GECs
Tide has turned for Sony, asserts Dasgupta
Sony Entertainment, the flagship channel of the SET network, celebrated its sixth 6th anniversary yesterday and CEO Kunal Dasgupta asserts it is as good a time as any to serve notice on rivals Star and Zee that the channel wars are by no means over.
“The year gone by was a tumultuous one for the television industry and SET has not only weathered the storm but come through much stronger, more popular and within striking distance of the leader. The tide has turned! We beat KBC (Star Plus’ waning gameshow Kaun Banega Crorepati) three weeks in a row with Kkusum,” Dasgupta exhults. Kkusum hit TVRs of 8.9 (target audience all individuals, Western and Northern regions) as per TAM data. Incidentally 12 October is sister channel SET MAX’s 2nd anniversary.
He further states: “The new Friday starry launches could not shake our favourites, the all new Dil se Dosti, Boogie Woogie, Heena, CID & Aahat which have successfully seen off the backs of a rapidly weakening competition. I can sense the viewer boredom and fatigue from the leader and we will strike now. Coming up is a brand new exciting vibrant channel identity package.”
“Ekta Kapoor’s Kutumb will debut in October prime time (the daily soap debuts at the end of the month). By the end of the year we would have launched seven new pulsating shows crowning it with Shubh Vivaah, Madhuri Dixit’s TV debut. This will be the point at which SET will lead again. The biggest blockbusters Kaho Na Pyar Hai, Mohabbatein & Mission Kashmir will premier in the Festival season. Divine blessings have come our way by our leadership on Sunday mornings through the grace of Sri Krishna, Sri Ganesh and Mahabharat. I am so enthused that every individual in SET is now working with renewed vigour. Our encryption was seamless and no viewer suffered.”
Dasgupta also declared that the channel was being completely repackaged, the details of which would be unveiled shortly.
The shows Sony is launching in the next three months are – Kutumb, Achaanak, Kal, Dhadkan, Hubahu, Hum Hain Dilwale, Shubh Vivaah.
In Kutumb Ekta takes the intra-family feud out of the saas-bahu (mother-in-law vs daughter-in-law) feud format into the husband vs wife domain.
The storyline in a nutshell – hate begets marriage, marriage begets love. The protagonist is a spoilt rich brat from a Gujarati family who falls for a girl in his college. She spurns him as she is already engaged to someone else. To cut to the chase. He manages to get the engagement broken off and manoeuvres matters in such a way that ultimately the two get married hating each other’s guts. Love triumphs in the end of course.
Kal – another Ekta production (naturally considering the K in the name) – is “inspired” by the life of Jack Nicholson. The hero is a teenager who when he turns 15 discovers that the person he thought was his sister is actually his mother. And his mom is actually his grandmother. Convoluted? The basic premise is from a true-life tale mind you. To continue, he is shattered when he learns the truth and leaves home. He becomes a wastrel but comes back to the fold when the father dies and he is left as the chief heir in the will.
Dhadkan (the title has not been finalised yet and may finally become Doctors) is modeled on such popular series set around hospitals as Chicago Hope and ER.
All in all quite an interesting line-up. The coming months should see how far Dasgupta is able to take Sony in its attempt to get on the channel leaderboard.
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.
