GECs
Reliance Industries: a subsidiary change
MUMBAI: Network18 Media & Investments informed the Bombay stock exchange on the evening of 31 December that Viacom18 India had ceased to be its subsidiary on 30 December and become a direct offshoot of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).
This, it said, happened when RIL converted 24,61,33,682 compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) held by it in Viacom18 into 24,61,33,682 equity shares. Post this conversion, RIL’s equity holding in Viacom18 went up to 83.88 per cent and 70.49 per cent on a fully diluted basis. Network18 ended up with 16.12 per cent of Viacom18’s total equity share capital and 13.54 per cent on a fully diluted basis. On 14 November, RIL had informed the exchange that its stake in Viacom18 was at 70.49 pr cent on a fully diluted basis following its acquisition of Paramount’s 13.01 per cent stake (on a fully diluted basis) in it for Rs 4,286 crore.
AS per the BSE regulatory filing, Viacom18 was a material subsidiary of Network18 with nil turnover and a net worth of Rs 26,928.17 crore (representing 90.39 per cent, of the annual consolidated net worth of Network18) for the financial year 2023-24.
Network18 received intimation from Viacom18 on 30 December at 7:46 p.m. regarding the allotment of equity shares to RIL pursuant to conversion of CCPS.
The shareholders of Network18 had earlier approved this change of ownership.
With this transition, Viacom18 will now operate under RIL control.
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.
