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Zee TV to launch ‘Business Baazigar’ by month-end
MUMBAI: Zee Telefilms chairman Subhash Chandra will make his debut appearance on television in the network’s big budget reality business talent hunt show Business Baazigar.
The one-hour show will launch in the last week of March as a weekly.
Chandra will be seen playing the role of a no-nonsense judge to perfection, as the show promises to give Zee TV lots of scope for reality-oriented programming.
According to market estimations, Zee TV has spent in the range of Rs 100 to 120 million for the first season of Business Baazigar. The season will have 24 episodes, from which 15 episodes have completed the post-production phase. One winner will be chosen at the end of the season.
Chandra and Passionfunds CEO Mahesh Murthy, along with a new guest judge each week, will judge the contestants through personal interviews. MTV veejay Cyrus Sahukar will anchor the show.
Business Baazigar will enter the marketing and promotion phase next week, with the channel officially announcing the launch. The show has been slotted in the weekday band.
Zee has already devoted a lot of time on this pet project of Chandra’s. The media house first announced the big ticket property in the second half of 2004. The channel had even roped in Aditya Birla Group as the title sponsor of the show well in advance. The show, which was initially produced by 24 FPS, is now being handled by Zee’s in-house team.
Business Baazigar is a search for people with smart business ideas. The show proposes to give these people the money they require to start a business based on their ideas. This money, which is essentially in the form of venture funding, will run into millions, and different winners will get different amounts depending on their business idea.
The entry of Business Baazigar will see Zee TV parading as many as three reality-oriented programmes in the weekday line up. The channel already airs the game show Kam Ya Zyaada Monday to Wednesday. It will telecast the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005 offspring Sa Re Ga Ma Pa: Ek Main Aur Ek Tu on Thursday and Friday, starting 16 March.
MUMBAI: When margins wobble, liquidity talks and in Q3 FY25-26, cash did most of the talking. Den Networks Limited closed the December quarter with consolidated revenue of Rs.251 crore, marginally higher than the previous quarter but down 4 per cent year-on-year, even as profitability stayed resilient on the back of strong cash reserves and disciplined cost control.
Subscription income softened to Rs.98 crore, slipping 3 per cent sequentially and 14 per cent from last year, while placement and marketing income offered some cheer, rising 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs.148 crore. Total costs climbed faster than revenue, up 7 per cent QoQ to Rs.238 crore, driven largely by higher content costs and operating expenses. As a result, EBITDA dropped sharply to Rs.13 crore from Rs.19 crore in Q2 and Rs.28 crore a year ago, pulling margins down to 5 per cent.
Yet, the bottom line refused to blink. Profit after tax stood at Rs.40 crore, up 15 per cent sequentially and only marginally lower than last year’s Rs.42 crore. A healthy Rs.57 crore in other income helped cushion operating pressure, keeping profit before tax at Rs.48 crore, broadly stable quarter-on-quarter despite the tougher cost environment.
The real headline-grabber, however, sits on the balance sheet. The company remains debt-free, with cash and cash equivalents swelling to Rs.3,279 crore as of December 31, 2025. Net worth rose to Rs.3,748 crore, while online collections accounted for 97 per cent of total receipts, underscoring strong cash discipline across operations, including subsidiaries.
In short, while Q3 showed signs of operating strain, the financial backbone remains solid. With zero gross debt, steady profits and a formidable cash war chest, the company enters the next quarter with flexibility firmly on its side proving that in uncertain markets, balance sheet strength can be the best growth strategy.
