22% Ad Revenue Growth, ZEE5 Launch, GEC Viewership Boost Help ZEEL Close Q1 On Strong Note

Advertising revenue, which reported 18.6% YoY growth, has surely led ZEEL off to a great start to FY19

e4m by Sonam Saini
Published: Jul 18, 2018 8:59 AM  | 6 min read

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Ltd), has reported a healthy Q1 FY19 particularly backed by a good performance of it's Hindi General Entertainment channels and regionals as well. The Hindi GECs, including FTA channel Zee Anmol and pay channel Zee TV, have been the number one channels through the quarter. ZEE5, launched in the last quarter, has led to this growth as well. With revenue growth of 15.0 percent YoY to Rs 1772 crore on the back of better performance in advertising revenue which reported 18.6% YoY growth, ZEEL is surely off to a great start to FY19.

Dolat Analysis & Research Themes (DART)  VP- Research, Karan Taurani said, "Q1 of FY18 saw a growth of 6-7 percent and the basic fact is that there has been good growth in this quarter. The key verticals such as FMCG and consumer durables have recovered and grown above the industry average. The management also indicated that the growth will be led by H1 and in H2 they will see a slightly lower growth. Industry average growth is expected to 12-13 percent and on full-year basis, they lend to surpass the industry average ad growth for Zee basically."
He further mentioned that on the investor call, the company mentioned that ZEE5 is among the top five apps in terms of ranks by app Ally. "They have announced 14 original shows and will launch 70 more shows on Zee5. I think that will be the major headwind for the margin if nothing else because you to invest in digital content and the content is any way expensive in nature. But I think it will take time to scale up as Amazon, Hotstar and Netflix have really scaled up the game." 

Domestic Broadcast Business 
ZEEL continued to improve its viewership share as the number 1 network in the non-sports entertainment segment, said Zee in the report. In the first quarter of FY19, ZEEL had an all-India viewership share of 19.2 percent. The increase in viewership was driven by the improved performance in several regional language markets while the network maintained its leadership in the pay and FTA Hindi GEC segment. Zee TV maintained its leadership position in the pay Hindi GEC segment.

ZEEL’s Regional entertainment portfolio delivered strong performance across markets during the quarter. The English movie channel, Zee Studio was renamed as &flix during the quarter. With a total of 400+ movies in library and 52 premiers, it will give a larger-than-life experience to the audience.

The International Business
During the quarter, revenue was Rs. 1,951 million. The advertising revenue grew by 2.1 percent on a comparable basis (In Q1FY18, Rs. 198 mn of advertising revenue pertaining to sports business was part of International ad revenue) while the subscription revenue declined by 6.6 percent. Break-down of international business revenues for the first quarter is as below: 

• Advertisement Revenue of Rs. 590 mn 
• Subscription Revenue of Rs. 934 mn 
• Other Sales and Services of Rs. 427 mn

ZEEL’s movies and Music Business

Zee Studios, a movie production division, released three movies during the quarter – Parmanu (Hindi), Beyond the Clouds (Hindi) and Nude (Marathi). While Parmanu was well received at the box office, Nude won critical praise and was selected for screening at several international film festivals. 
On the other, Zee Music Company, the music label, continued with its library expansion of both Bollywood as well as regional music. Further improving its performance, the music label registered ~4.1 billion views on YouTube in Q1. Zee Music Company is the second most subscribed Indian music channel on YouTube with over 19 million subscribers. 

Digital Business- ZEE5

Since launch in mid-February, has been gaining significant traction and witnessing growth across viewership metrics of MAUs, video views and engagement levels. It is already amongst the top 5 entertainment platforms in the country, as per the ZEEL. The network is confident that the pace of subscriber addition will further accelerate driven by the strong line-up of original content. “We have already released 14 ZEE5 Originals across six languages and have 20 more originals lined up for release in Q2. We are on track to be the largest digital original content producer in the country and have plans to launch one tentpole property every quarter. Karenjit Kaur, our first tentpole property, was released and its trailer registered more than 25 mn video views on YouTube in a week’s time. Along with the strong slate of original content, ZEE5 will premiere 150 exclusive movies across languages over the next twelve months," said the report.

Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEEL, commented, "The year has commenced on a positive note, for both the company as well as the economy. The growth in consumption, now being driven by rural as well, bodes well for advertising spends. In addition, increasing availability and adoption of the digital medium, across different sectors, will have a positive effect on the country's growth trajectory."   

As per a report released by DART, growth in incremental youth viewership remains to be a challenge for TV. It reports, “The management expects the ad revenue to grow above industry averages on back of growing viewership in the regional genre. The management maintains its margin guidance of 30 percent plus which factors all the new launches and investment in regional genre. ZEE continues to trade at fair valuations of 30.1x/26.7x based on FY20/FY21 earnings estimates; we maintain our reduce rating with Sep’19 TP of  565 based on 31x one-year fwd.”

Another point in the report read, “Revenue and margins in line with estimates; lower tax rate led profitability. EBITDA margin improved 50bps YoY at 31.9 percent due to better gross margins; this was despite higher programming cost, which grew 14 percent YoY on the back of increased programming hours. PAT grew 30 percent YoY to 3,259mn (DCMe: 3,194mn) due to lower tax rate (39%) during the quarter; however, this was despite lower other income and higher depreciation costs.”

“Zee is estimated to report ad growth of 15 percent YoY in FY19, above industry averages led by traction in the regional genre. The management maintains it EBITDA margin guidance of over 30 percent despite new launches (Malayalam channel to be launched by year-end), increased investment in regional genre and higher content cost on digital platform; EBITDA margin is estimated to be in a narrow band of 31.5%-32% over the next two years due to above headwinds,” said the DART report.

Acceleration in the Digital business (ZEE5) is another reason for the growth. the report further added, “We believe the shift of viewership towards digital will continue to have a negative impact on valuations given the aggressive investments by OTT giants like Amazon/Netflix. We believe entry of more new players like Apple and Times internet in the OTT segment will have a negative impact on TV viewership as youth audience continues to move towards Digital. Also, the launch of Jio FTH in near term will further have a negative impact on TV viewership. We maintain our Reduce rating on the stock and rollover to a Sept’19 target price of  565 based on 31x one-year fwd. PER.”

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e4m-Samsung Ads CTV roundtable to be held in Gurugram today

At the exclusive roundtable, experts will share insights on the theme ‘How to Leverage the Power of Screen’

By e4m Staff | Sep 27, 2023 7:52 AM   |   2 min read

samsung

The exchange4media Group is excited to host the exclusive e4m-Samsung Ads CTV Roundtable in Gurugram today, September 27. In today's competitive marketplace, it is important for advertisers and marketers to understand how to maximize TV budgets and prepare for a larger addressable CTV universe. Marketers now have to consider how incremental reach can help capture viewers across OTT and CTV campaigns and level up their game to stand out from the rest.

At the roundtable, industry heads, digital marketing experts and top leaders from the advertising and marketing world will come together to share insights on the theme ‘How to Leverage the Power of Screen’. The experts will explore the evolving TV landscape, discuss the rise of ad-supported services, and explore how brands are leaning into the power of the screen to create deeper engagement with audiences.

The seasoned professionals will discuss the challenges that agencies and media owners are facing in their business, industry, and market at large. The roundtable will also include discussions on several key topics like what advertisers and marketers expect from CTV in the coming years, how to leverage the power of the screen to curate and tailor their strategies to resonate with the changing trends, measuring business impact in CTV, the challenges in investing more in CTV and more.

Our speakers include Anupam Tripathi, Media Head, Lenskart; Anusha Srinivasan, Digital Media Activations Manager, Reckitt Health, Reckitt India; Archana Aggarwal, VP – Media, Airtel; Bhawna Sikka, Category Head; Oral Health Care, Haleon; Kunal Dhrangadharia, Global Brand Lead, Royal Enfield; Monika Mishra, Director – Marketing, Mobikwik; Sahil Rawal, Vice President - Brand Product Platforms Marketing, Max Life Insurance; Samir Sethi, VP and Head of Brand Marketing, Policybazaar.com; Siya Wadhawan, Senior Brand Manager, boAt Lifestyle and Syed Sibtain Imam, Media Head, Honasa Consumer Ltd (Mamaearth). The discussion will be moderated by Prabhvir Sahmey, Senior Director, Samsung Ads while Abbhishek Chadha, Executive Vice President, North & East, Interactive Avenues will be the co-moderator.

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NDTV gets permission from MIB to launch 3 HD channels

The three high definition channels that received the nod are NDTV 24x7 HD, NDTV India HD and NDTV Profit HD

By e4m Staff | Sep 27, 2023 7:40 AM   |   1 min read

ndtv

New Delhi Television Ltd. (NDTV) has been granted permission from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to launch three high-definition (HD) channels.

According to the company's disclosure under Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, it said, "This is to inform you that in reference to the application filed by the Company before the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB), the Company has received a letter dated September 25, 2023 from MIB conveying its intention to grant permission to the Company to uplink and downlink three (3) news and current affairs channels in High Definition namely ‘NDTV 24x7 HD’, ‘NDTV India HD’ and ‘NDTV Profit HD.'

NDTV added that it will inform the stock exchanges of the launch of the said HD channels.

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ICC World Cup 2023: Disney Star onboards IndusInd & Emirates as sponsors on TV

According to sources, around 50-60 advertisers have signed up for the upcoming cricket tournament on TV

By Sonam Saini | Sep 26, 2023 1:22 PM   |   1 min read

Star

Disney Star, the official broadcaster of ICC Cricket World Cup for both TV and digital, has bagged two more sponsorships from IndusInd and Emirates for television.

Highly placed sources have confirmed the news to e4m. According to the sources, over 50 advertisers have signed up for the upcoming marquee tournament and the broadcaster is still in talks with other advertisers.

PhonePe, Mahindra Auto, Coke, MasterCard and Hindustan Unilever are the other big brands that have come on board as sponsors for the tournament.

As earlier reported by exchange4media, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 118-120 crore for co-presenting sponsorships and Rs 80-90 crore for the associate sponsorship. For co-presenting opportunities on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster has set a price tag of Rs 150 crore. Brands eager to get high visibility as "Powered by" sponsors will need to invest Rs 75 crore, while those opting for associate sponsorship will have to allocate Rs 40 crore.

The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup kicks off on October 5 with a repeat of the 2019 final as England faces New Zealand in Ahmedabad. Across 10 world-class venues, 48 matches will be played in 46 days culminating in the Men’s Cricket World Cup Final on November 19.

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Zee Media to re-register for BARC data

In September 2022, the news broadcaster pulled out of the TV audience measurement system, citing landing page issues

By e4m Staff | Sep 26, 2023 8:39 AM   |   1 min read

Zee

News broadcaster Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL) has decided to register back for BARC data, starting in the week of October 12, according to sources. 

Emphasizing the significance of this collaboration, Abhay Ojha, CEO of Zee Media Corporation Limited, said, "We, at ZMCL, have always valued the integrity and transparency of data. Our decision to rejoin forces with BARC reflects our firm belief in BARC's commitment towards robust data mechanisms and our anticipation of a productive partnership ahead. We remain committed to delivering trustworthy news and content to our viewers and advertisers."

e4m has reached out for an official confirmation but BARC CEO Nakul Chopra wasn’t available to comment on the development at the time of filing this story.

Earlier in September 2022, the news broadcaster pulled out of the TV audience measurement system, citing the landing page issue as a reason for taking such a drastic step.

ZMCL had then said that it had been consistently requesting BARC India to take corrective measures with regard to the landing page issue. The news broadcaster had said that the landing page data should not be included in the final viewership and the duration for counting viewership be increased to 2 minutes.  

ZMCL was the second TV news network after NDTV to pull out channels from BARC.

The media company owns and operates 14 TV news channels apart from 5 digital channels and 17 digital brands.

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Star Plus onboards 14 advertisers for Star Parivaar Awards 2023

Brands such as Dabur, ITC, Emami, Apple, Amazon, Berger Paints and Xiaomi have aligned themselves with the upcoming event

By e4m Staff | Sep 25, 2023 5:12 PM   |   1 min read

star plus

Star Parivaar Awards 2023 has onboarded advertisers like Dabur, ITC, Emami, Apple, Amazon, Berger Paints and Xiaomi.

The awards have attracted 14 advertisers spanning a wide array of categories, including FMCG, Banking, E-commerce, Technology, Mobile Handsets, Insurance, Paints, and Pharma.

“This presents an unparalleled opportunity for brands to connect with their target audience on linear TV and beyond. The event offers a diverse range of in-content integration opportunities, emphasizing its massive associative value," said an industry observer.

The award show is set to be telecast on 1st October, starting 7 PM, on Star Plus and Disney+ Hotstar.

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MIB makes registration mandatory for MSOs to provide own programming service

Applicants have been advised to refer to guidelines issued by MIB on November 30, 2022

By e4m Staff | Sep 25, 2023 2:53 PM   |   1 min read

MIB
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has made it mandatory for Multi-System Operators (MSO), who intend to provide their own programming service, either directly to their own subscribers or through one or more Local Cable Operators, to take registration of platform services.

Applicants have been advised to refer to guidelines for platform services offered by Multi System Operators issued by MIB on November 30, 2022. They are required to apply for registration of their PS channel(s)

Following documents are required to be uploaded at the time of submission of online application:

a. Certificate of Channel Carrying Capacity (Statewise) (Sell'-Certification).
b. Details of PS Channels operated at State Level
c. Details of PS Channels operated at District Level.
d. Filled in MHA Security Clearance Pro-forma.
e. Challan copy of payment made on Bharat Kosh Portal for registration of PS Channels.

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BCCI media rights: Viacom18 gets dynamic injunction from Delhi HC

Viacom18 Media had approached the court seeking ad-interim dynamic injunction to protect its media rights against rogue and pirate websites as well as John Does

By e4m Staff | Sep 23, 2023 4:50 PM   |   2 min read

Viacom18

Viacom18 has secured a broad dynamic injunction from the Delhi High Court for the Indian cricket team’s bilateral matches.

Recently, Viacom18 bagged the BCCI linear and digital rights. As a result, for the next five years i.e., from September 2023 till March 2028, all bilateral games involving the Indian cricket team that will be played in India along with domestic cricket, shall now be broadcasted/streamed by Viacom18 on its television and OTT properties.

Viacom18 Media Private Limited had approached the Delhi High Court seeking an ad-interim dynamic injunction to protect its Media Rights in relation to the BCCI Events against various rogue and pirate websites as well as John Does/Ashok Kumars/Unknown Defendants.

The court while expressing its concerns regarding the unending menace of piracy noted that the courts have become inundated with suits pertaining to such issues and suggested the importance of a robust anti-piracy policy to curb the issues. The court observed that a prima facie case for interim injunction was made out and further held that the grant of an injunction would be necessary to avoid irreparable loss/injury from being caused to Viacom18.

The court further ordered that Viacom18 shall not be bound to initiate any fresh proceedings in relation to any new alphanumeric/redirect/mirror websites that are expected to mushroom during the course of the BCCI events. Access to such websites shall be blocked by the Internet Service Providers (IPSs) upon being informed about the same by Viacom18 on an affidavit. This, dynamic injunction provides Viacom18 to swiftly act against pirates and rogue websites infringing and making available the BCCI matches without due permissions.

Anil Lale (General Counsel, Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd.) said: “We at Viacom18 are proud to be the exclusive digital and television broadcaster for Indian cricket. Viacom18 has always been at the forefront in the fight against piracy. I am sure this is a welcome step for all the cricket fans as also for bona fide broadcasters like us who spend huge sums to get these rights. While we are proud to say that we have won several battles against these pirate websites, we understand that the war against piracy is a continuing one and we are committed towards winning it.”

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