GECs
STAR walks aways with 23 awards at PROMAX & BDA 2001
Keeping in line with its runaway success in The Indian Telly Awards 2001, Star has pocketed 24 awards – seven gold, 13 silvers and seven bronze – at this years’ PROMAX and Broadcast Designers’ Association (BDA) Awards in Miami in the US.
Nearly 9,000 entries from across the globe vied for top promotion, marketing and design glories from more than 100 judges at the annual awards. The majority of the award-winning works were from Channel [V].
“These awards speak of the breadth and depth of our dedicated on-air and off-air creative teams. They continue to set the standards for the Asian television industry. We are proud of their achievements,” Bruce Churchill, president and chief operating officer of STAR said in the company release.
PROMAX and BDA are international associations of broadcast design and marketing professionals. They offer the world’s premier educational conferences for promotions, marketing and design executives in electronic media. The two organisations are non-profit associations owned by their members.
PROMAX award winners
| Award | Category | Title of Work |
| Gold | Best Public Service Announcement | Anti-smoking, Channel [V] India |
| Gold | Non-promotional Animation | Very China, Channel [V] Greater China |
| Gold | Special Event Promotion | V Get on the Street Channel [V] Greater China |
| Gold | Networks Promotional Animation Campaign | Theatre of the Hand, Channel [V] Greater China |
| Silver | Branding/ Image | Old Couple, Channel [V] India |
| Silver | Campaign Using One or More Media | Spot the Bullshit, Channel [V] India |
| Silver | Promotional Animation Capaign | Theatre of the Hand, Channel [V] Greater China |
| Silver | Consumer Promotion | Hit Machine, Channel [V] India |
| Silver | Program Promotion | C’est La V, Channel [V] Channel |
| Silver | Interstitial | Theatre of the Hand, Channel [V] Greater China |
| Silver | Non-promotional Animation | Very China, Channel [V] Greater China |
| Silver | Comedy Program Promotion | Friends – Blue Danube, STAR |
BDA award winners
| Award | Category | Title of Work |
| Gold | Topical On-air Total Package | Very China, Channel [V] Greater Design China |
| Gold | Best Entertainment Website | C’est La Vie, Channel [V] Greater China |
| Gold | Sales Brochure Bound Piece | Channel [V] Sales Brochure |
| Silver | Out-of-House Image Promo | Parsi Sanatorium, Channel [V] India |
| Silver | Topical On-air Package Design | Rave Traveler, Channel [V] Greater China |
| Silver | Promo for Website | C’est la V, Channel [V] Greater China |
| Silver | Public Service Announcement | Anti-smoking, Channel [V] India |
| Silver | Topical Print | Promax 1 BDA Asia Poster, STAR |
| Bronze | In-house Packaging | Canto-pop, Channel [V] Greater – China |
| Bronze | One Time Promo | Andy Day, Channel [V] Greater China |
| Bronze | In-house Image Promo | V-8, Channel [V] Greater China |
| Bronze | In-house ID | Much Better, Channel [V] India |
| Bronze | Out-of-House Image Promo | Angelo’s Funtime Club, Channel [V] India |
| Bronze | Invitation or Card | STAR X-mas |
| Bronze | 2D Sales Kit | Channel [V] Diary |
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.
