GECs
Zee Telefilms to be named Zee Entertainment Enterprises; ASC Enterprises becomes Dish TV
MUMBAI: One part of the process set in motion late last month by the Subhash Chandra promoted Zee Telefilms board to split its broadcasting business into three entities — news operations, broadcast & content creation, and Siti Cable — has been completed with the nomenclature of the new entities finalised.
Zee Telefilms will henceforth be named as Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel). Included under its ambit are flagship Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zee Cafe, Zee Studio, Zee Trendz, Zee Sports and Zee Smile.
On the other hand, ASC Enterprises Ltd, under which comes the group’s direct-to-home (DTH) businesses, will now be renamed as Dish TV Ltd. ASC Enterprise’s DTH service is marketed under the brand name Dish TV.
Last month, the company’s board had approved of splitting of its broadcasting business into three entities — news operations, broadcast and content creation, and Siti Cable.
There is no change of name for the news operations company which remains Zee News Ltd. Under Zee News comes not just the news channels but the regional channels as well.
The reason for including the regional channels into Zee News Ltd is because of the heavy news component that forms an intrinsic part of all these channels. It was in order to comply with the news uplinking guidelines that effective October 2005, newsgathering activities of ZTL were transferred to Zee News Limited.
The news channels include Zee News, Zee Biz and the recently launched Bangla news channel Chobbees Ghanta. The regional channels are Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Punjabi, Zee Gujarati, with the newest addition being Zee Telugu. Expected to launch next month is the sixth regional channel in the stable Zee Kannada.
As regards the restructuring on the cable side, it has already been announced that the cable business of Siti Cable, a 100 per cent subsidiary of ZTL (now Zeel), and the cable related business of ZTL would be de-merged into Wire and Wireless (India) Limited (WWIL), a new company incorporated for the purpose.
GECs
Asianet Television Awards 2026 celebrates women power in Malayalam TV
“She is the Colour” theme honours icons as ceremony airs on March 14 and 15 at 7 PM.
MUMBAI: If television lights up living rooms, this year Asianet decided to let women provide the colour. The Asianet Television Awards 2026 turned the spotlight firmly on women empowerment with the theme “She is the Colour”, celebrating the strength, resilience and achievements of women who continue to shape society and the Malayalam entertainment industry.
The ceremony honoured several distinguished personalities whose journeys have left a lasting cultural imprint. Among them was legendary playback singer Vimala Varma, widely recognised as the first Malayalam playback singer. The evening also paid tribute to Padma Shri awardees Devaki Amma and Vimala Menon for their exceptional contributions in their respective fields.
Leading women from the Malayalam film industry were also recognised during the event, including actor Shweta Menon, who currently serves as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, and National Award winning actor Surabhi Lakshmi.
The awards ceremony brought together a glittering lineup of actors and industry figures, including Jayasurya, Vijay Babu, Asha Sarath, Lena, Esther Anil, Anumol, Akhila Bhargavan, Sarayu Mohan, Prajod Kalabhavan, Gayathri Suresh, Sabumon Abdusamad, Swasika, Tini Tom, Sijoy Varghese, Kailash, Veena Nandakumar, Sabareesh Varma, Ansiba Hassan and Dinesh Prabhakar. Kishan Kumar, executive vice president Malayalam at JioStar, was also present at the event.
Beyond individual recognitions, the awards celebrated excellence across Malayalam television, acknowledging artists and technicians whose work continues to drive the industry forward.
The evening also offered plenty of spectacle, with elaborate dance performances, stunt acts and comedy skits performed by popular television and film personalities, turning the ceremony into a full fledged entertainment showcase.
Viewers will get to watch the celebrations when the Asianet Television Awards 2026 air on Asianet on March 14 and 15, Saturday and Sunday, from 7 pm onwards, bringing the star studded tribute to homes across Kerala and beyond.
