GECs
Sahara appoints Ernst & Young for restructuring news business
MUMBAI: Sahara supremo Subroto Roy is looking at restructuring his loss-making news channel business and has asked for suggestions from consulting firm Ernst & Young.
Sahara’s bouquet of six news channels are sinking in losses of around Rs 1 billion a year, a source close to the company says. “Ernst & Young has been appointed to come up with recommendations for restructuring the operations. There is no mandate to find an investor. Clearly, the whole exercise is to make the venture profitable,” he adds.
The Hindi news space is dominated by four channels (Aaj Tak, Star News, NDTV India and Zee News) which together garner close to 70 per cent market share in viewership, making the fragmentation at the lower end among several players tough for Sahara Samay Rashtriya.
And it is not just the national news but also the region and city-specific channels (Sahara Samay Mumbai, Sahara Samay Bihar & Jharkhand, Sahara Samay Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh, and Sahara Samay Uttar Pradesh & Uttranchal and Sahara Samay NCR) that are struggling to stay profitable.
According to the source, Ernst & Young has recommended a revamp of the business in the areas of operations, ad sales and content. Each channel should have a business head whose role should be properly defined, the consulting firm has suggested. The operations should also be streamlined and structured for more efficient running.
Under the existing structure, each of the six channels has an ad sales head who reports to a three-member core committee. Since mid-2006 Sahara has done away with a national ad sales head. The distribution team also reports to this committee.
“Ernst & Young has made a presentation of its recommendations recently. It has not yet been decided what Sahara would adopt,” the source says.
Earlier, Ernst & Young had submitted a valuation report on Sahara One Media & Entertainment Ltd, the company that runs the Hindi general entertainment channel Sahara One and the motion pictures business. Later in April 2006, NRI businessman C Sivasankaran acquired 14.98 per cent stake in the company for Rs 1.2 billion.
GECs
Asianet Television Awards 2026 celebrates women power in Malayalam TV
“She is the Colour” theme honours icons as ceremony airs on March 14 and 15 at 7 PM.
MUMBAI: If television lights up living rooms, this year Asianet decided to let women provide the colour. The Asianet Television Awards 2026 turned the spotlight firmly on women empowerment with the theme “She is the Colour”, celebrating the strength, resilience and achievements of women who continue to shape society and the Malayalam entertainment industry.
The ceremony honoured several distinguished personalities whose journeys have left a lasting cultural imprint. Among them was legendary playback singer Vimala Varma, widely recognised as the first Malayalam playback singer. The evening also paid tribute to Padma Shri awardees Devaki Amma and Vimala Menon for their exceptional contributions in their respective fields.
Leading women from the Malayalam film industry were also recognised during the event, including actor Shweta Menon, who currently serves as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, and National Award winning actor Surabhi Lakshmi.
The awards ceremony brought together a glittering lineup of actors and industry figures, including Jayasurya, Vijay Babu, Asha Sarath, Lena, Esther Anil, Anumol, Akhila Bhargavan, Sarayu Mohan, Prajod Kalabhavan, Gayathri Suresh, Sabumon Abdusamad, Swasika, Tini Tom, Sijoy Varghese, Kailash, Veena Nandakumar, Sabareesh Varma, Ansiba Hassan and Dinesh Prabhakar. Kishan Kumar, executive vice president Malayalam at JioStar, was also present at the event.
Beyond individual recognitions, the awards celebrated excellence across Malayalam television, acknowledging artists and technicians whose work continues to drive the industry forward.
The evening also offered plenty of spectacle, with elaborate dance performances, stunt acts and comedy skits performed by popular television and film personalities, turning the ceremony into a full fledged entertainment showcase.
Viewers will get to watch the celebrations when the Asianet Television Awards 2026 air on Asianet on March 14 and 15, Saturday and Sunday, from 7 pm onwards, bringing the star studded tribute to homes across Kerala and beyond.
