GECs
Lifestyle channel Zee Zest launches website ZeeZest.com
Mumbai: Lifestyle channel Zee Zest has launched its digital offering called ZeeZest.com. The platform offers influencer marketing solutions to brands with a varied talent roster of influencers across categories.
ZeeZest.com will offer insights across categories – food, travel, health, culture, style and beauty and homes. The website will provide glocal content across core lifestyle genres that are informative, entertaining and will pivot content based on national and international pop-culture trends, said the channel in a statement. The website has led to three million+ users in its soft launch phase, it added.
The content will be spread across multi-formats such as shows, recipes, articles, original videos, web stories, multilingual and aims at generating curiosity and making aspirational lifestyle more accessible. Along with access to Zee Zest shows, the website will also host contests on an ongoing basis to engage with users.
The website will be populated by stories curated by in-house and contributing authors. The website will feature articles on Bollywood celebrities such as Farhan Akhtar, Vidya Balan, Aditi Rao Hydari, Dino Morea, Sonu Sood; and popular influencers such as Shenaz Treasury, Yohani, Tesher and Sejal Kumar.
“Over the last few years, we have seen a major growth in lifestyle content consumption with people wanting to express their individuality and seeking to live a higher quality life,” said Zee Zest business head Amit Nair. “ZeeZest.com is uniquely positioned to be that guide for the urban millennial and the youth to express themselves sharply whether its food/travel/homes and health. The strategy of having a strong TV+ digital presence helps to capture a sizable user base that spends on the diverse categories to always stay several notches ahead. The future sees multiple India Originals for TV, Digital first ideas and initiatives that will raise the bar for lifestyle content delivering immersive and engaging IPs with key focus on user and revenue growth.”
Zee Zest has 45 per cent viewership share in the lifestyle genre with original shows like “From Fit Fab Feast with Huma Qureshi,” “India’s 50 Best with Chef Ajay Chopra,” “Goan Gullies with Rocky and Mayur,” and “Grand Trunk Rasoi.”
“With the phenomenal success garnered by Zee Zest within a span of just one year, we are now thrilled to launch the website that will house original and quality content across lifestyle categories,” said Zee Zest chief cluster officer – West, North and premium Amit Shah. “Digital will play an important role in our overall strategy and we will be a unique brand that will have both linear, digital and social presence and thereby be an attractive option for advertisers. With the ambitious goal of being the top five publishers in lifestyle the path is clearly chalked out for the next 3-5 years of bringing together content, community and commerce.”
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.
