MUMBAI: Subhash Ghai-promoted Mukta Arts has assigned satellite and other electronic rights of its 35 films to Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) for five years.

Zeel will pay Rs 250 million for the bulk movie purchase deal. The entire amount will be coughed out during the calendar year 2013.

For some of the films, the satellite rights are held by other broadcasters but are in the process of ending their screening window. For these movies, Zeel will be assigned the satellite telecast rights after the term expires.

Mukta Arts said Monday the revenue from the deal with Zeel will be recognised in the Profit & Loss account of the company based on the dates on which the rights commence for each film.

Mukta Arts has produced films like Karz, Hero, Karma, Ram Lakhan, Saudagar, Khalnayak, Pardes, Taal and Yaadein besides some memorable titles like Jogger?s Park, Aitraaz, Iqbal and their most recent Black & White. The company has also produced regional films including Nouka Dubi (Bengali) and Sanai Chaughade (Marathi).

In 2010, Mukta Arts had signed a Rs 200 million deal with Zeel for the satellite rights of its 29 films for five years.

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zeel) is all set to host its annual awards event, Zee Cine Awards 2013, on 6 January at Yash Raj Studios, Mumbai.

The award ceremony will for the first time be simulcast on Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zing, Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Tamil and Zee Telugu. The Red Carpet will air at 7.30 pm on 20 January followed by the main event at 8 pm.

The channel has roped in New Fair & Lovely as the presenting sponsor of the event.

 Zee Cine Awards this year is propagating the rights of the viewers to choose their favourite actor/film with the positioning ?Haq Hai Aapka?. Zee will introduce an innovative and transparent voting mechanism to make the ?Viewers? Choice? proposition of ?Zee Cine Awards 2013? credible and transparent. To ensure this, Zee has empanelled Ernst &Young as a third party to authenticate the voting mechanism. To give the viewer a platform to voice his opinion, Zee has introduced an interactive platform which is a voice portal called ?Zee Connect?.

Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka said, ?I?m pleased to announce that the 13th Zee Cine Awards will be held in Mumbai in January. The Awards will be telecast on 20 January 2013 on Zee TV and for the first time will also be simulcast on Zee Cinema, Zing, Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Tamil and Zee Telegu. To ensure the authenticity of the voting mechanism for the nominations listed for Zee Cine Awards 2013, we have made the voting system toll free and brought on board Ernst & Young to audit the entire process of voting.?

In the past, Zee Cine Awards has been held in places like Macau, Singapore, London, Mauritius and Dubai.

MUMBAI: Rajesh Jejurikar looked liked a senior executive who could not settle down in the media world. For a man who spent nine years at Marico and over eight years at Mahindra & Mahindra, the innings at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) as president was awfully short. Ten months and no media interviews and he rejoins automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra.

Jejurikar had joined Zeel in February this year, getting into a broader role that meant introducing processes and supporting Punit Goenka as the entertainment major was on an expansion drive.

His role involved managing all the key verticals at Zeel, except programming. With his exit now on 31 December, all vertical and department heads of the company will now report into the MD & CEO, Goenka.

Meanwhile, Zee Group has made a high-profile recruitment. Bhaskar Das, who was president at Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd, joined last month as Group CEO with responsibility over digital and news business. Industry outsiders are speculating on him taking an even larger role but Zee has not said anything yet.

Commenting on Jejurikar?s decision to quit, Goenka said, "In a short stint at Zee, Rajesh has brought in newer business perspectives and has contributed to the process immensely, bringing in positive business impact to the organisation. The entire Zee family wishes him all the success in his new endeavours."

Jejurikar added, "The time spent at Zee was extremely fruitful. I am thankful to Zee and Punit for giving me an opportunity to explore and broaden my experience in the media & entertainment space. Zee has all the fundamentals required to become a global media enterprise. As I part ways, and move back to the manufacturing sector, I wish Zee all the success."
 
Jejurikar will join Mahindra as chief executive- Tractor and Farm Mechanisation, with effect from 1 April. In his previous stint at Mahindra, he was chief executive- Automotive Division at Mahindra & Mahindra. He will replace Bishwambhar Mishra, who has moved into a new role at the Mahindra Group, taking over as Director- Mahindra Institute of Quality with effect from 1 April.

Jejurikar will be a member of the Mahindra & Mahindra Group Executive Board (GEB) and will be responsible for the tractor businesses of both the Mahindra and Swaraj brands. In addition, his responsibilities will include MGTL, Applitrac, Construction Equipment businesses and Asset Management (Capital Purchase) for AFS.

Previously Jejurikar was appointed chief executive of the Automotive Division after the formation of AFS in 2010, having joined the organisation as VP - Marketing in the Auto Sector in the year 2000.

MUMBAI: Zeel-owned sports broadcast network Taj Television has renewed its partnership with IMG Reliance for the 18th edition of the Chennai Open as the exclusive official broadcast partner.

Chennai Open, India?s only ATP World Tour stop, will be televised on Taj TV-owned Ten Sports in India. The sports broadcaster will provide comprehensive coverage of the event from 31 December through to 6 January.

Said Ten Sports CEO Atul Pande on the association, ?Tennis has a huge fan following across the region and our association with the Chennai Open will give a fantastic opportunity to millions of tennis fans to experience thrilling tennis action from the comfort of their homes.?

Ten Sports has been a long-standing broadcast partner of Chennai Open.

MUMBAI: Subhash Chandra-owned Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) reported a 17.2 per cent rise in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended 30 September helped by a strong growth in revenues. Its net profit on a standalone basis for the second quarter, however, was down 42 per cent on a sharp rise in expenses.

Zeel‘s consolidated net profit in the second quarter was Rs 1.87 billion compared with Rs 1.59 billion a year earlier as its operating revenues rose 33.8 per cent to Rs 9.53 billion compared with Rs 7.12 billion a year earlier.

The company‘s net profit on a standalone basis in the second quarter was Rs 679 million, down from Rs 1.18 billion a year earlier as rise in expenses far outstripped growth in operating revenues. Its standalone operating revenues during the quarter was up 22 per cent at Rs 6.36 billion from a year earlier against a 47 per cent rise in standalone expenses year-on-year at Rs 5.40 billion.

The company‘s standalone businesses include entertainment and sports business in India.

CONDENSED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

ZEEL‘s revenues from sports business more than doubled to Rs 1.81 billion in the second quarter from Rs 881 million a year earlier. Its revenues from businesses other than sports which include a bouquet of entertainment channels was up 23 per cent at Rs 7.72 billion in the second quarter compared with Rs 6.24 billion a year earlier.

The company‘s consolidated advertising revenues at Rs 5.28 billion were 33.7 per cent higher than a year earlier contributed significantly by sports business, while subscription revenues rose 35.7 per cent to Rs 3.95 billion from a year earlier. Domestic subscription revenues stood at Rs 2.81, while international subscription revenues were Rs 1.14 billion.

Zeel said its consolidated operating profit for the second quarter was Rs 2.17 billion, 7.8 per cent higher than a year earlier. Its operating profit margin for the quarter was 22.8 per cent.

Zeel chairman Subhash Chandra said. "This (second) quarter the company has continued to build on the momentum set in the first quarter. We look forward to continuing our investment in the television media space and take advantage of the growth opportunities ahead of us."

The company expects television advertising spends to turnaround after having been impacted this year by the economic slowdown.

"We are confident of continued double digit growth of television advertising spends over the next few years. At ZEE, we have created a good portfolio of assets and will continue to make prudent investments with a clear focus on returns over the long term," said Zeel managing director and CEO Punit Goenka.