GECs
Colors to extend four weekday shows to Saturday from 1 Feb
MUMBAI: The TV production community was agog with the news that leading Hindi general entertainment channel Star Plus is stretching its weekday fiction prime time programming lineup to Saturday. But no official announcement was a-coming from it. However, the other leading GEC Colors has gone ahead and announced that it is extending four of its weekday fiction shows to Saturdays. And promotions are already underway.
Colors’ CEO Raj Nayak even went ahead and personally posted a promo on social networking sites – Facebook and Twitter – highlighting what was being planned.
Come Saturday, 1 February viewers will get to engage with Sanskaar, Sasural Simar Ka, Balika Vadhu and Madhubala between 7 pm and 9 pm.
“We implemented six days a week last year; we took a break as we needed to give our production teams and artistes a breather. Having taken a short interval, we are coming back six days a week,” remarks Nayak, adding that the experiment had worked well for the channel in 2013 and that is why it is being repeated.
Two promos are hammering this message out to viewers across all the channels of the Network 18 group.
The reason for choosing these particular shows is not their popularity but the time band they air in, says Nayak. Colors has two popular non-fiction properties – India’s Got Talent and Comedy Nights with Kapil – being telecast on the weekend at 9 pm and 10 pm respectively. However, the channel had nothing else to fill the slot prior to 9 pm. In the earlier weeks of January, it chose to telecast the summaries of two of its newly launched shows – Rangrasiya and Beintehaa, while last Saturday a special programme – Mirchi Top 20 – ran.
In fact, it is win-win situation for all parties associated. The production houses associated with these shows think that telecast of the shows on four extra days in a month gives the shows more visibility, also resulting in good GRPs. However, since the number of episodes per month are increasing, so is the pressure to deliver.
“But we try to balance that out by introducing parallel tracks and planning episodes much in advance,” says Saurabh Tewari from Nautanki Films that produces Madhubala, who also adds that the remuneration of almost everyone associated has also increased for the extra work.
Putting fiction shows on the weekend is also cheaper for Hindi GECs. New Hindi movies are becoming more and more expensive; big ticket non-fiction shows cost a bomb, thanks to the fat cheques dished out to film stars for becoming a part of them. Additionally, in the case of Colors, it is most likely going to put aside expensive properties on its second GEC Rishtey to build a connect with audiences. Hence, fiction shows, with a tab of Rs 7 lakh to 10 lakh and episode on an average are less of a drain on resources.
Advertisers have welcomed the weekend fiction deluge, says Nayak, adding. “they put their money where there is good content. All our advertisers who buy advertising on these shows will extend their buys to the weekend as well.”
Lodestar UM vice-president Deepak Netram – while accepting that moolah will be made – however, is more circumspect and cautious from the viewer’s viewpoint.
He says: “I am not too sure if the regular weekday fare would work during the weekend. Since the number of male audiences are more, non-fiction or special programmes work better.”
Netram opines that reason for Colors to extend its programming till Saturday could be because rival Star Plus is also walking the same path. He remarks: “The core audience of any GEC is the one which consumes fiction. Colors is probably wanting to retain its fiction show fans; and not lose them to a rival channel which is extending its fiction content to the weekend also,” he says.
Colors has already announced the D-day for its new programming tack: 1 February. Star Plus has not; but the buzz is that the date might well be 8 February. The battle for eyeballs on the weekend has just begun.
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.
