News Broadcasting
Sentiment expected to remain negative on Zee scrip
Down, down, down with no end in sight at least in the near term is the verdict that media sector investment analysts have given regarding the beleaguered Zee scrip.
The Zee Telefilms Ltd (ZTL) stock has taken a continuous beating over the past few months with the last week being particularly painful. The share has dropped to it touch 52 week lows thrice at Rs 240, Rs 235 and Rs 216. It is currently trading at Rs 228.
A foreign securities firm has put a ‘sell’ recommendation on ZTL. Market sentiments are working against the scrip. To get a handle on the mood in the the market we talked with a couple of analysts and took their perspective.
The weakness in the scrip, they revealed, is attributed to many reasons. The principle contributor being “not so good programming.”
“The Television business is becoming more and more visible in the sense everybody watches TV and knows fairly well as to which are the channels providing good entertainment,” said a senior analyst in a multinational securities firm. “High TRP ultimately converts into revenues for channels. Zee doesn’t have any good shows, not a single blockbuster and more than that for their prime time (9:30pm) slot what they are showing are reruns of earlier shows which is bound to affect advertising revenues.”
In the coming months there seems to be no special programming in the pipeline which could draw viewers back to the channel. The onslaught on Zee TV’s revenue, the bread and butter for the network, by Star and Sony has had a negative impact on the scrip said an analyst with another foreign securities consultant based in Mumbai. “Further highlighting this is the debacle that was Sawaal Das Crore Ka which showed programming incompetence. The third quarter results will show how much the channel has spent on that front which will further hit the share price,” he said.
“Repeated announcements of plans which were finally not implemented has affected Zee’s credibility and also raised questions about the cash flow situation of the company. This was apparent in its failed FM bid, the cancellation of the Zee Sports channel and Siti Cable’s failure to go through with its Net on cable plans,” opined an analyst attached to a leading merchant banker.
Predictions for the company’s third quarter results, which will be out in a few days, are negative and they will take a further toll of the share price. Some discounting for the weak results is already taking place. Analysts believe that the price will remain weak for at least the coming two months as nothing positive is in the pipeline.
“The company should really put its act together and has to come out with concrete solutions. Only then can it arrest the downward slide as competition in the television industry is really heating up and better and better options are available for viewers as well as advertisers,” said one analyst. “We really can’t predict where the price will reach, but definitely the movement will be in negative territory.”
The first analyst we spoke to believes that the price may touch Rs 200 in the coming month or two depending on the company’s results. As ZTL Chairman Subhash Chandra is taking a serious review of his programming as well as overall business the recommendation is to wait and watch.
At the Rs 200 level it is a good buy for the medium term. At the present level of Rs 225 the P/E is around 35 which most analysts are comfortable with but it is the future earning expectation that is affecting the price. The volumes on the BSE as well as the NSE are high enough given the high liquidity of the scrip even though it is much lower compared to its earlier trading volume.
The AT Kerney recommendations on restructuring are apparently being implemented by Zee but to what extent and whether it will actually improve the functioning of the company is the Sawaal Dus Crore Ka (100 million rupee question).
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
