News Broadcasting
SSB report claims that Zee Telefilms 4QFY03 to be hit
MUMBAI: A Salomon Smith Barney report estimated that Zee Telefilms would not fare well 4QFY03. The forthcoming World Cup cricket 2003 in February and March might affect the revenue, the report says.
The report stated that the shift from the general entertainment channels to the sports channels could be among the other reasons including the following:
Advertising revenue for Zee TV could be under pressure in 4QFY03 as ad spend shifts toward channels broadcasting World Cup cricket
New movie strategy unlikely to engineer a long-term shift in viewer patterns
Dominance of Star Plus is absolute across time bands
Given this gap, an overnight turnaround in Zee’s fortunes is unlikely – investors will have time to ride the leverage wave
Overall macro story remains attractive although Zee will continue to lose market share if status quo continues.
Exceprts from the report:
Star Plus is the undisputed leader of viewer ratings across all segments of Indian television. But the challenge for Zee is not to bridge the gap in a single prime-time slot but across the entire daily viewing band. Investment in content that retains viewers across time bands is needed to alter market share patterns – just one driver show won’t do.
In hindsight, KBC (its channel-driver show) alone wasn’t enough to create the kind of leadership that Star Plus enjoys. Star’s programming team engineered a complete shift in viewer patterns by following through with high quality programming designed to keep the viewer throughout the prime-time band.
The success of this strategy is shown as Star Plus continues to reign supreme across all prime-time bands even though KBC has been off the air for over six months.”
The viewer data and the ‘time spent’ data showed that India’s one-TV households seem to have become predominantly one-channel households, choosing to spend over 60 percent of their daily prime-time viewing on Star Plus.
Sampling of shows on other channels seems to have significantly declined. While this kind of leadership is unlikely to last forever, the aspirants (Sony and Zee) have an uphill road ahead to change viewer patterns in their favor. Advertisers are unlikely to support them as long as Star programs continue to enjoy such high stickiness and ratings.
The hegemony becomes difficult to break as a lack of sampling of other channels increases the ad break ratings for Star Plus. This enables Star to negotiate higher rates and reduce clutter for both advertisers and viewers. This strategy is perhaps the most difficult for the aspirants to counter.
Zee is not broadcasting any World Cup cricket matches and this is a risk to advertising revenue growth in 4QFY03. Advertising spend is likely to follow the viewer and shift toward channels broadcasting World Cup Cricket (Sony & DD Sports) from general entertainment channels.
Sports is a gap in Zee’s otherwise strong broadcasting package and could pose a risk to the growth in domestic subscription revenues during the cricket season.
It is arguable that:
a) World Cup Cricket itself could drive strong growth in the macro-market and if Zee is able to retain market share it should benefit
b) Historically, a significant shift from general entertainment to sports channels has not been noted during previous tournaments
However, we believe during the last World Cup Cricket (1999) the impact on general entertainment channels was limited (and the shift was not discernible) as the overall advertising pie was growing at a healthy pace of about 25 percent plus.
In FY2003, as shown by the 1HFY03 results of various FMCG companies (HLL, Nestle, Colgate), advertising spend has been significantly curtailed and some industry estimates suggest overall growth is likely to be only in the region of 5-6 percent.
The second quarter was a sad one for Zee TV. The TAM Media Research Adex Data (TAMMRAD) and Salomon Smith Barney (SSB) estimate that that the total duration advertised (in seconds) on Zee TV was far behind Star Plus and Sony between 23 June and 28 September (Week 26 to Week 39).
News Broadcasting
Kamlesh Singh receives Haldi Ghati Award from MMCF
India Today Group editor honoured for three decades of journalism at Udaipur ceremony.
MUMBAI- Kamlesh Singh just turned a lifetime of sharp words into a shiny shield because when journalism wakes up a society, even the Maharana of Mewar wants to pin a medal on it.
The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) conferred its prestigious Haldi Ghati Award on Kamlesh Singh, a senior editor at the India Today Group, during a ceremony in Udaipur on 15 March 2026. The national award, instituted in 1981-82, recognises “work of permanent value that initiates an awakening in society through the medium of journalism.”
Singh, who leads several editorial initiatives including Aaj Tak Radio, the Teen Taal community and The Lallantop, was presented the honour by Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Managing Trustee of MMCF. The citation highlighted his three decades of contributions to Indian media, innovations in digital journalism, mentoring young reporters, and his popular podcast persona “Tau” on Teen Taal, which fosters thoughtful public discourse.
The Haldi Ghati Award, named after the historic Battle of Haldighati symbolising valour and resilience, is one of four national awards given annually by MMCF. Past recipients include Tavleen Singh, Piyush Pandey and Raj Chengappa.
Other honourees this year included Padma Vibhushan Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vedamurti Devvrat Rekhe, Treeman of India Marimuthu Yoganathan, Vir Chakra Capt Rizwan Malik, and US-based researcher Molly Emma Aitken, who received the Colonel James Tod Award for contributions to understanding Mewar’s spirit and values.
In an era where headlines often shout louder than substance, the MMCF quietly reminded everyone that real journalism isn’t about noise, it’s about the quiet, persistent work that stirs society awake, one thoughtful story at a time.
