It‘s a strategic retreat. Pummelled by the investment community for its wild expansion (its Re 1 face value share has plummetted from Rs 1600 to below Rs 300 in just nine to 10 months), Zee Telefilms Ltd yesterday announced that it was spinning off its sports content provider subsidiary, Buddha Films, into a separate company.
At the same time it closed the doors for the near term on plans to launch its long-talked about sports channel, Zee Sport. The decisions form part of the company‘s plans to restructure operations in line with AT Kearney‘s recommendations.

Satish Menon, head of Buddha Films, said sports content will be acquired by Buddha Films and the carriage will be provided by a Zee channel till the separate sports channel is ready for launch.

Asked whether there was any target time frame for the launch he replied in the negative. "When we feel we have all the ingredients in place to make it a success we will go ahead," he said.

Menon said his focus would be on promoting soccer in a big way. "There is a massive scope for developing soccer-centric programming but it has to be tapped," he said. Agreements have already been reached with football federations in Goa and West Bengal and talks were on with the Kerala authorities too, he added.

Discussions were also in progress with All India Football Federation chief Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi for an agreement at the national level. Buddha Films will follow a multi-pronged approach which will go beyond just telecast rights. It will help soccer federations and associations create brands out of their properties besides acquiring club grounds, reports the Business Standard.

Menon said Buddha Films was looking at a three year development schedule. This was an effort which was long-term in its perspective, he stressed.

On the cricket front, Menon said talks WSG Nimbus Pvt Ltd of Singapore for three-year exclusive broadcast rights for international cricket played in Sri Lanka had fallen through. Nimbus‘ asking price of $25 million for a three-year deal was much too high, Menon said.

Whether Indian couch potatoes, for whom cricket seems to be perfectly suited, will be able to digest soccer only time will tell. Menon certainly is confident he‘s on the ball in the matter.

Another player is eyeing the entertainment segment. This time it is the Prannoy Roy-promoted New Delhi Television (NDTV) which is quietly working on a plan to launch a channel of that ilk by mid- to end 2002. The name has not been decided as yet, (though daily Business Standard says it has been called NDTV World but the idea is to start the content aggregation for the channel by mid-2001. Currently, NDTV is in talks with financial institutions to fund the foray. NDTV is a partner of Rupert Murdoch‘s Star TV in Star News and provides it with the daily news that has become synonymyous with Prannoy Roy.
NDTV has little experience in entertainment programming though it is producing two shows for Star TV along with BBC based on the Yes Minister! and Yes Prime Minister series. This apart it also showcases developments in the glamour and tinsel world on its news channels.

The move is being seen by observers as a preparatory move by NDTV to have its own media vehicle for carriage of its content should its relationship with Star TV for Star News not last out its full course till 2003. Star TV chief Peter Mukerjea has reportedly not been too happy about the manner in which the agreement betwen the two tilts in favour of NDTV.

Former big screen superstar turned TV deity Amitabh Bachchan on Thursday paid off nearly half the dues amount of Rs203.1 million his company, ABCL (rechristened AB Corp), owed to the national broadcaster.

Bachchan has also promised to return the rest of the outstanding dues in three instalments next year during March, June and September.

Bachchan presented a cheque of Rs96.5 million to Prasar Bharati CEO RR Shah in New Delhi at a press conference where Samajwadi Party leader and close friend Amar Singh was present. He had recently given a cheque of Rs5 million to Prasar Bharati. Bachchan said that to pay towards the interest of his dues of Rs 123.5 million, he would participate in Doordarshan‘s public interest programmes.

Among the 75 companies which had outstanding dues against Doordarshan, the government-owned NFDC topped the list owing over Rs630 million followed by ABCL and Multi channel as of November this year

Doordarshan on Wednesday launched a satellite channel catering to the needs of the northeastern states of India. The channel was originally scheduled to begin transmission on 23 December but the launch was pushed forward so as not to interfere with the Christmas break. It will initially run for nine-and-a-half hours daily and gradually develop into a 24-hour service.

Union minister for Information and Broadcasting Sushma Swaraj, who was in Guwahati, Assam, on Thursday for ceremonies marking the launch, said the channel would go a long way in curbing the cultural invasion from neighbouring countries like China, Myanmar and Bangladesh, the Asian Age reported.

Addressing a press conference, Ms Swaraj admitted that there are areas in the Northeast where people still view programmes beamed from the foreign countries, posing a serious threat to Indian culture and identity.

Swaraj reiterated that the channel should play a role of catalyst in strengthening the bonds of national integration by removing the sense of alienation prevalent among the peoples of the region.

Zee Telefilms Ltd has lined up a new set of programmes for the Year 2001 and is planning to review its strategy and investment in the sports business. The programmes Zee has scheduled spans all its related channels and is in line with the recommendations made by consulting firm AT Kearney that the company restructure its various businesses while building some new core competencies. Towards that end, Zee‘s Alpha brand of regional languages will also feature a wide range of new programmes.

On the sports front Zee is working out new strategies after the huge setback it received in June in the bidding for telecast rights of all ICC-organised cricket matches. Despite posting the highest bid, it was arch rival Rupert Murdoch who walked away with the booty. That effectively killed off any hope Zee had of launching a channel in the near term.

Zee, meanwhile, plans to create newer streams of content in soccer and cricket. The company‘s board of directors was to meet on Friday to review the plans. Zee Chairman Subhash Chandra, in the company‘s annual report for 1999-2000, had said: "We are giving a new impetus to sports, especially cricket and soccer.

The company is also creating newer and newer streams of content in sports, particularly in soccer and cricket." It is learnt that Zee Sports is the frontrunner to obtain the three-year exclusive broadcast rights from WSG Nimbus Pvt Ltd of Singapore, for international cricket played in Sri Lanka, according to the Business Standard.

Zee is believed to have offered to cross-promote the event through its various channels including Zee TV and Zee News across the network. How Zee approaches its sporting ambitions this time round will make for interesting watching.