News Broadcasting
GoM clears draft convergence bill, looks at super regulator
The group of ministers (GoM) on information technology and telecom, headed by finance minister Yashwant Sinha, on Tuesday approved the draft Communications and Convergence Bill 2001 setting in motion the process of creating a super regulator which will have the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the proposed broadcasting authority subservient to it.
Everything connected with telecommunication and broadcasting, and other communications, including all aspects of convergence in these services, would come under the commission’s purview.
The super regulator, to be called the Communications Commission of India (CCI), will be established on the lines of the Federal Communications Commission of the US, according to the Business Standard. The draft bill was based on the recommendations made by a panel led by legal expert Fali S Nariman.
The CCI will be empowered to issue all licences, including composite licences for communication facilities and services, to facilitate and regulate all aspects of telecom, broadcasting and other communication including all aspects of convergence in these services, to determine regulations, codes and technical standards, to determine and levy license fee wherever required and to determine tariff and rates for licensed services wherever necessary, the Hindu Businessline reported.
The passage of the Bill involves the repeal of at least five laws and also covers certain aspects of the Information Act 2000 that are administered by the telecom, IT and broadcasting Ministries. The proposed Bill is likely to deal with the consolidation and management of the provisions of the Indian Telegraphs Act, 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933, the Telegraph Wire Unlawful Possession Act, 1950 and the TRAI.
It will also lead to the repeal of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, which is under the purview of the I&B Ministry.
So is the era of convergence finally at hand? Not just yet and maybe not for a while if the government’s record on the matter thus far is anything to go by.
IT Minister Pramod Mahajan has promised the bill, which has over 100 clauses, will be introduced in Parliament in the first week of May.
Before that it will first be put on the Web to get feedback from various sections of the industry.
This is supposed to happen within a week. The responses are expected to come in by 25 February. Nariman is then expected to scrutinise the responses and the GoM is to meet again in April to incorporate any changes, if required.
If there are no differences within the GoM at that stage, the bill will be placed before the cabinet in April-end and in the first week of May, it is scheduled to be introduced in Parliament. The bill will then be sent to the standing committee, and is expected to be passed either in the winter session of 2001 or in the Budget session of 2002.
Mahajan has said the bill will be implemented in its full form in early 2002. That is the schedule as of now. How the whole thing finally unravels we’ll have to wait and watch.
News Broadcasting
Zee Media back in the black as December quarter delivers
Heading- Q3 profit at Rs 61.49 crore as nine month numbers swing positive.
MUMBAI: After years of red ink, Zee Media Corporation Limited appears to have found its headline moment and this time, it is written in black. For the quarter ended 31 December 2025, the network reported revenue from operations of Rs 117.35 crore, marginally higher than Rs 116.96 crore in the September quarter. Total revenue, including other income of Rs 0.94 crore, stood at Rs 118.29 crore.
More significantly, profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs 60.33 crore, a sharp turnaround from a loss of Rs 26.66 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. After accounting for a deferred tax credit of Rs 1.16 crore, profit after tax stood at Rs 61.49 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 19.95 crore a year ago.
Earnings per share for the quarter were Rs 0.98, reversing the negative Rs 0.32 recorded in the December 2024 quarter.
The improvement was driven by tighter cost controls. Total expenses for the quarter were Rs 140.72 crore, lower than Rs 144.13 crore in the year ago period. Employee benefits expense stood at Rs 44.76 crore, operating costs at Rs 25.51 crore, finance costs at Rs 4.56 crore, depreciation and amortisation at Rs 20.29 crore, and other expenses at Rs 45.60 crore.
For the nine months ended 31 December 2025, revenue from operations reached Rs 458.98 crore, up from Rs 337.40 crore in the same period last year. Total revenue stood at Rs 461.15 crore, including other income of Rs 2.17 crore.
Profit before tax for the nine month period was Rs 27.31 crore, a dramatic swing from a loss of Rs 103.77 crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. After a deferred tax charge of Rs 3.94 crore, profit after tax came in at Rs 23.37 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 77.67 crore last year.
Total comprehensive income for the nine month period stood at Rs 23.27 crore.
As of 31 December 2025, the company’s paid up equity share capital was Rs 62.54 crore, with other equity at Rs 364.46 crore.
On the corporate front, the company had incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary, Zeo Media Inc, in Delaware, United States, on 4 April 2024. However, pending Overseas Direct Investment approvals, no investment had been made in the subsidiary till 31 December 2025.
Zee Media’s existing subsidiaries include Zee Akaash News Private Limited, Indiadotcom Digital Private Limited and Pinews Digital Private Limited. It also has associate stakes in Today Merchandise Private Limited and Today Retail Network Private Limited.
While annual figures still reflect the hangover of earlier losses with the year ended 31 March 2025 showing a loss after tax of Rs 100.33 crore, the December quarter’s sharp recovery signals a potential reset. For a network long battling financial headwinds, the latest numbers suggest the narrative may finally be changing from survival to stability.
