GECs
SABe TV in month-long programme push
SABe TV, promoted by the Adhikari brothers, is planning a major programming push timed to kick off 14 May. Film heroine Karisma Kapoor will be promoting the Hindi entertainment channel as its brand ambassador.
SABe TV, which claims it holds the number four spot in the Hindi channel stakes after Star Plus, Zee TV and Sony Entertainment Television, is hoping its new initiative will raise a serious challenge to the Big Three.
And how is it going about it? Appointment viewing is what all the channels are looking for and SABe TV hopes to drive home (a car is just one of the prizes to be won) to the viewer that there are rewards in tuning in to the channel. To add to this, there are also a number of new shows that the channel is introducing.
Questions relating to the programmes on air will be asked at the end of each show to which viewers will have to send in their answers. The fix is that the questions will relate to what transpired during the episode that just aired and will not be general questions. Therefore to win anything participants will have to watch the programmes in full.
A month of regular watching will get the viewers familiar enough with the plot lines of the shows on air to make them want to continue watching them is the premise SABe TV appears to be working on.
There are a whole host of prizes to be won during the promotion. The bumper prize will be an apartment in Mumbai. The other big prizes include a luxury car, an all expenses paid foreign trip for two families and a diamond set. Raj Travels is sponsoring the trips and the diamonds are from Sparkle. Adhikari says talks are still on for a sponsor for the apartment as well as the car but whether it comes through or not these prizes will definitely be handed over to the winners.
Apart from the main prizes, other prizes include a week’s stay at the Holiday Inn in Goa, and various home appliances which will be given away on a daily basis during the on air event period which is 14 May to 10 June.
Keeping with the theme of the more you watch the more you win, it will be the participants with the maximum number of correct entries who will be in line to take home the big prize, Adhikari points out.
NEW PROGRAMMES: A drama serial Dulhan produced by Rakhee Tandon and directed by Ravi Kemu will go on air from 17 May slotted at 8:30 PM every Thursday. Dulhan is about a contractual marriage and raises critical questions about the institution of marriage, according to a company release.
Whole new episodes of the fantasy and costume drama Alif Laila, based on the Arabian Nights, will go on air from 21 May at 7:30 PM and will be telecast Monday to Friday. Sagar Arts have been commissioned to produce 786 new episodes, which have never been shown before on any television network.
Two mega historicals – Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra and Sati Savitri have already started on SabeTV from 6 May airing every Sunday between 11 am and 12 noon.
To round of the list, the channel plans to introduce two new daily dramas by the end of June. It is also in the middle of conceptualising a new genre of programmes (Adhikari said he didn’t want to reveal anything about what it involved at the moment) which will be launched some time in the second half of the year.
SABe TV’s effort is to increase viewer recognition of what the channel has to offer. And what effect the new programming push will have on TRPs will be closely watched.
GECs
Sebi sends show-cause notice to Zee over fund diversion, company responds
Regulator questions 2018 letter of comfort and governance lapses; company vows robust legal response
MUMBAI: India’s markets watchdog has reignited its long-running scrutiny of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, issuing a sweeping show-cause notice that drags the broadcaster and 84 others into a widening governance storm.
The notice, dated February 12, has been served by the Securities and Exchange Board of India to Zee, chairman emeritus Subhash Chandra and managing director and chief executive Punit Goenka, among others. At its heart: allegations that company funds were indirectly routed to settle liabilities of entities linked to the Essel Group.
The regulator’s probe traces its roots to November 2019, when two independent directors resigned from Zee’s board, flagging concerns over the alleged appropriation of fixed deposits by Yes Bank. The deposits were reportedly adjusted against loans extended to Essel Group entities, triggering questions about related-party dealings and board oversight.
A key flashpoint is a letter of comfort dated September 4, 2018, issued by Subhash Chandra in his dual capacity as chairman of Zee and the Essel Group. The document, linked to credit facilities availed by certain group companies from Yes Bank, was allegedly known only to select members of management and not disclosed to the full board—an omission SEBI believes raises red flags over transparency and governance controls.
Zee has pushed back hard. In a statement, the company said it “strongly refutes” the allegations against it and its board members and will file a detailed response. It expressed confidence that SEBI would conduct a fair review and signalled readiness to pursue all legal remedies to protect shareholder interests.
The notice marks the latest twist in a saga that has shadowed the broadcaster since 2019. What began as boardroom unease has morphed into a full-blown regulatory confrontation. The final reckoning now rests with SEBI—but the reputational stakes for Zee, and the message for India Inc on governance discipline, could scarcely be higher.
