GECs
Zee Telefilms mulls an entry into China
MUMBAI: Foreign media companies seem to have hit a wall when it comes to China. Star Group, for example, continues to bleed in that market despite pumping in big money for years. This, however, has not stopped global firms from eyeing a slice of the cake that a 1.3 billion population promises.
Subhash Chandra is the latest media baron willing to throw his hat in the ring. Zee Telefilms Ltd. (ZTL) is planning to enter China, the toughest market to crack with its tight controls on foreign media.
“We will be entering that market. We have not yet applied for the landing rights. It will take time and we expect it to happen sometime towards the end of this fiscal,” says Essel Group chief executive officer of corporate strategy Rajiv Garg.
Though Zee plans to have a presence in China in the broadcasting space, it has not yet finalised on what content and channel it should set up to lure viewers. ZTL chairman Chandra recently said Zee would launch a dubbed movie channel in Russia.
ZTL also plans to launch in Afghanistan, Cambodia and Indonesia to expand its international operations which account for almost one-fourth of the company’s revenues. Running businesses which have matured in the UK and US, Zee’s strategy is to launch dedicated channels in certain markets which it has identified. The company has stitched a deal with Malaysia’s multi-channel pay TV operator Astro to create a channel with Hindi content drawn from Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zee Music and Trendz for the Indonesian, Malaysian and Brunei audiences. For tapping youth audiences in the Arab region, Zee also has launched Zee Arabiya, a music and lifestyle channel.
Global media companies like News Corp, Time Warner and Viacom see China as a fertile revenue market in the long term, though it is currently spoilt by heavy-handed regulation on foreign media.
GECs
ZEEL overhauls sales structure to chase growth across TV and digital platforms
New structure sharpens digital push as viewing habits fragment fast
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. is reshuffling its sales playbook as it looks to keep pace with a fast-changing media landscape, where audiences are scattered, screens are multiplying and advertisers are following the data.
According to media reports, the rejig is anchored in the company’s push to build a more integrated, data-led monetisation engine, one that can straddle both traditional television and fast-growing digital platforms with equal ease.
At the heart of the move is a reworked sales architecture designed to deliver cross-platform solutions. With connected TV gaining ground and digital consumption surging, ZEEL is aligning its teams to move quicker, think broader and sell smarter.
The restructuring is being led by chief operating officer, advertisement revenue, Sandeep Mehrotra, at a time when the company says it is seeing tremendous growth. The idea is simple: match the right talent to the right opportunity in a market that is anything but static.
As part of the overhaul, several long-serving executives have been elevated to chief sales officer roles across regions and content clusters. Sanjoy Chatterjee will head the east market, while Gunjarav Nayak takes charge of the west along with high-margin verticals such as hmg, brand works, intellectual properties and digital sales. Rajnish Gupta will oversee bengaluru and chennai markets alongside the kannada and tamil clusters.
In other key moves, Divjyot Dhanda will lead hyderabad and kochi markets and manage zee tv, zee keralam and the telugu cluster. Roshan Vasu Kotian will supervise a diverse portfolio including Zee Marathi, &tv, Zee Punjabi, Zee Anmol, Big Magic and Zee Biskope.
The company is also strengthening its bench, appointing national sales heads across retail, regional clusters, digital and brand solutions. Ankur Kapila’s appointment to lead digital sales signals a sharper push into a segment that continues to outpace traditional formats.
Behind the scenes, dedicated strategy and operations roles have been carved out for both linear and digital businesses. Nitin Shetty, Rajkiran Shrivastav and Priya Nambiar will take on key responsibilities to ensure the new structure runs with precision.
The broader aim is clear. ZEEL wants a bigger slice of advertising budgets that are steadily drifting towards digital and connected TV ecosystems. By integrating its offerings, the company hopes to deepen client relationships while unlocking new revenue streams.
The new structure takes effect immediately, with Mehrotra continuing to report to chief executive officer Punit Goenka and steer the company’s advertising revenue strategy. Senior executive Laxmi Shetty will support the transition, with her revised role expected to be announced soon.
In a market where content is everywhere but attention is scarce, ZEEL’s latest move is less about rearranging the org chart and more about staying in the game.
