GECs
Zoom in rejig mode, adds Bollywood flavour
MUMBAI: Zoom has been primarily associated with Page 3 content on and around celebrities. But now the non-fiction lifestyle and entertainment channel wants to become broadbased and create an urban mass appeal to attract maximum viewership.
For starters, it has gone completely Hindi from being partially English in its initial stages as it plans to look at a wider audience.
Zoom has also initiated several activities to create properties around events. Currently focusing more on the entertainment news, they have just relaunched their show Popkorn News in a new form.
Says Zoom business head M K Anand, “The channel has become more centrist now. Initially, the shows were a little edgy. Today we are the only service filing 200 Bollywood stories per week. With our initiatives like Popkorn News we compete straight with news channels.”
To extend the entertainment news section, Zoom would be launching a half hour entertainment news-based show in the first quarter of next year. Unlike Popkorn News, this one won’t be pre-recorded but would go live.
Says Anand, “Currently we don’t have an infrastructure to go live but we certainly plan it for the next year. This will be a big step to further our target to compete with the news channels.”
The other show Page 3 has also roped in new anchors Supreet Bedi and Pooja Sharma who take the viewers into the world of the most talked about socialites, stars, fashion gurus and corporate big wigs. And Weekend Page 3 is a compilation of week’s parties, events and exhibition.
“Today there is an inate requirement to look and learn. Peoplr pick up fashion trends and style from a channel like Zoom and with such initiatives we are just staying true to the urban appeal,” says Anand.
Zoom is looking at gaining distribution. As a strategy to improve sampling, it has introduced 2 se 5, an afternoon slot dedicated completely to movies.
Talking about this initiative Anand says, ” Movies is just a short time initiative. We don’t plan to do a decibel marketing of movies by acquiring big titles. Its just to improve our viewership. We plan to flash the promos of our shows during the slot so viwers can know more about the shows.”
For this month, Zoom has lined up movies like Shabd, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and 7 1/2 Phere.
The coming year would see Zoom engaging in various events. There would be Banoongi Main Miss India in February-March, followed by Zoom Holi party in March and the Zoom Glam awards in March-April.
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.
