News Broadcasting
Pyramid Saimira to raise Rs 844 million via IPO, sets price band at Rs 88-100
MUMBAI: Chennai-based cinema chain Pyramid Saimira plans to raise Rs 844.4 million through a public float to part-finance its expansion plans. This includes refurbishing theatres after taking them on long term lease and installing digital systems of delivery.
The issue, which opens on 11 December and closes on 18 December, will have a price band of Rs 88 to Rs 100 per equity share of Rs 10 each. The initial public offering (IPO) will be entirely through the book building process.The total fund requirement is estimated at Rs 1.11 billion. The funding will be met through pre-issue capital and internal accruals of Rs 267.5 million, in addition to the IPO.
For refurbishing the theatres, the company plans to invest Rs 368 million while digitalisation process will absorb Rs 241.4 million. The other big investment of Rs 203.4 million will be towards recoverable security deposit with theatres and multiplexes.
The company plans to tie up with 120 theatres in A locations and 235 threatres in B and C locations by March 2007. The average length of the lease varies from five to 15 years with the option to extend it.
Pyramid Saimira has tied up with Delta Electronics, Taiwan, for digital projectors, Real Image Media for video servers and Tatanet for the utilisation of their broadband VSAT infrastructure. Arasor Inc, USA, will provide for next generation laser projection technology, Valuable Media for end-to-end digital cinema solution on pay-per-use basis in 1000 Pyramid theatrical locations and Prasad Labs for digital conversion.
With focus on tier II cities, Pyramid plans to have a pan India presence. “We are currently present in the southern states. But we are soon spreading out to Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan,” says Pyramid Saimira Theatre managing director PS Saminathan. The company has tied up with Spirit Global Constructions which shall construct 60 propoerties in Punjab while Swatantra Land & Finance shall offer 22 properties at Haryana and 20 properties at Rajasthan.
“We plan to have over 2000 screens in 1550 locations across India with 58.75 million sq. ft. under operational management by 2010,” says Saminathan. The company currently has 148 screens operational with over 1.8 million sq. ft.
The company is close to signing a deal with Chinese government to run 7,000 theatres on the mainland. Bennett Coleman and Company Ltd (BCCL), publishers of The Times of India and The Economic Times, has bought a small stake in the company.
Among the promoters of Pyramid Saimira include noted Tamil film producer V Natarajan and Saminathan who owned a cable TV network in parts of Tamil Nadu.
News Broadcasting
Network18 channels lead YouTube news viewership in March 2026
CNN-News18, News18 India and CNBC channels top categories with record views
MUMBAI: When the world hit refresh on breaking news, Network18’s channels were already streaming ahead. As geopolitical tensions and war-driven headlines fuelled a surge in global news consumption, the network’s digital playbook delivered big clocking record Youtube viewership across English, Hindi and business news categories in March 2026.
At the forefront was CNN-News18, which emerged as the clear leader in the English news segment with 130 million live and video-on-demand views. The channel edged past competitors such as Times of India (126.5 million), Times Now (101.1 million), India Today (88.2 million) and NDTV (77.5 million), according to Databeings data for March.
In the Hindi news arena, News18 India delivered a commanding performance, racking up a staggering 3,297 million views on YouTube. The channel comfortably outpaced NDTV India, which recorded 3,119 million views, underlining its deep reach and consistent engagement with mass audiences, as per Playboard data.
The network’s dominance wasn’t confined to general news. In the Hindi business segment, CNBC Awaaz topped the charts with 92 million views, narrowly ahead of Zee Business (90 million) and well ahead of ET Now Swadesh (57 million). Meanwhile, its English counterpart CNBC-TV18 posted a strong 58 million views, reinforcing the network’s cross-category strength.
The spike in viewership reflects a broader shift in audience behaviour, with viewers increasingly turning to digital platforms particularly Youtube for real-time updates and in-depth coverage during high-intensity news cycles. For Network18, the numbers signal more than just scale; they underline the effectiveness of a multi-platform strategy that blends speed, credibility and continuous coverage.
In a month where the news never paused, it seems viewers chose to stay tuned where the stream never stopped.
