GECs
Essel Group set to launch interactive gaming channel PlayTV
MUMBAI: Essel Group is launching an interactive and gaming channel PlayTV, the first in the country.
Aiming at a mid-March launch, the channel will telecast games, contests, music, movies, entertainment and lifestyle content. Essel Group director Amit Goenka will head the channel.
PlayTV is being planned with an eye on India’s growing gaming industry. Globally, gaming as an industry stands at $30 billion.
Announcing the launch, Goenka said, “In Asia, PlayTV is a new concept. Globally gaming with a dash of entertainment and lifestyle is a huge market. It is one of the fastest growing TV segment with active viewers involvement and retention. Viewers across the world watch television not only for entertainment but also to draw some tangible benefit from the programme. PlayTV is not restricted to age, gender, skill and competency.”
Along with the regular entertainment content like movies, music and reality shows, PlayTV will provide gaming news, contests, bidding and shopping. The channel will be run on real time basis through SMS, emails and chats.
“We will be telecasting movies, music shows and lifestyle shows as fillers throughout. Contests will be played while shows are running in the background. The gaming shows will be produced in-house,” said Goenka.
When queried if Essel Group’s online lottery Playwin will be incorporated in the channel, Goenka answered in the negative. “Playwin will be there just as an advertiser,” he clarified.
Commenting on the opportunity PlayTV will provide to the corporate sector Goenka added, “Play TV will give opportunity for marketers for interactive advertising and create innovative platform for their target audiences.”
PlayTV will be supported by technology from Cellcast, a UK based company. Cellcast will help PlayTV to set up TV SMS technology and also training and developing personnel in India. Cellcast manages complex communications technologies to deliver and bill for digital entertainment, information and services, to consumers across the globe, informs a company release.
GECs
Sebi sends show-cause notice to Zee over fund diversion, company responds
Regulator questions 2018 letter of comfort and governance lapses; company vows robust legal response
MUMBAI: India’s markets watchdog has reignited its long-running scrutiny of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, issuing a sweeping show-cause notice that drags the broadcaster and 84 others into a widening governance storm.
The notice, dated February 12, has been served by the Securities and Exchange Board of India to Zee, chairman emeritus Subhash Chandra and managing director and chief executive Punit Goenka, among others. At its heart: allegations that company funds were indirectly routed to settle liabilities of entities linked to the Essel Group.
The regulator’s probe traces its roots to November 2019, when two independent directors resigned from Zee’s board, flagging concerns over the alleged appropriation of fixed deposits by Yes Bank. The deposits were reportedly adjusted against loans extended to Essel Group entities, triggering questions about related-party dealings and board oversight.
A key flashpoint is a letter of comfort dated September 4, 2018, issued by Subhash Chandra in his dual capacity as chairman of Zee and the Essel Group. The document, linked to credit facilities availed by certain group companies from Yes Bank, was allegedly known only to select members of management and not disclosed to the full board—an omission SEBI believes raises red flags over transparency and governance controls.
Zee has pushed back hard. In a statement, the company said it “strongly refutes” the allegations against it and its board members and will file a detailed response. It expressed confidence that SEBI would conduct a fair review and signalled readiness to pursue all legal remedies to protect shareholder interests.
The notice marks the latest twist in a saga that has shadowed the broadcaster since 2019. What began as boardroom unease has morphed into a full-blown regulatory confrontation. The final reckoning now rests with SEBI—but the reputational stakes for Zee, and the message for India Inc on governance discipline, could scarcely be higher.
