GECs
MTV boosts mobile offerings in Europe through IFilm launch
MUMBAI: MTV International is looking to boost its digital media offerings in Europe. It has the IFilm brand in Europe on mobile TV.
IFilm is an aggregator and distributor of video that features a mixture of professional and user-generated content. With the biggest library of short-form entertainment video on the Web, IFilm’s programming includes film trailers, sports clips, viral videos and innovative user-generated content.
The IFilm mobile TV channel builds on the company’s 25-year heritage of offering dynamic short-form entertainment and will be optimised for the mobile screen to give users the best viewing experience.
With mobile TV developing at a rapid pace in Europe, as one of the world’s leading content companies, with creative teams in 40 offices world-wide, MTV Networks will offer mobile TV channels combining superb local programming with global hit shows such as Pimp My Ride and Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants.
In addition to mobile video-on-demand, MTVNI currently offers 12 mobile TV channels across Europe in 10 countries showing snack-size entertainment and music content from a selection of the company’s most popular hit shows, along with made-for-mobile series. MTVNI’s expert digital production team, who ensure that content offers users the ultimate viewing experience on handsets, programmes the new mobile TV channels.
MTVNI currently offers five MTV Shorts channels that feature two to three-minute clips of hit shows, such as Cribs, Punk’d, Newlyweds and Pimp My Ride. There is also made-for-mobile programming, such as Head & Body – an eight mobisode comedy series. The channels also include MTV’s famous idents or art breaks, custom-designed packaging for users on-the-go, and clips from Sex Drive, which is part of MTV’s Emmy Award-winning HIV and AIDS prevention campaign, Staying Alive.
Two MTV Music channels bring simulcast back-to-back video hits from new and established artists, such as Coldplay, Gwen Stefani and 50 Cent, to subscribers across Europe. (In the UK, MTV Shorts is known as MTV Snax, and MTV Music is known as MTV Trax.)
Three Nickelodeon mobile TV channels in the UK, Germany and France feature shows like SpongeBob SquarePants, Rugrats, Jimmy Neutron, and Hey! Arnold. Paramount Comedy brings hits such as Frasier, Becker and The Keith Barrat Show to the mobile screen in the UK, and the Game One channel is simulcast to subscribers in France.
MTV has partnerships with 63 mobile operators globally, using its distinctive editorial voice to deliver a broad range of digital content, applications and services, including short video clips, games, ring tones, voice products on mobile, text alerts and interactive applications.
The company optimises its popular TV shows across its leading brands for digital platforms, creates new experiences based on its hit properties and develops original content for kid, youth and adult audiences. The company also enables audiences to become part of the creative process, facilitating the creation and distribution of user-generated content.
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.
