GECs
Zee rises to the occasion as R.I.S.E Mysuru sparks brand momentum
MUMBAI: If Mysuru needed a spark, Zee made sure it got a full-blown power surge. The broadcaster’s marquee multi-city initiative R.I.S.E rolled into the cultural capital with an edition that blended insight, imagination and industry muscle and kept marketers talking long after the lights dimmed.
Carrying forward the momentum of earlier chapters across Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Coimbatore and Pune, the Mysuru edition drew marketers, entrepreneurs, brand custodians and regional business leaders for an evening built on collaboration and future-facing brand strategy. True to its format, the gathering unpacked how ‘Z’s holistic advertising ecosystem spanning 50 plus TV channels, Zee5, Youtube, social platforms, influencer networks and regional IPs is engineered to help brands scale meaningfully in an India that is evolving by the minute.
The evening opened with Zee head of advertisement revenue for broadcast & digital Laxmi Shetty who spotlighted the growing weight of the Z omnichannel infrastructure, a stack that now blends content, data, creativity and distribution to deliver sharper, value-first outcomes for advertisers.
What followed was a brisk carousel of business wisdom.
Eagle 10 Ventures general partner Suchindra Kanakanapalya broke down the anatomy of capital-attracting business models, while VilCart, Founder & CEO Prasanna Kumar C decoded the untapped power and operational nuance of rural markets.
Manufacturing insights came from Sparsh Masala managing director Deeksha S Kumar who spoke of resilience and leadership, and Madhu Chandan, Founder & CEO of Organic Mandya, who offered a grounded narrative on purpose-driven entrepreneurship rooted in local impact.
Food category playbooks took centre stage with Vinay Gopinath, chief growth officer at Adukale, who traced the path to scaling consumer brands through insight-led innovation. Rounding out the ecosystem deep-dive were Rajnish Gupta (chief sales officer, South Cluster) and Ravi Mayank (national sales head, Kannada Cluster), who dissected ‘Z’s customised packages and omnichannel strength showing how regional nuance plus digital precision can drive measurable returns.
Speaking about the Mysuru chapter, Laxmi Shetty said, “Mysuru has always been a hub of creativity, culture and emerging enterprise, and R.I.S.E is our way of channelling that energy into actionable growth pathways. We’re not just offering media solutions, we’re building an integrated growth engine that unites content, data and distribution to unlock meaningful scale.”
Conceptualised as a flagship trust-building initiative, R.I.S.E positions ‘Z’ as a partner in growth, equipping businesses with the tools to translate media investments into measurable outcomes. It also functions as a rare confluence point for India’s marketing ecosystem uniting brand builders, VCs, retail forces, digital disruptors and SMEs looking to scale, sharpen and innovate.
With the Mysuru edition, Zee has tightened its grip on India’s expanding advertiser landscape, doubling down on regional engagement and reaffirming its push towards innovation-led, future-ready advertising.
In a market where attention is fragmented and ambition is soaring, R.I.S.E Mysuru proved one thing unmistakably, sometimes, elevation is all about the company you keep and the ecosystem that lifts you.
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.
