GECs
Gemini, Udaya to be merged into Sun?
MUMBAI : The market is expecting founder-promoter Kalanithi Maran to merge the affiliate companies, Udaya TV Pvt Ltd and Gemini TV Pvt Ltd, where he has significant equity interests, with Sun TV Ltd.
Maran had early this year raised Rs 6.03 billion through a public float of Sun TV which included the Tamil and Malayalam channels. But he kept his popular channels in Telugu and Kannada outside the ambit of the initial public offering (IPO) as they were under separate entities and had other minority stakeholders.
The speculation in stock trading circles is that the decision would soon be taken to merge the two profit-making companies with Sun TV, offering investors a width of strong channels across the four southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala.
The rumour comes at a time when Sun TV has made an announcement in the BSE that its board would be meeting on 27 November to “consider the proposed merger of satellite television broadcasting companies.”
The stock would see a sigificant boost if “these rumours” turn out to be true. “The valuation of the company will shoot up if Gemini and Udaya are merged with Sun. It is not only the topline which will inflate but the bottomline will also continue to be strong,” stock market analysts say.
Indiantelevision.com’s attempt to reach senior executives in Sun TV to get an official confirmation proved futile. Maran was also not available for comment.
The equity shares of Udaya TV, as of 7 March 2006, are held by Maran (66.67), S. Selvam (16.67 per cent) and S Selvi (16.66 per cent). In Gemini, Maran has 26.5 per cent, Kal Communication (a promoter Group company), 23.5 per cent, K Bharathi 30 per cent, Indira Anand 16 per cent and A Sai Siva Jyoti 4 per cent.
Before going for an IPO, Maran consolidated his ownership position by buying out entire stakes of Sharad Kumar and Dayalu Ammal (wife of DMK president M Karunanidhi). Analysts say he will try to do the same thing by buying out the minor partners in Gemini and Udaya before he decides to merge these two companies with Sun TV.
“We don’t know if he also already bought out the stakes. If he has, the path is clear for him to go ahead with the merger,” an analyst in a brokering firm says.
What is further fuelling the speculation is that Maran has recently consolidated the Telugu and Kannada channels under the Gemini and Udaya brands respectively. Teja News has been renamed Gemini News and Aditya TV as Gemini Music. Ushe TV, similarly, is now called Udaya Movies.
Gemini and Udaya already share a business relationship with Sun TV Ltd. For instance, the approvals for uplinking Udaya News, Ushe TV, Aditya TV and Teja News have been granted in the name of Sun TV Ltd.
Maran also has the option of consolidating Gemini and Udaya’s financials and taking them for an IPO. “This, however, is not what the market is expecting. We believe these two companies will merge with Sun TV to create a media behemoth,” analysts say.
The Sun TV scrip opened the trading day at Rs 1361.55, reached a high of Rs 1389 and closed at Rs 1363.85.
GECs
ZEEL overhauls sales structure to chase growth across TV and digital platforms
New structure sharpens digital push as viewing habits fragment fast
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. is reshuffling its sales playbook as it looks to keep pace with a fast-changing media landscape, where audiences are scattered, screens are multiplying and advertisers are following the data.
According to media reports, the rejig is anchored in the company’s push to build a more integrated, data-led monetisation engine, one that can straddle both traditional television and fast-growing digital platforms with equal ease.
At the heart of the move is a reworked sales architecture designed to deliver cross-platform solutions. With connected TV gaining ground and digital consumption surging, ZEEL is aligning its teams to move quicker, think broader and sell smarter.
The restructuring is being led by chief operating officer, advertisement revenue, Sandeep Mehrotra, at a time when the company says it is seeing tremendous growth. The idea is simple: match the right talent to the right opportunity in a market that is anything but static.
As part of the overhaul, several long-serving executives have been elevated to chief sales officer roles across regions and content clusters. Sanjoy Chatterjee will head the east market, while Gunjarav Nayak takes charge of the west along with high-margin verticals such as hmg, brand works, intellectual properties and digital sales. Rajnish Gupta will oversee bengaluru and chennai markets alongside the kannada and tamil clusters.
In other key moves, Divjyot Dhanda will lead hyderabad and kochi markets and manage zee tv, zee keralam and the telugu cluster. Roshan Vasu Kotian will supervise a diverse portfolio including Zee Marathi, &tv, Zee Punjabi, Zee Anmol, Big Magic and Zee Biskope.
The company is also strengthening its bench, appointing national sales heads across retail, regional clusters, digital and brand solutions. Ankur Kapila’s appointment to lead digital sales signals a sharper push into a segment that continues to outpace traditional formats.
Behind the scenes, dedicated strategy and operations roles have been carved out for both linear and digital businesses. Nitin Shetty, Rajkiran Shrivastav and Priya Nambiar will take on key responsibilities to ensure the new structure runs with precision.
The broader aim is clear. ZEEL wants a bigger slice of advertising budgets that are steadily drifting towards digital and connected TV ecosystems. By integrating its offerings, the company hopes to deepen client relationships while unlocking new revenue streams.
The new structure takes effect immediately, with Mehrotra continuing to report to chief executive officer Punit Goenka and steer the company’s advertising revenue strategy. Senior executive Laxmi Shetty will support the transition, with her revised role expected to be announced soon.
In a market where content is everywhere but attention is scarce, ZEEL’s latest move is less about rearranging the org chart and more about staying in the game.
