GECs
Sahara Manoranjan in makeover mode, to be rechristened
NEW DELHI: After Aaj Tak and Zee TV, it’s the turn of Sahara Manoranjan to undergo a makeover, including a name change. A decision on the name change of the news channels has not yet been taken however.
Soon, Sahara Manoranjan, the Hindi general entertainment channel from the Sahara group, would carry the Sahara One brand name with a new focus on the channels distribution. A distribution game plan had taken Sahara Samay UP (the Uttar Pradesh-specific news channel) ahead of Aaj Tak for approximately the past five weeks.
This is being done as part of an over all corporate restructuring that was effected recently whereby all the functioning of Saharas media and entertainment businesses have been put under the management of a 50:50 joint venture company in which Percept Finserve is also a partner with Sahara. Percept is a company that has been active in the field of event and celebrity management and manages people like Indian cricket team captain Saurav Ganguly.
The content of Sahara Manoranjan too, would undergo a change. The revamp is likely to include, according to sources in Sahara, they would be phasing out a high-profile serial Sahib, Bibi aur Ghulam. Karishma- Miracles of Destiny is also set to go off the air soon.
Launched not so long back, Raveena Tandon starrer Sahib, Bibi… was touted as the next mega show on Sahara, after Bollywood siren Sridevi television debutMalini Iyer.
The new management of all the media and entertainment properties of Sahara group, which lays claim to being India’s largest business house with an asset base of $ 10.98 billion, will also look at the distribution aspect of the TV channels within its fold as it is being increasingly felt that lack of aggressiveness in that area has cost some of the properties to lag behind.
Though the news channels have not been brought under the joint venture company for the present, Sahara sources said that if a decision on carrying the Sahara One brand name is made for the news channels too, then the functioning of those channels too would be brought under the new corporate entity, headed by Percept IMC MD Shailendra Singh.
Meanwhile, the new JV has plans to organise a 10-day Bollywood film festival in the UK and the US from 31 August as a prelude to spreading the network globally.
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.
