News Broadcasting
Zee plans bonds issue to fund DTH, movies
MUMBAI: It has put all its fingers in as many pies and is gunning for more. Obviously, it needs funds to keep the mega plans going. So, Zee Telefilms is planning to raise funds through a bonds issue in the international market to finance its ongoing and upcoming ventures. Zee Telefilms director-finance Hitesh Vakil told indiantelevision.com that the company has secured RBI clearance to raise up to $ 90 million in funds by way of debt.
The finance is being sought for multiple reasons. The media major is looking to infuse capital into conditional access equipment and its direct to home (DTH) venture that was soft launched by ASC Enterprises Ltd on 2 October 2003. Zee’s DTH platform is already operational and is marketing the network’s various channels.
RBI clearance for raising up to $ 90 million obtained
Applied towards
Direct to home (DTH) venture
Conditional access equipment
Production of feature films by Zee’s Films Division
Paying out high cost debts and the over-riding interest of Zee and its subsidiaries
The funds would also be used for producing feature films made by the Zee Telefilms Ltd Films Division. Zee’s film division had started with the block buster Hindi film Gadar – Ek Prem Katha. Films Division CEO Nittin Keni had told indiantelevision.com in an interview earlier that three movies were in the pipeline – One Dollar Curry- an Indo-French production directed by Vijay Singh, Khosla Ka Ghosla with Anupam Kher and Bhagmati – a live animation film produced by the Zee Institute of creative Arts and directed by Ashok Kaul.
The films will be distributed by the newly formed Zee Rajshri Film Distribution Company. The company is a tie-up between Zee Telefilms Ltd and Rajshri Pictures P Limited to manage distribution of all films produced or co-produced by Zee, Padmalaya and Rajshri. It will also provide a distribution platform for the entire film industry.
Meanwhile Zee Telefilms is continuing on its ‘cleanliness drive’. The funds generated by the bonds issue will also be channeled towards paying out high cost debts of Zee and its subsidiaries. This, Vakil said, would help Zee save on high interest costs as well.
Zee is going through an extensive reorganisation. In a meeting held on 15 December 2003, the Zee board had approved the merger of group companies ETC Networks and Econnect India Ltd as part of a larger corporate restructuring plan. Earlier in 2003, Zee had tried to clean up its balance sheets by writing off completely corroded investments in its subsidiaries Econnect and Zee Interactive Ltd.
Recently, the company also went through an extensive portfolio reshuffle at the senior management level.
The ZTL board had also approved the merger of five Mauritius based operating entities viz. Software Suppliers International Ltd (SSIL), Zee Telefilms International Ltd (ZTIL – syndication of ZTL content), Zee MGM (managing movie channel MGM), Expand Fast Holding Ltd, BVI (EFHL – providing satellite services to group broadcasting companies) and Asia TV (Africa) Ltd (marketing and distributing the Zee Network in Africa) with Asia Today Ltd, Mauritius (broadcasting of Zee TV and Zee Cinema).
The fresh funds fit in well within the recent restructuring initiative taken up by Zee. This because once Zee gets rid of the high cost debts and the heavy interests riding on them, it would no doubt result in greater operating and cost efficiencies for Zee.
News Broadcasting
News TV viewership jumps 33 per cent as West Asia war draws audiences
BARC Week 8 data shows news share rising to 8 per cent despite T20 World Cup
NEW DELHI:Â Even as individual television news channel ratings remain under a temporary pause, the genre itself is seeing a clear surge in audience attention.
According to the latest data from Broadcast Audience Research Council India, television news recorded a 33 per cent jump in genre share in Week 8 of 2026, covering February 28 to March 6.
The news genre accounted for 8 per cent of total television viewership during the week, up from 6 per cent the previous week. The spike in attention coincided with escalating geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have kept global headlines firmly fixed on West Asia.
The rise is notable because it came at a time when cricket was dominating television screens. The high-stakes stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the Super 8 fixtures and semi-finals, were being broadcast during the same period.
Despite the cricket frenzy, viewers appeared to be toggling between sport and global affairs, boosting the overall share of news programming.
The surge in genre share comes even as the government has enforced a one-month pause on publishing ratings for individual news channels. The move followed regulatory scrutiny of the television ratings ecosystem.
While channel-level rankings remain temporarily out of sight, the genre-level data suggests that when global tensions escalate, audiences continue to turn to television news for real-time updates.
