GECs
Come, join Dish: Zee to Star, Sony
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) initiatives have energised mangers of country’s first DTH service, Dish TV, 20 per cent owned by the Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Telefilms Ltd.
No sooner broadcast regulator issued interconnect regulations today, making it mandatory to make available all channels on a non-discriminatory basis to all platforms, Dish TV invited Star India and Sony Entertainment TV India to join the platform within 30 days.
“Dish TV has already approached Star and Sony for providing their content/channels to its DTH platform. We sincerely hope that in the spirit of (interconnect) regulations, they will respond positively within a period of 30 days, as provided in the notification vied clause 3.6 of the regulation,” Essel Group vice-chairman Jawahar Goel said today.
Essel Group is the omnibus entity under which Chandra carries out his various business ventures.
Asked by indiantelevision.com whether Dish TV expects Star and Sony to be overtly co-operative, Goel hinted that legal recourse would be taken if regulations were not followed by others.
“It’s too early to say, but in the worst case scenario, we would have no other option, but to move TDSAT (industry disputes redressal tribunal),” Goel explained.
Indian pubcaster Doordarshan and Zee Telefilms have been in the forefront, lobbying for a must-provide regime, which would make their DTH services that much more attractive. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is slated to inaugurate DD’s DTH service on 16 December.
Contacted by indiantelevision.com, Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea, who is away to Hong Kong, said over phone that Dish TV’s request is an old one and Star would study Trai recommendations further before taking a stand on the issue. SET India chief executive officer Kunal Dasgupta had this to offer, “If it is non-discriminatory, there is no problem.”
Hailing the Trai initiative as a revolutionary one, Goel said that the regulator has rightfully recognised the need for a ‘must provide’ regime and this regulation would “promote competition in the broadcasting and distribution sector and shall provide a genuine choice to the consumers.”
According to clause 3.2 of the Trai notification, every broadcaster shall provide on request signals of its TV Channels on nondiscriminatory terms to all distributors of TV channels, which may include, but be not limited to a cable operator, director to home operator, multi system operators, head end in the sky operator. On request, multi system operators shall re-transmit signals received from a broadcaster on a nondiscriminatory basis to cable operators.
In its interconnect regulations, Trai has stated, “In India, competition for delivery of TV channels is not only to be promoted within the cable industry, but also from distributors of TV channels using other media like DTH and headends in the sky. It is important that all these distribution platforms are promoted so that they provide consumers with choice.”
“The DTH services have to compete with Cable TV. If a popular content is available on cable TV and not on the DTH platform, then it would not be able to effectively give competition to the cable networks. Moreover if a popular content is available on the cable network and is not available on the DTH platform, it would never be able to give an effective alternative to the cable services. Competition between cable and DTH will be enhanced if all the content is available on both platforms.”
Essel Group promoted Dish TV is India’s first DTH service provider offering close to 100 television channels spread across different genres of programming. Dish TV started operations in October, 2003 and claims approximately 170,000 subscribers across India.
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.
