GECs
Zee Group expands across South India; launches four regional news channels
Mumbai: Expanding its footprint across South India, Zee Group on Tuesday announced the launch of four digital news channels – Zee Tamil News, Zee Kannada News, Zee Malayalam News and Zee Telugu News to cater to the tech-savvy young viewers in the southern market.
“It is a great feat for us to enter the South Indian market with digital news channels that aren’t just selling debates. We see a gap in honest, unbiased, and extensive on-ground reporting in these markets, and hence these channels will cater to fulfilling that gap. We aim to be the most trustworthy news brand of these markets,” stated CEO of South channels Purushottam Vaishnava.
According to the data cited by the company, the internet penetration of South India is much higher compared to the rest of India. The time spent watching videos per day has also increased by 60–70 per cent over 2018–20, where 85 per cent of content viewed is non-English and 30 per cent in languages other than English or Hindi. “With 68 per cent of the population consuming news through digital platforms, Zee plans to address the need for a voice which can focus on the real on-ground situations,” it said in a statement.
Zee Media founder and Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Chandra said, “It is indeed a great pleasure for us that we are launching four digital news channels in South India. Helmed by Purushottam and very capable editors – Manjesh Gopal, Ravi, Sebi Stanley and Bharat Kumar – I believe that we will be one of the most trusted news sources and set new benchmarks in the news media. We will soon be launching a news channel in Kashmiri language too.”
The channels which will fall under India Dotcom Private Ltd have also launched a marketing campaign with a focus on the digital platform along with radio and TV.
Udaya Kumar, who was appointed as the sales head for the south digital channels said, “We have carefully curated programming that caters to all the needs and wants of an educated viewer. Our focus is not just politics but includes a plethora of other genres like crime scene investigation, political satire, lifestyle, health, etc. Looking forward to some great work with this dynamic team and contributing to the revenue growth across all four south Indic languages.”
The channels – Zee Tamil News, Zee Kannada News, Zee Malayalam News, and Zee Telugu News – will be available on the respective websites as well as YouTube platforms, social media platforms such as Facebook, OTT streaming platforms like Zee5 and others along with news aggregators like Dailyhunt, etc, said the company.
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.
