Zee-Sony likely to keep both brands, aggressively bid for sports

Zee Entertainment Enterprises and Sony Pictures Networks India are likely to keep both flagship brands of the two companies going after their merger, while investing heavily into sports and digital businesses, according to comments made by Zee management after announcing the deal. “Both the brands are strong brands, and with loyalty attached to themselves. So […]

Zee Entertainment reports mixed Q4 results

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, the country’s largest home-grown television and broadcasting company, reported a modest year-on-year improvement in its advertising and subscription revenue, but also saw the usual sequential decline when compared to the preceding, holiday quarter. The company’s results have become more difficult to compare due to the fact that the seasonally strong third […]

Zee Entertainment returns to growth for the first time after COVID-19

Zee Entertainment Enterprises reported its first sales growth figure in the post-pandemic period after advertising revenue grew by 7.5% and domestic subscription revenue rose 9.3% on a like-to-like basis. It also generated another Rs 551 cr during the quarter by licensing its content to third parties, taking its revenue growth to 33%. However, excluding this […]

Don’t see TRAI NTO 2.0 implemented this year: Zee CEO

Punit Goenka, the MD and CEO of content maker Zee Entertainment Enterprises, expressed reservations about the possibility of implementing TRAI’s revised tariff order in the current financial year. Responding to an investor query on what impact he saw the implementation of the January 1 tariff order would have on his company’s subscription incomes this year, […]

Star Utsav, Sony Pal, Zee Anmol, Rishtey back on DD Free Dish

Prasar Bharti, India’s public broadcaster which operates DD Free Dish satellite TV service, has given five slots on the DTH platform to major private sector broadcasters such as Star India, Sony Pictures Networks, TV18 Broadcast and Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Two slots have been allocated to Zee Entertainment Enterprises, while one each has been allocated to […]

Colors, Star Plus & Zee TV see sharp fall in ratings after COVID-19 lockdown

Premium Hindi general entertainment channels, including Star Plus, Zee TV and Colors, have seen a sharp decline in their viewership during the COVID-19 lockdown, even as viewership of Doordarshan, movie channels and news channels have seen sharp increases, reveals ratings from BARC, India’s largest TV ratings agency. Even as general TV viewership increased, no category […]

Four pay channels likely to go ‘free to air’ from today

Four pay channels — Star Utsav, Zee Anmol, Colors Rishtey and Sony Pal — are likely to go ‘free to air’ for two months from today. These channels had earlier been put in a ‘promotional scheme’ while remaining pay channels, with their prices slashed from Rs 1-2/month to Rs 0. This was intended to increase […]

TRAI Tariff Order to come into effect on Sunday, No stay from Bombay High Court

With the Bombay High Court giving no specific direction or stay on the implementation of the amended TRAI tariff order, the country is all set to see the introduction of the second version of the tariff order on Sunday. Over the past three days, the Bombay High Court had been holding a marathon hearing on […]

TRAI refuses to postpone tariff order implementation

The Indian broadcast and telecom regulator TRAI has refused to postpone the implementation of the amended tariff order on television channel pricing in court. The Bombay High Court had, on Wednesday, asked TRAI to state whether it was open to pushing back the date for the implementation of the amended tariff order by one month […]

TARIFF ORDER: TRAI sends reminder on Mar 1 deadline to cable/DTH operators, channels

Broadcast regulator TRAI has sent a letter to all broadcasters, cable and DTH firms reminding them to take “preparatory activities” ahead of regulatory and pricing changes from March 1. From that day, no channel priced above Rs 12 will be allowed to be sold as part of a package. Cable and DTH firms will also […]

Cheaper TV channels likely as court gives no stay on TRAI tariff order

The Bombay High Court did not grant any interim stay on the TRAI’s amendments to last year’s tariff order at the second day of hearing on the matter, making it even more likely that broadcasters will be forced to cut their channel prices soon. Instead of issuing a stay, the High Court has posted the […]

TRAI tariff order, slowdown maul Zee Entertainment’s results

Zee Entertainment, the second-biggest broadcasting company in India, continued to bleed under the combined impact of a slowing economy and the company’s decision to increase channel prices under the new TRAI tariff order. While the slowdown in the economy has resulted in companies cutting down on advertising, this has been exacerbated by Zee’s decision to […]

Broadcasters challenge TRAI’s amended tariff order

With just two days remaining for a deadline to file amended TV channel tariffs, a case filed by India’s big broadcasters in the Bombay High Court has been listed for hearing tomorrow in front of Justice SC Dharmadhikari. Broadcasters, including Star India, Zee Entertainment, Sony Networks and others, have come together under the banner of […]

TRAI cuts maximum channel price to Rs 12/month from Rs 19

Media and telecom sector regulator TRAI has amended its 2017 tariff order — which came into effect a year ago — introducing a new price-cap of Rs 12 per pay channel, down from Rs 19 earlier. It also introduced new safeguards and conditions to curtail the practice of forcing unwanted channels upon consumers. However, these […]

Zee Entertainment Chairman Subhash Chandra resigns

Subhash Chandra has resigned as the chairman of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, five days after his group sold another 16.5% stake in the company. “In light of the changes in shareholding, Subhash Chandra has expressed his intention to resign as Chairman of the Board with immediate effect,” the broadcasting company informed. “The Board accepted his resignation […]

Star India, Sony sign deals to place apps on Jio Fiber box

Two major broadcasters, Star India and Sony Pictures Networks, have signed deals with Reliance Jio to place their content apps on the telecom provider’s fiber to the home set-top-box, even as others are in talks to do so. Under the deals, Jio will provide a fixed amount for each subscriber who accesses these apps for […]

ZEE5 may launch Hotstar VIP-like plan soon

ZEE5, the video app from Zee Entertainment Enterprises, will introduce cheaper plans soon to take on rivals in the market, company CEO Punit Goenka said. “We are working on lighter packs which we will roll-out in the next couple of months,” the CEO said. ZEE5’s annual pack is currently priced at Rs 999. Goenka was […]

New TRAI rules on TV channel pricing by mid November

Media regulator TRAI will come up with a modified set of rules to increase transparency in the pricing of television channels in the next 20-25 days, Chairman RS Sharma said on the sidelines of the open house discussion on the subject in New Delhi. Sharma’s statement comes in the wake of widespread complaints about broadcasters […]