GECs
IBF united to thrash out differences on CAS
NEW DELHI: The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) today decided that it should put up a united front and thrash out various differences, including those on conditional access, within the organisation itself.
In a board meeting, which was not attended by Foundation president and Prasar Bharati CEO K S Sarma owing to an official visit to Srinagar, a decision on the show cause notice issued to Sahara TV president Mahesh Prasad was deferred till the next meeting of the IBF.
Speaking to indiantelevision.com on behalf of the IBF, ESPN India’s head Manu Sawhney said, “The IBF stands united, more than ever at this juncture. We realise that all the members have a big role to play in industry related issues, including the implementation of CAS.”
Sawhney also downplayed the discordant note that Sarma had struck during a recent meeting with the parliamentary standing committee on IT, telecom and convergence, where he had disagreed with an IBF subcommittee view that CAS should be phased in and tried out in one city before being deployed in all the metros as had been mandated by the government.
“We are working collectively to address the (industry) issues proactively, including those related to the consumers,” Sawhney said. Though he refused to comment on the Mahesh Prasad issue saying “it’s an internal matter,” he did add that reduction of duty on the set top boxes (needed for CAS) is one of the key issues for the IBF at the moment for which the Foundation “would once again reinforce its stand to the government.”
Meanwhile, Sarma visited the Srinagar radio station in his capacity as the CEO of Prasar Bharati to review the situation after militants had struck there.
Sarma also appreciated All India Radio station director Rafeeq Masoodi and his staff for making it possible to run the station without any disruption despite a fierce gun battle being fought outside the premises.
GECs
Zee scales syndication with global tie-ups, 350 plus channel MCN
Vertical, dubbed and audio formats boost digital reach
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. is giving its content library a fresh passport. The company has stepped up its syndication push, signing global partnerships, experimenting with new-age formats and building a multi-channel network that now spans more than 350 channels.
With the newly secured MCN licence, Zee can manage, distribute and monetise content across leading digital platforms at scale, strengthening its presence in the fast-growing creator and short-form ecosystem.
To keep pace with changing viewing habits, the company is also reshaping its content into formats built for the small screen in your hand. In a tie-up with micro-drama platform Story TV, select titles are being reworked into vertical, short-duration episodes tailored for mobile-first audiences.
Beyond India, the syndication team is widening its global footprint with foreign-language dubbing and regional partnerships across Europe, Africa and Latin America, opening up fresh markets for Indian stories.
Zee is also tapping into the audio boom. It has begun licensing audio remake rights for legacy properties such as Zee Horror Show, with several more titles lined up for audio-first adaptations.
On the digital front, the company has made progress in monetising non-exclusive rights for library films, while converting select shows and movies from horizontal to vertical formats to improve discoverability on short-form platforms.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. business head syndication Vinod Johri, said syndication has emerged as a strong growth lever for the company. He noted that the combination of a large MCN network, global partnerships and new formats such as vertical video and audio is helping build a future-ready engine that extracts more value from the content library.
Together, these moves signal a platform-agnostic approach to storytelling, as Zee repackages, localises and redistributes its IP across geographies, formats and screens, ensuring its catalogue keeps working long after the first broadcast.
