From the CEO`s desk 242 /4 7 / 24/7

Zee Entertainment Investor Newsletter, Vol. 3
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• From the CEO’s desk
• The Game Changer
• Around ZEEL
• Snippets
• ZEE in the News
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From the CEO’s desk
At the outset, I would like to wish all of you a
very happy and prosperous Holi. Being the
festival of colour, Holi brings with it a
widespread feeling of happiness and fun,
much reflective of the current business environment, a great improvement over the last year.
I am happy to share with you the latest industry
data which suggests that the Indian television
industry showed a respectable growth in the
last calendar year across operating parameters. While it is well documented that over 8
million households adopted digital Direct to
Home satellite services, the other heartening
data point is that the overall television advertising industry grew by 7-8% in the calendar year
2009. With the television ad pie growing at a
faster pace as compared to print and with over
12 million new television sets being sold per
year, I am confident that television would
continue to take away the lion’s share of the
advertising revenues going forward as well.
March, 2010
At Zee, we have seen our network channels
doing well with the flagship channel Zee TV
continuing its strong performance. In keeping
with our philosophy of working towards
pre-defined story lengths, we would be replacing
a couple of our primetime shows in the near
future. ‘Do Saheliyaan’ is a new show which is to
be launched in the month of March followed by
another launch in the next quarter.
We have recently tied up with Mail.com Media
Corporation, a leading digital media company
based in Los Angeles, USA. Through this new
joint venture we intend to focus on the online
and mobile entertainment space in a more
dedicated manner.
It has been our endeavor at Zee to constantly
improve our interactions with you and to this effect
we have re-launched our corporate website
www.zeetelevision.com. I hope that you enjoy the
new website as also this issue of Panorama and
look forward to your feedback on both.
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Punit Goenka
Punit Goenka is Managing Director and
Chief Executive Officer of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited.
More information about Zee, including its
financial results and business outlook, can
be found on the company’s website
www.zeetelevision.com
Zee Entertainment Investor Newsletter, Vol. 3
panorama
The Game Changer:
The home of filmed entertainment
For decades film viewing has played a
central role in the leisure experience of
families in India. In the past, families would
visit their local single screen theatres for
their weekly dose of entertainment over
weekends. The only other option was to
crowd around the television set on Sunday
nights to watch the one movie that the
national broadcaster aired every week.
Recognizing a potential opportunity for a
movie crazy country,
Zee network gave
India its first dedicated
24-hour Hindi movie
channel, Zee Cinema,
in early 1995. For a
country that produces the highest number
of movies in a year, this meant that cinema
on television was transitioning from being
just differentiated content to becoming
staple diet. Quite literally the theatres came
into the living rooms of the cinema lover,
through Zee Cinema.
Over the last 14 years, the channel has
successfully brought latest blockbusters and
evergreen hits to Indian homes. In doing
so, it not only revolutionised a new genre
but also brought forth subscription as a new
revenue stream as India’s first pay channel.
Zee Cinema’s unique feature is the strength of
its library. The channel has the largest number
of Hindi movies across television networks,
including the biggest hits over decades and
featuring the best of Bollywood stars. Properties such as ‘Shanivaar Ki Raat Amitabh Ke
Saath’ (Best of Superstar Amitabh Bachchan
every Saturday), ‘Double Mazaa’ (Back to
back blockbusters), ‘Showman’s Show’
March, 2010
Having been a leader in its genre since
inception, the success formula for the team
at Zee Cinema has been to keep their ear to
the ground and offer viewers what they want.
The initiative to let viewers decide the entire
movie schedule for a month was a Zee
Cinema first, way back in December 2003
(Mangta Hai Kya). Viewer’s Choice, ‘Har
Shaam Bajenge Panch’ (Blockbusters at 5
PM), ‘Bhakti ki Shakti’ (Power of Devotion),
‘Rok Sako Toh Rok Lo’ (Single ad break
movies), ‘Bollywood Brunch’ (Light comedies
in the morning) are just some examples of the
various initiatives taken by the channel over
years to bring freshness and excitement, and
to enhance viewer experience.
Be it masti in
getting
the
viewers involved
through contests,
or
creating
magic by bringing viewers face
to face with their
favourite
film
stars, the channel has worked
towards creating
a holistic movie
channel. Bringing in child star Darsheel
Safary as a guest to interact with kids during
the kids’ festival ‘Dopahar Zee Cinema
Par’, to getting superstar Aamir Khan to talk
about the movie during the premiere of
‘Taare Zameen Par’, Zee Cinema has stood
the test of time and consistently delivered
the promise of bringing engaging and
relevant content to its viewers.
While movies serve as the backbone of any
cinema channel, the team at Zee Cinema
was convinced that a movie channel is not
just about showing back-to-back movies
but also about entertainment around
movies. Zee Cinema has thereby endeavoured to be a channel that brings alive not
just movies, but also the masti (fun) and
magic that surrounds Hindi movies.
Zee Cinema has won many accolades till
date, including the ‘The Best Movie Channel’
award for 6 consecutive years from 2003
onwards at the prestigious Indian Television
Academy Awards. The channel also has won
‘The Best Movie Channel Award’ thrice at the
Indian Telly Awards. The channel has also
featured consistently in the winners list at The
Promax Awards and The Abby Awards.
To that end, the journey began with innovative
break content during movie premiers, an
initiative that has stood out as one of the key
clutter breakers of the channel. ‘Propose to
Priyanka’ during the premiere of the blockbuster movie ‘Mujhse Shaadi Karoge’ was the
first effort in this direction, an experiment that
went on be an added source of revenues for
the channel, a much appreciated innovation
for the viewer and an award winning effort for
the team at Zee Cinema.
No wonder then that Zee Cinema has
remained a much respected channel in the
country, a consistent leader in its genre and a
regular feature in the top channels of the
country. While the vision is for Zee Cinema to
remain a leader in its space, the team at Zee
recognises that the only way to stay there is by
listening to the viewer, by giving him what he
wants, and fulfilling the promise made.
For the viewers, Zee Cinema strives to be More Movies. More Masti. More Magic.
(Movies from leading directors), ‘Bollywood
Blockbuster’, ‘Superhit of the Week’ are
some of the properties that the channel has
successfully run over years on the back of
this library strength.
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Zee Entertainment Investor Newsletter, Vol. 3
panorama
Receipients of the awards night
A performance at Zee Rishtey Awards
Around ZEEL:
Zee TV celebrates with Zee Rishtey Awards 2010
Zee TV recently celebrated its golden
moments with ‘Zee Rishtey Awards 2010’.
The evening saw all the Zee TV stars come
together at a gala event in Mumbai.
Living up to its promise – ‘Har pal
banaye, ek naya rishta’, the channel once
again managed to successfully weave
new bonds of love and friendship with its
viewers. Each of the Zee TV shows brings
in a unique flavor from different parts of
the country and creates an unbreakable
bond with viewers.
‘Zee Rishtey Awards 2010’ felicitated the
various new relationships that the characters have established with the viewers and
awarded those who have been the most
popular in playing their role with maximum
conviction.
The celebrations at the event saw all Zee TV
stars coming together and put their best
foot forward for performances on stage.
The awards night also witnessed an enthusiastic participation from all those who have
been an important part of the Z e e T V
family, right from the days of ‘Tara’, ‘Astitva
– Ek prem kahani’ to todays ‘Choti Bahu’
and ‘Dance India Dance’.
Right before the awards were announced,
viewers got a golden opportunity to meet
their favorite stars and witness their
off-screen lives. This viewer-interaction,
with their favorite stars was telecast on Zee
TV throughout the week leading up to the
Awards night.
Various Zee TV stars put their best foot forward and showcased their talent
March, 2010
3
Zee enters into a
Joint Venture
with MMC
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited
(ZEEL) has set up a joint venture with
Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC), a
leading digital media company based in
Los Angeles, USA.
The joint venture between ZEEL and MMC
marks the launch of an online and mobile
entertainment portal, www.india.com.
The new content-centric portal will offer
users a broad range of exciting
entertainment viewing options and other
leading portal applications. Both ZEEL and
MMC have proven track records in
understanding their audiences and
providing innovative and engaging content.
ZEEL has achieved great success through
cutting-edge programming that resonates
with viewers, and MMC has consistently
demonstrated a deep expertise in offering
compelling ways to connect consumers with
brands through its online destinations and
event-driven experiences.
Ten Sports telecasts
Hero Honda
FIH World Cup 2010
India’s most watched sports channel Ten
Sports is the official broadcaster for the
Hero Honda FIH (International Hockey
Federation) World Cup 2010. The tournament started on February 28 and will go on
till March 13, 2010. This prestigious
tournament, held once in four years is
being played at the National Stadium, New
Delhi. Ten Sports is also producing the
telecast of the World Cup.
The World Cup has the top 12 teams from
across the world clashing with each other
for the coveted title. These are India, Korea,
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa,
Netherlands, Germany, Spain, England,
Pakistan, Argentina and Canada. Ten
Sports is telecasting all the 38 matches of
the FIH World Cup 2010.
The Hockey World Cup is being organised by
FIH since 1971. It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer Olympics. Five countries have dominated the event's
history. Pakistan is the most successful team,
having won the tournament four times. The
Netherlands have won three titles, Germany has
won two titles while India and Australia have
each won the tournament once.
Zee Talkies’ Natarang
grabs top honours at
Film Festivals
Zee Talkies’ Natarang, undoubtedly one of
the most talked about and highly appreciated films of recent times has won the ‘Best
International Marathi Film – Sant Tukaram
Award’ at the recently held Pune International Film Festival. This award for
Natarang was in recognition for the film as
a whole as well as the direction.
Along with this top honour, Atul Kulkarni,
Natarang’s lead star was bestowed with the
‘Best Actor’ award for his magnificent
performance in the film. Kishore Kadam
who plays a pivotal role in Natarang won
the ‘Performer of the Festival’ award.
The story of the film revolves around the life
of Guna Kagalkar (played by Atul Kulkarni)
who inspires people to reflect on the simple
March, 2010
4
desires of life. The passion, obsession, zeal
and undying desire to set up a Tamasha
theatre company, leaves the audience
completely spellbound.
Taking lead from the popularity of the film, Zee
Talkies released it for the second time with subtitles,
to be able to cater to a larger audience.
Zee revamps
corporate website
In a recent initiative Zee Entertainment
Enterprises Limited has revamped its corporate website. The URL for the website is
www.zeetelevision.com . The website is a
one stop destination for all information on
ZEEL. All relevant facts such as company
history, businesses, investor relations, financial statements, satellite footprints, media
relations etc. are mentioned on the website.
An interesting fact about the new website is
that most of the pictures used are of the
company’s associates.
Zee Entertainment Investor Newsletter, Vol. 3
panorama
Snippets
Zee TV continues to
dominate the Top 50
shows list for the last
3 months.
Zee in the News
Outlook Business:
His own man
Subhash Chandra is fading into the
Share
Top 50
Top 100
Zee TV
19
29
Star Plus
12
28
Colors
19
37
background at Zee, but no one minds
it there. Son Punit Goenka has proven
himself – and he’s done it this way. “In
a promoter-run business, it is not easy
to take decisions on the flagship
brand. I didn’t have the fear of
making mistakes and losing my job,”
Source: TAM Markets: HSM
TG: CS 4+ Period: wk 49 2009 to wk 08 2010
says Punit Goenka.
read more...
Zee Cinema’s fresh
programing for
weekend morning
• Cine Fresh on Saturday mornings:
All the new, and critically acclaimed films,
are shown at this time slot.
• Sunday Morning Show:
This is a slot where the viewer starts his
holiday with a big hit, like Jodha Akbar, to
set the mood for the full day.
Sports Cluster Facts
Recent events
• South Africa v England Test series
on Ten Sports.
• Pakistan v New Zealand Test series
on Ten Sports.
• UEFA Champions League & UEFA Europa
League on Ten Sports & Zee Sports.
Pitch: Readying for a paradigm shift
Satellite television started with Zee TV in India over 18 years ago. The country has moved from
a single satellite channel in 1992 to over 450 channels today. Initially, competition came in the
form of GEC. Zee was the pioneer in launching channels in different genres, be it GEC,
cinema, news or music or regional languages in Hindi speaking markets.
read more...
The Analyst: The show goes on
The shift in favour of a globally-reputed, subscription-led model and recent turnaround efforts
are paying rich dividends for India’s largest TV broadcasting company, ZEEL. “The media and
entertainment industry in India continues to witness a shift in structure, driven primarily by a
growing consumer preference for digital television,” says Subhash Chandra.
read more...
Holi- Festival of Colours
Holi is one of the major festivals of India. It is celebrated in many parts of the country, especially
in the north of India. The festival is celebrated for two to three days to welcome spring. Since it
is believed that spring is full of colours, coloured water and dry colour is thrown on each other.
It is also believed that Holi marks the beginning of a New Year for people across the country.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements:
This document includes certain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary materially
from those expressed or implied by the statements herein due to changes in economic, business, competitive, technological and/or regulatory factors. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited is under no obligation to, and expressly
disclaims any such obligation to update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
March, 2010
5
Zee Entertainment Investor Newsletter, Vol. 3
panorama
The world opens up to ZEE.
167 Countries. 500 Million viewers. 1 Entertainment Network.
Truly, the largest Indian Television Network in the world.
Visit us at www.zeetelevision.com
March, 2010
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