GECs
KTV refutes Raj TV claim to No 2 slot
MUMBAI: The Sun Network has hit back at Raj TV’s claims of having cornered the number two position in Tamil Nadu.
Reacting to a publicised ad pitch made by Raj TV, citing the airing of blockbusters on Friday nights as the reason why ratings for the channel have shot up, KTV, the younger sibiling of Sun TV has retaliated, terming the Raj TV exercise a ‘case of one programme syndrome’. Raj Television Network head – national sales, B Shankar had said last week that the film Kalatpaadai aired on its “Friday Blockbuster” slot (named as Velli Minnalgal) on the night of 4 April 2003 (8:01 pm) had placed the channel at No. 2 in Chennai and Tamil Nadu in the cable and satellite (C&S) homes. “It got a TVR of 6.88 in the C&S 4 years plus in Chennai,” Shankar had claimed.
KTV’s marketing head Saravanan however has hit back, saying, “A channel standing can be determined only by its overall ratings and the average share it has during the prime and the non-prime hours on all days of the week. A mere one programme at any of the slots suitable to a channel can only reflect one good programme of that channel. Just because that one particular programme happens to edge past the programme in the same time slots in other channels do not mean you have edged past a channel.”
“A movie viewership is purely title driven and it is very difficult for a channel like Raj TV with very limited number of good titles to slot good movies on a continuous basis. In such a scenario, whatever you gain from one title will not be the same with other titles,” he says.
According to Saravanan, TAM ratings for the week 6 April to 12 April show that-
* Under the three segments Chennai, TN 1 lakh to 10 lakh towns and TN 10 lakh + towns which cover the entire Tamil Nadu viewership (C&S) , KTV has an audience share of 11 per cent in Chennai,10 per cent in TN 1 to 10 Lakhs and 14 per cent in TN 10 L + where as Raj TV scores 8 per cent, 6 per cent and 7 per cent. The category is C& S 4+ years, which determines the overall viewership of a channel and reflect the channel standing.
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.
