GECs
Don’t interrupt; engage: Srivastava, Jain on branded entertainment
MUMBAI: When one talks about branded entertainment, the first thing that comes to mind is product placement. Consumers are bombarded with hundreds of advertising messages in a day — be it on television, print or even out-of-home. In this cluttered environment, branded entertainment, if done rightly, is one thing that might grab the attention of the consumer towards a particular brand.
The first day of Ficci Frames 2005, hosted a session on ‘Branded Entertainment’ which had Group M South Asia CEO Ashutosh Srivastava and Disney India managing director Rajat Jain as speakers.
Srivastava threw light on the branded entertainment content in the US and said that 63 per cent of the top American marketers participate in branded entertainment. Out of this, 85 per cent do it via television programmes, 34 per cent via magazines, 31 per cent through movies and 24 per cent do it through games.
“There is a rapid explosion of brands in the media today and in this fragmented and cluttered environment, the only way for brands to move forward is via engagement and not via interruption. Marketers should look at content, fuse it with the brand and then market it to the consumers,” Srivastava said.
Going back in time, Srivastava pointed out that in the 1950s, soap operas, FMCG major P&G funded a variety of entertainment shows to ‘showcase’ their products. In the last 20 years, marketers have started having dubious arrangements with companies to supply on-screen props and today, branded entertainment is big business for advertising agencies and placement companies alike, Srivastava pointed out.
As far as the advertiser is concerned, product placements offers him high visibility and an opportunity of content syndication. For broadcasters too, branded entertainment provides them a chance of getting additional revenue, saves commercial inventory time and helps overcomes traditional commercial restrictions apart from having a good quality product.
While in Asia there are no rules or restrictions on branded entertainment, in countries like the US, Hong Kong, Portugal and Italy branded entertainment is legal. Whereas, in countries like the UK and Belgium it is illegal.
A research conducted by Group M’s MindShare in Canada revealed that via branded entertainment, awareness levels of the product went up by 16 per cent and it did not interfere with the viewers’ enjoyment of the programme.
As far as the Indian experience in branded entertainment goes, product placement is even more effective in combination with spot ads. Moreover, the Indian viewer does not get irritated with in-programme placement and 80 per cent of them are likely to use the brands. However, Srivastava also pointed out that in India, product placement is still undervalued.
He also cited some examples of good branded entertainment done internationally, which were: American Express syndication with Seinfeld (NBC); Sears, Roebuck & Company’s syndication with Extreme Makeover (NBC) and Unilever’s syndication with The Days (ABC). As far as India is concerned, Srivastava pointed out that the tie-up between Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) and Kahiin To Hoga (Star Plus) was an excellent example of branded entertainment wherein HLL’s Lux Orchid was seamlessly woven into the storyline via a Lux Orchid Beauty Contest, which carried through the serial for 12 episodes.
Jain, on the other hand, that the time had arrived in India to “unleash advertainment.” He pointed out that advertising had always relied on interruptions and it was time now to move away from that into engagement. “The movie Sholay was aired on a television channel recently and it is shocking to know that it had a whopping two hours and 26 minutes of ads,” Jain said. (The duration of a normal Hindi movie is that of three hours!) That just goes to show the amount of messages a viewer is bombarded with today.
Giving a few examples of branded entertainment that Walt Disney undertook, Jain said that the company had come up with branded cereals in association with Kellogg’s like Mickey Magic cereal, Winnie The Pooh Hunny Bs and Rumbly Tumblys biscuits. Disney has also come up with Mickey Mouse branded computers and cameras.
He concluded by saying that since the viewers’/consumers’ expectations were rapidly changing, marketers should get out of ad breaks and get into the world of content, assets and property development.
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.
