GECs
Apex entertainment body mooted at ICE summit in Kolkata
An effort is being made to set up a unified apex body for the Indian entertainment industry. The professional mooting the exercise: UTV Net Solutions CEO Biren Ghose.
Ghose, who is the chairman of CII media and infotainment committee (Western Region) says a draft for this apex body formation is being prepared which will be put up before the CII board at a similar presentation session and the modalities for creating a working model will be established.
The proposed organisation, along the lines of Nasscom, will seek to have representatives from all sectors of the industry, and will press for the formulation of a national entertainment strategy. The proposed apex body agenda would be to draw up a future course of action and enlighten policymakers regarding the changes required to remain competitive in the world market.
Ghose made this proposal at the CII-backed ICE Summit in Kolkata (18-19 November 2001) during the session “New paradigms for the content and entertainment players.” His proposal got the backing of other panel members consisting of Saregama CEO Abhik Mitra, Zee CEO R. K. Singh and Sahara TV president Mahesh Prasad.
Ghose says that the apex body will have a governing body comprising of industry members themselves and will not offer competition to any existing body. This organization will be an alliance between all organizations where everybody related to media will be partners. Production houses, animation units, broadcasters, advertisers, event management companies, music companies, irrespective of size or budgets will automatically become members. A draft action plan is likely to be approved by January 2002.
Ghose additionally proposed a four-pronged core growth code. This includes changing social norms and mindsets, introducing policy changes, unifying the entertainment industry and conducting a national branding exercise for Indian entertainment globally.
Elaborating on the growth codes, Ghose says the first code involves changing social norms and instituting a mindset change in Indians. Entertainment is not viewed as a national priority like other sectors, although it rakes in an estimated turnover of Rs 10 billion. The inner guilt feeling for entertainment needs to be removed from people’s minds, he said.
The second code, Ghose says, is to redefine the Indian entertainment industry as a whole. “The idea is to migrate it from current practices and to make it an identifiable entity through a formal process,” he points out.
The entertainment industry itself needs to market India as the destination for production companies. The government on its part should induce changes in its policies to present India properly and introduce the necessary regulatory sops, he says.
The third growth code is governance and process. All resources within the industry should come together in a common pool and create one organization networking together for common causes. Membership should not be restricted based on investment, venture capital, or sales figures.
The fourth code is to create a national branding exercise for India, which will position the country as a logical choice across the value chain. The industry should be seen to be speaking in one voice globally.
Adherence to the growth codes will result in advantages and applications on varied fronts, says Ghose. One problem which could be curtailed is piracy. Entertainment companies are losing Rs 3 billion in revenue due to piracy on account of illegitimate CDs, DVDs, FTP downloads, video cassettes, cable TV etc.
He points out that business growth for pirates is 45 per cent while the legitimate sector growth is at only 25 per cent.
Another area which the apex body could play a role is in ensuring better financing options for the unorganised entertainment sector, Ghose points out. So far financial institutions such IDBI and banks have been chary of lending to entertainment companies as they operate mainly in the cash domain.
His view is that by bringing in a rating agency, which will rate the risk behind each entertainment project, say a movie, institutions may be more conducive to extending funding. The apex body will play a role in backing and mooting such as risk rating agency.
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.
