GECs
Al Jazeera begins its inroad into India
MUMBAI: Lately if you’ve come across one too many hoardings saying: “We put human beings at the centre of our stories”, it’s only because Al Jazeera, the Doha-based English news channel, has kicked-off its first campaign to make its presence felt across the country.
Al Jazeera forayed into the Indian market way back in 2006, but had to wait four long years before being granted a downlink license for airing. Thereafter, the channel slowly went about expanding its reach into more and more Indian households to get a toehold alongside existing competitors i.e. BBC and CNN. Three years down the line however, the channel felt the time was ripe, especially with the festive season already here, to announce its presence nation-wide, especially in major metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore as well other towns.
Kick-started beginning October, Al Jazeera’s first campaign is here to stay till end November, after which an assessment will be done to evaluate viewership changes that may have taken place since the onset of the campaign. Approximately Rs 2- 2.5 crores have been spent on the nationwide campaign. Three creative ideas are trying to spread Al Jazeera’s message by displaying three issues- profits, earthquakes and global warming.
The focus of the campaign, whose creative has been designed by Ogilvy & Mather, is OOH (hoardings and buses), print and radio, with the talking point being how the channel always gives a human picture to issues. “People are the centre of the story is what Al Jazeera stands for and what we are trying to highlight through the campaign,” says Al Jazeera India bureau chief Anmol Saxena.
“The first phase was to let the people sample the channel and now, it is time to create awareness regarding Al Jazeera through this campaign,” says Saxena.
Anmol Saxena says that Al Jazeera puts people at the front of issues
Meanwhile, the second phase of the awareness campaign will begin in January 2014. Recently, the channel also launched a dedicated page for India, which according to Saxena will stay for a while. “There are always spotlight countries and currently the spotlight is on India,” he says.
“The campaign will definitely help lift the profile of Al-Jazeera and result in generating pull amongst Indian TV viewers,” says a media observer. “It’s a high decible one definitely and good money is being spent on it. But the Al-Jazeera team will have to simultaneously ramp up local coverage as well as distribution for the full benefits to accrue. Distribution in India is not that easy.”
Another media expert states that there is a perception failure about the channel amongst Indians. “They think it is an Arabic perspective on world developments and that it is not as democratic as CNN or BBC. It is a long and winding road to correct this perception.”
Currently, the Delhi bureau is the only office which covers the whole of India, with seven employees that would increase to about 10 in the next few months. The channel has had Sohail Rehman and Divya Gopalan as dedicated India correspondents since a few years and many freelancers who contribute to the channel and the website.
As of now, Al Jazeera is an FTA channel available on both DTH and cable TV (digital plus analog) while plans are afoot to acquire on the digital and DTH fronts. Presently, the channel is available on Tata Sky, Dish TV, InCable, Hathway and DEN.
GECs
Sahara One reports financial results, notes director exit and business realignment
Muted revenues, steady expenses and strategic adjustments shape company’s current phase
MUMBAI: In a tale where the sands seem to be slipping faster than they can be gathered, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited has reported another quarter of wafer-thin income and widening losses, even as a boardroom exit adds to the unease.
The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that its board, in a meeting held on April 4, approved its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2025. The numbers paint a stark picture. Total income for the quarter stood at just Rs 0.13 lakh, unchanged sequentially and sharply down from Rs 0.26 lakh a year earlier.
Losses, meanwhile, deepened. The company posted a net loss of Rs 24.16 lakh for the quarter, compared to Rs 18.81 lakh in the June quarter and Rs 39.69 lakh in the same period last year. For the six months ended September 2025, the cumulative loss stood at Rs 39.69 lakh, while the full-year loss for FY25 was reported at Rs 60.72 lakh.
Expenses continued to outweigh income by a wide margin. Total expenses for the quarter came in at Rs 24.30 lakh, led by employee benefit costs of Rs 6.51 lakh and other expenses of Rs 17.78 lakh. Earnings per share remained in the red at Rs (0.11) for the quarter.
The balance sheet reflects a company with significant assets on paper but limited operational momentum. Total assets stood at Rs 23,065.57 lakh as of September 30, 2025, broadly unchanged from March 2025. Equity share capital remained steady at Rs 2,152.50 lakh, while total equity was reported at Rs 18,004.85 lakh.
Cash and cash equivalents saw a modest uptick to Rs 6.75 lakh from Rs 4.68 lakh earlier, supported by a positive operating cash flow of Rs 180.01 lakh for the period.
Yet, beneath these numbers lies a more complex narrative. The company’s auditors flagged their inability to obtain sufficient evidence to form a conclusion on the financial statements, citing lack of access to records. They also raised concerns over the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, pointing to insufficient funds, delayed recoveries, and stalled content investments.
Adding to the governance overhang, the company disclosed that Rana Zia has resigned as whole-time director, effective October 16, 2025, citing other professional commitments. The resignation, noted and accepted by the board, also brings an end to her role across company committees.
Regulatory pressures continue to loom large. The Securities and Exchange Board of India has already initiated penal actions for non-compliance with listing norms, with trading in the company’s shares remaining suspended. There is also a risk of promoter demat accounts being frozen.
Legacy legal issues remain unresolved. A substantial deposit of Rs 694,027.88 thousand linked to the long-running OFCD dispute involving Sahara group entities is still under the purview of the Supreme Court of India. Restrictions on asset disposal continue to weigh on the company’s financial flexibility.
Operationally, challenges persist across multiple fronts. Advances worth Rs 1,92,916 thousand given for film content remain stuck, with delays in project completion and uncertain recoverability. The company’s YouTube channel, despite being operational, has generated no revenue for over three years due to compliance lapses. In a further twist, management has indicated that revenues may have been fraudulently diverted through unauthorised changes to its AdSense account, with a police complaint in the works.
There are also missed revenue opportunities. Television content rights continue to be used by a related party despite the expiry of the licence agreement, with fresh negotiations still underway.
For now, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited appears caught between legacy disputes and present-day operational hurdles. As losses linger and governance questions mount, the road to recovery looks less like a sprint and more like a slow trudge through shifting sands.
