GECs
Tata Play introduces Addressable Ads for linear television
Mumbai: India’s largest content distribution platform Tata Play, has announced Addressable Ads for linear television. Addressable TV advertising technology enables advertisers to selectively segment TV audiences and serve different ads to different households, even if they are watching the same content. In essence, digital-akin media planning can now be achieved on television through Addressable Ads. Starting today, brands can sharpen the targeting of their linear TV ads through filters of geographies and audience profiles.
Addressable TV ads mark a revolutionary milestone for television advertising as it merges linear TV with digital capabilities. TV advertising is essential for top-of-funnel deliveries. With Tata Play’s Addressable Ads solution, advertisers can enjoy a better ROI with functionalities like targeting and buying impressions. Broadcast partners are now empowered with an opportunity to offer a more relevant, rewarding, and effective inventory.
Tata Play CEO & managing director Harit Nagpal explained how the new development disrupts the linear TV advertising ecosystem, “While Television delivers the highest advertising reach for brands, it doesn’t offer sharper targeting. With our targeted ad delivery, we can now split a TV spot into multiple beams with each beam carrying messages to distinctive audience cohorts, as required by the advertisers.”
This breakthrough marks a first for unconnected boxes, empowering advertisers to reach their targeted audience with complete measurability. The segmentation will be based on audience profiles and various geographical cuts, making television advertising more engaging and effective. Tata Play has partnered with Invidi and TAM for this initiative. While Invidi will manage the tech aspect of Addressable ads, TAM will facilitate audience measurement and monitoring.
GECs
Sebi sends show-cause notice to Zee over fund diversion, company responds
Regulator questions 2018 letter of comfort and governance lapses; company vows robust legal response
MUMBAI: India’s markets watchdog has reignited its long-running scrutiny of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, issuing a sweeping show-cause notice that drags the broadcaster and 84 others into a widening governance storm.
The notice, dated February 12, has been served by the Securities and Exchange Board of India to Zee, chairman emeritus Subhash Chandra and managing director and chief executive Punit Goenka, among others. At its heart: allegations that company funds were indirectly routed to settle liabilities of entities linked to the Essel Group.
The regulator’s probe traces its roots to November 2019, when two independent directors resigned from Zee’s board, flagging concerns over the alleged appropriation of fixed deposits by Yes Bank. The deposits were reportedly adjusted against loans extended to Essel Group entities, triggering questions about related-party dealings and board oversight.
A key flashpoint is a letter of comfort dated September 4, 2018, issued by Subhash Chandra in his dual capacity as chairman of Zee and the Essel Group. The document, linked to credit facilities availed by certain group companies from Yes Bank, was allegedly known only to select members of management and not disclosed to the full board—an omission SEBI believes raises red flags over transparency and governance controls.
Zee has pushed back hard. In a statement, the company said it “strongly refutes” the allegations against it and its board members and will file a detailed response. It expressed confidence that SEBI would conduct a fair review and signalled readiness to pursue all legal remedies to protect shareholder interests.
The notice marks the latest twist in a saga that has shadowed the broadcaster since 2019. What began as boardroom unease has morphed into a full-blown regulatory confrontation. The final reckoning now rests with SEBI—but the reputational stakes for Zee, and the message for India Inc on governance discipline, could scarcely be higher.
