News Broadcasting
Thursday Premieres see ad spurt on Zee
MUMBAI: If the proof of the pudding is in the eating, Zee Telefilms Ltd’s (ZTL) strategy to introduce a Hindi film at Thursday prime time slot seems to be paying dividends. Not only are its movies now a regular feature on the ratings charts, it has had a positive impact on its ad inventory position and has also boosted the stock price at the bourses.
A channel ad spot analysis done by Perfect Monitoring indicates a significant increase in the commercial activity from September 2002 to October 2002. There was an almost 60 per cent increase in commercial activity the analysis has revealed.
Some premier brands which were inactive during September 2002 on Zee came on board in October. Brands that became active during October in a big way were Whirlpool Fast Forward Ice refrigerator, Colgate Herbal toothpaste, Kinetic Boss motorcycle, Sundrop Nutrilite sunflower oil, Pantene Volume & Fulness shampoo, Cadbury’s Dairymilk Chunky and Sansui color television.
Media buyers that indiantelevision.com spoke to say Zee TV is getting an average effective ad rate of between Rs 75,000 to RS 80,000 per 10 second spot when its movies are being telecast. Industry sources indicate that ad secondage during the Thursday Premiere is just over 3,000 seconds therefore it is reasonable to assume that Zee would be raking in around RS 24 million in advertising per movie.
There has been some positive news on the stock exchanges as well for Zee. The ZTL stock has attracted some fund buying pushing the stock up from Rs 85.90 on 1 November to the current levels of Rs 87, Hindu Businessline has reported. Obviously, in the long term Zee will have to show a ratings rise for its other shows as well in addition to being able to sustain the weekly airing of new films.
News Broadcasting
News18 India to air Sabse Bada Dangal on 4 May counting day
Channel promises fastest results, live trends and analysis across five states.
MUMBAI: Ballots will do the talking and screens will do the shouting. As counting day approaches for high-stakes Assembly elections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry, News18 India is gearing up for an all-day broadcast of its flagship election show, Sabse Bada Dangal, on 4 May from 6 am onwards. The Hindi news channel plans to deliver continuous, real-time updates as votes are tallied, combining live counting data with on-ground reporting and studio analysis. With political fortunes set to shift through the day, the coverage will track every swing, surge and surprise as trends turn into results.
The broadcast will feature a mix of senior political leaders, analysts and experts, offering instant reactions and decoding the evolving electoral picture. Expect heated debates, quick takes and detailed breakdowns as the numbers settle across all five states.
For News18 India, counting day has long been a high-visibility moment. The network is banking on its reporting reach, editorial bandwidth and technology-driven coverage to stay ahead in what is often a fiercely competitive news cycle.
With multiple battlegrounds and shifting narratives, the day promises both drama and data in equal measure. And if all goes to plan, Sabse Bada Dangal will once again turn the counting of votes into prime-time spectacle.
