo with the tagline ‘nayi soch nayi umang’ is in keeping with that target audience’s taste.

     

    Led by EVP & business head Amitava Bhattacharya, the channel has a team of 90 professionals, some of whom have been retained from Maurya TV. While Shiv Pujan Jha is the resident editor, Indu Singh is the programming editor, Rakesh Tiwary the marketing head and Harsh Vardhan Dwivedi the sales head.

     

    The main office of the channel is located in Patna, with three bureaus being located in  Ranchi and Dhanbad in Jharkhand and Saharsa in Bihar .

     

    While the management was unwilling to disclose the names of the advertisers on board, apparently discussions are on with about 35 corporate, government and local advertisers. Channel sources say that they are targeting to generate revenues of almost Rs 20 crore per annum.

     

    The promotional campaign that began on 20 January across mediums such as – radio, print and outdoor – has been planned to run throughout February by Kolkata based Genesis Advertising with a spend of  approximately Rs 2 crore being pumped in. 

     

    A canter activity was undertaken in Patna and Ranchi to let audiences know about the channel. Moreover, 50 spots have been taken in the two states for outdoor promotions. For print advertisements, space has been bought in leading papers like Times of India (Bihar – Jharkhand), Hindustan and Prabhat Khabar.

     

    “It’s a channel that’s like a buffet. It will be a one stop place for entertainment, news and factual information as well. Apart from this we are also launching reality shows. We are already reaching about 70 per cent in terms of C&S penetration,” says Bhattacharya.

     

    The idea is to be keep it free-to-air (FTA) for six months, post which it will become a pay channel at approximately Rs 10 per month. As of now, Zee Purvaiya is only available on cable TV. However, discussions with DTH players are in progress. But because of the huge presence of cable TV in the two states, executives are confident that it will reach about 85 per cent of the population. It is being beamed off Insat 4a at 83 degrees east.         

     

    Zee Purvaiya is set to expand ZMCL’s presence in the ubercompetitive regional space. In fact, the network is looking to capture other regions as well. It will soon be launching Zee Kalinga in Odisha, following the winding up of  the now defunct Zee Gantalu.

  • Zee Media brings DNA under its fold

    Zee Media brings DNA under its fold

    MUMBAI: It was in early 2012 that the Subhash Chandra owned company Essel Group bought out its Joint Venture (JV) partner D B Corp’s 50 per cent stake in the English national newspaper DNA, cementing the media baron’s presence in the print media. Now, it has taken a long leap again. In a recent announcement to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL) announced its intention to venture into the print media business with the amalgamation of Essel Publishers that brings out DNA and itself.

     

    Following a postal ballot held between 30 October and 28 November, 95.46 per cent or 652 people out of 683 shareholders were in favour of the amalgamation.

     

    “Having already built a nationwide largest television news network with its varied news channels, with an object of creating a news powerhouse in the country, Zee Media aspires to expand its product offering across multiple platforms, regions and languages,” read the document to investors on the amalgamation scheme.

     

    And it was in keeping with Zee group chairman Subhash Chandra statement in a release a while ago that the company is on a mission to consolidate its broadcast, print and internet content under one umbrella.

     

    According to ZMCL CEO Alok Agrawal, the merger process has just begun and will take a year to complete. And the net result (says the document sent out to shareholders following which they gave the fusing of the two firms the nod) will be that : “Zee Media will be in a position to leverage the combined network of resources, working in an integrated newsroom through multiple platforms as well as providing a bouquet of services to advertisers which would strengthen its market reach.”

     

    “Stories will be shared across the two mediums thus allowing English, Hindi and other regional languages to benefit from each other,” says Agrawal. With this move, ZMCL employees will be also be multi-tasking just like in other efficiently run media organisations the world over.

     

    At the same time, it means additional work as well. “Employees will get cross exposure now. Those who accept the challenge will prosper and those who don’t will falter. That’s the law of the land,” remarks Agrawal.

     

    Since 2009, the management of DNA has been handled by the Essel Group with Malcolm Mistry as the current CEO. The integrated newsroom will take some time to evolve. Initially, the focus will be on evaluating the requirement for separate offices for the two media entities, consolidating the teams wherever possible in various cities nationally, and in the process generate savings.

     

    ZMCL has its eye set firmly on expanding DNA by launching new editions in newer towns in phases. DNA is currently published from Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Indore and Bengaluru. Delhi would be the next target;however, Agrawal says it will take some time as Delhi is a very competitive market with The Times of India and The Hindustan Times fiercely battling each other.

     

    According to the Indian Readership Survey 2012 Q4 topline findings the circulation of DNA was 972, 000. The number may well have gone up significantly since then.

     

    Was it easy to convince shareholders about the expansion plans? “The overwhelming response we got was surely a bit of a surprise but they saw the good opportunity. As a TV channel, our reach was limited and the amalgamation makes it more holistic and well rounded,” explains Agrawal. ZMCL claims that its bouquet of six channels in the news space reach out around 130 million viewers.

     

    The deal proposed to shareholders was that for every 11 shares of Re 1 each held in Essel Publishers, 2 shares of Re 1 each from ZMCL would be issued and allotted. But no shares would be given for fractional entitlements. Post the announcement, the market value of ZMCL’s share saw a spike and at the time of filing this report it was quoting at Rs 14.04 on the BSE.

     

    The authorised share capital of Essel Publishers and ZMCL put together has been enhanced to Rs 170 crore with Rs 70 crore from Essel Publishers and Rs !00 crore from ZMCL.

     

    The amalgamation scheme became effective from 3 December and thus Essel Publishers now stands dissolved without being wound up. And all the newspaper staff have henceforth become ZMCL employees.

     

    ZMCL’s financial result for Q2 2014 showed that advertising and subscription revenues were higher than the previous quarter. Total revenue for Q2 2014 was Rs 160.7 crore with ad revenue at Rs 52.92 crore and subscription revenue at Rs 24.9 crore. PAT stood at Rs 2.8 crore while EBIDTA stood at Rs 74.8 crore.

  • Zee News targets Gen Y

    Zee News targets Gen Y

    MUMBAI: ZMCL’s (ZEE Media Corporation Ltd) main Hindi news channel Zee News is targeting the youth demographic.

     

    For starters, the management has given the channel and programming packaging a total makeover with bright and peppy colours being added. Fresh, zingy promos have been hitting the airwaves as part of a campaign titled ‘Khabrein apke rangon mein’ which tries to drive home the point “that news is never black and white, there are several hues to it.”

     

    For some time now, the channel has been pitching that the Indian youth need to change their thinking to change the nation (soch badlo desh badlo). And this new campaign is another effort on the part of Zee News to lure the fickle but curious youth to tune in to its daily bulletins.

     

    Says ZMCL CEO Alok Agrawal: “The aim is to be their eyes, ears, and conscience. The channel will be in tandem with their world, in sync with their energy. With ‘Khabrein Apke Rangon Mein’, we will interact with them, touch their life and wear their pride. We aim to empower, influence and impact the opinion of this youthful and vibrant India.”

     

    “In today’s scenario the youth is interested in what is happening nationally and globally,” says ZMCL editor Sudhir Chaudhary.  “Our efforts will be to reach and connect with the viewers, especially youth and provide them with news that is contemporary, vibrant and topical.”

     

    Many have tried but few have succeeded in hooking the quickly evolving young viewer – for too long. Will Zee News’ fresh push yield results?

  • ZMCL hires Dwivedi as national sales head

    ZMCL hires Dwivedi as national sales head

    MUMBAI: Zee Media Corp Limited (ZMCL) has got a new hire:  national sales head Harsh Vardhan Dwivedi has hopped on board. He will be in-charge of two channels – Zee Uttar Pradesh and the newly acquired, Zee Maurya, also known as Zee Bihar/Jharkhand. To be based in Noida, he will be reporting into Zee News chief sales officer Jitesh Rajdeo. Alongside, he will also be handling a team of about 20-25 people.

     

    Dwivedi earlier headed retail sales for Network 18’s five channels – ETV Madhya Pradesh/Chattisgarh, ETV Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand, ETV Bihar/Jharkhand, ETV Rajasthan and ETV Urdu (North).

     

    This is Dwivedi’s second stint with the Zee TV group. He earlier worked in the position of sales manager from 2006 to 2009 for both Zee News and Zee TV.

     

    “It’s going to be a good experience as now ZMCL is catering to an unexplored market. There is more opportunity for us to grow in the regions after the downfall of Mahuaa. Zee has a big background and a good understanding of the market,” says Dwivedi, who is excited about his new job.

     

    Dwivedi started his TV career with Sahara India TV Network after which he moved to Zee as sales manager for ZEEL (Zee Entertainment Enterprises) and Zee News. He has also worked with Mahuaa as the regional sales head (north) in the past.

  • Zee 24 Gantalu faces acid test

    Zee 24 Gantalu faces acid test

    MUMBAI: Change is in the air at Zee Media Corp Ltd’s (ZMCL) Telugu news channel Zee 24 Gantalu. Reason: the management has decided to restructure the straggler in the ZMCL portfolio, which has been buffeted by competition in the hyper-news state of Andhra Pradesh.

    ZMCL had set up Zee 24 Gantalu in a 50:50 association with a local politician Satyanarayanan Botsa, whose brother Sateesh Botsa ran the channel.

    “It is not viable for us to run it in its current state. We have invested heavily in Zee 24 Gantalu and have tried many different strategies to make it work. But it has been losing a lot of money,” says ZMCL CEO Alok Agrawal. “We are currently reevaluating the options before us.”

    Among the options before it is shutting down the channel. But Agrawal says no decision has been taken in this direction. “We will know clearly in a couple of weeks what we will do,” he points out.

    What is clear is that the association between Botsa and ZMCL will not continue with Zee 24 Gantalu, if one goes by what Sateesh Botsa has told indiantelevision.com. Quoting him: “It was a management call to stop the channel due to several reasons. Now it is completely a ZMCL property. As a news channel it has stopped but they (Zee) may want to continue it as another channel.”

     

    Alok Agrawal admits that the channel has been incurring losses and that they are looking at restructuri

    A surf through the Telugu news channels space shows that Zee 24 Gantalu is airing only entertainment video footage and fillers without any ticker as of now. Additionally, rival channels told indiantelevision.com that Zee 24 Gantalu staff has started approaching them for jobs. An employee stated that the management has hammered out a severance package under the direction of ZMCL CFO Dinesh Garg which includes three months pay. Agrawal however stated that this is not true and that it could be possible that employees have chosen to look for jobs, because they know that a major restructuring is planned. Zee 24 Gantalu reportedly has 300 employees working with it.

    The channel has been in the news recently because of the cases which have been filed against it for the stories it has aired – the latest one involving the Andhra Pradesh Police DGP V Dinesh Reddy. According to sources, this was one of the reasons that prompted Botsa to opt out.

    Who chose to opt out is not clear, but clearly a new chapter is about to be written in the Zee 24 Gantalu saga.

  • Q2-2014: ZMCL holds ground despite economic downturn

    BENGALURU: Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL) unaudited results for Q2-2014 reveal that though advertising revenue for Q2-2014 at Rs 59.92 crore showed a growth of 20.5 per cent as compared to the Rs 43.92 crore for Q2-2013, it kept pace with the Rs 59.9 crore for the immediate preceding quarter (Q1-2014). ZMCL’s advertising revenue in Q4-2013 was Rs 52.19 crore.

    “The economy may have sputtered a bit but it is expected to be on track soon. What is important is that we continue to base our strategy on a sound understanding of our consumers and provide them with relevant and unique content experiences in the news domain,” said ZMCL non executive chairman of the board Subash Chandra.

    Let us take a look at ZMCL’s other Q2-2014 figures

    Operating revenue for Q2-2014 grew by 18.5 per cent to Rs 83.02 crore from Rs 70.03 crore in Q2-2013 and by 6.9 per cent from the Rs 77.68 crore reported in Q1-2014 (immediate preceding quarter).

    ZMCL’s subscription revenue for Q2-2014 at Rs 24.9 crore grew by 11.9 per cent y-o-y from the Rs 22.26 crore in Q2-2013, and by 18.6 per cent from the Rs 18.6 crore in Q1-2014. Revenue from Other Sales and Services for Q2-2014 at Rs 5.2 crore grew more than a third (35.1 per cent) as compared to the Rs 3.85 crore in Q2-2013 and by 37.6 per cent as compared to the Rs 3.78 crore in Q1-2014.

    Total expense at Rs 75.54 crore for Q2-2014 was 21.5 per cent more than the Rs 62.17 crore for Q2-2013 and 10.5 per cent more than the Rs 68.37 crore in Q1-2014.https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif

    ZMCL’s recorded a fall in PBT of (-7.8 per cent) to Rs 6.47 crore in Q2-2014 from Rs 7.02 crore in Q2-2013. However PBT of Rs 14.99 crore for the half year ended 30 September 2013 was higher by 35.8 per cent as compared to the PBT of Rs 11.04 crore for the corresponding period of the previous year. Q2-2014 EBITDA also fell by (-4.8 per cent) to Rs 74.8 crore from Rs 78.6 crore reported in Q2-2013. However, ZMCL says that its existing news channels grew their EBITDA by 25.2 per cent on YTD basis at Rs 30.83 crore improving their EBITDA margins from 18.6 per cent to 21 per cent.

    Added Chandra, “Our company has embarked to consolidate our news media presence by bringing together our television, print and internet content under a single umbrella. This will enable us to reach out to our consumers in seamless and anytime, anywhere mode. Our commitment to grow larger in size, impact and shareholder value remains as is and we continue to take steps towards the same.”

    ZMCL group CEO news cluster Bhaskar Das said, “We launched Zee Rajasthan Plus in Rajasthan in early July and will soon launch in other regional markets. Furthermore with sustained push for cable digitisation, we expect more and more of our viewers to get associated with us. New media, which has been another focus area for us, has continued to show strong growth numbers.”

    ZMCL whole time director Alok Agarwal said, “Our network wide initiative Bharat Bhagya Vidhata has received tremendous feedback and social media engagement from the viewers, thinkers and the political fraternity alike by reaching a sum total of over 100 million television viewers cumulatively and having over 11.5 million reach for #BBV for the campaign. In addition we continue to leverage our network synergies to create further operational efficiencies in gathering and packaging our content and at the same time grow our revenues by providing creative sales solutions to our clients.”