MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zeel) is stepping up its localisation drive in the Middle East. The Subhash Chandra-promoted company is planning to invest $100 million in Zee Alwan, its second Arabic channel in the Middle East.

Zee Aflam, Zeel?s first Arabic channel, has already turned operationally profitable. The dedicated movie channel beaming Bollywood films dubbed in Arabic, will complement Zee Alwan in tapping the growing $2 billion television advertising market in the Middle East.

Zee also plans to launch three channels for the Middle East market over the next five years as part of its global expansion strategy to leverage the growing popularity of Bollywood and Indian television content among Arab audiences.

Zee Alwan will have over 180 hours of original programming monthly with three Arabic series offered on the free-to-air channel. The programme roster also includes popular Indian serials that have been dubbed in Arabic, in addition to lifestyle shows including cookery, yoga, and travel.

Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka said, ?As a part of our global strategy, Zee Alwan is a step towards strengthening our presence in the Middle East. After the success of Zee Aflam, this new channel will help us to further consolidate our share and enhance Zee?s reach.?

Zee Alwan will air shows like Hindustani (Saudi Arabian musical and comedy show), Banat Al Alilah, and Banaat Al Jameaa. The Indian serials that have been dubbed in Arabic for Zee Alwan include Malekat Jhansi, Alwa?ad and Lalli. The lifestyle shows that will be aired on the channel are Indian chef Sanjeev Kapoor?s Konooz Khanaa, Yoga for You and Full Circle.

?Zee Alwan has received overwhelming response from Arab audiences across the Gulf region, particularly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia following its soft launch. With the grand roll-out, we are further strengthening the programming of Zee Alwan, with a focus on providing original Arabic content. Zee Alwan?s niche of providing exclusive Arabic series ? produced in the Gulf region as well as the dubbed Indian productions ? sets a new trend in family television entertainment in the Middle East,? said Zeel CEO?Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan Mukund Cairae.

The channel, transmitted from Dubai, with an operational office in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, can be accessed through frequency 12417 on Nilesat and 12111 on Arabsat.

MUMBAI: Beating the economic slowdown and market expectations, Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) has posted a 21 per cent jump in net profit for the fiscal-first quarter on the back of a strong ad growth and cut in sports losses.

Operating revenue also rose 21 per cent to Rs 8.43 billion for the quarter ended 30 June 2012. Advertising revenue surprised market forecasts, jumping 18 per cent to Rs 4.47 billion, as the company?s flagship channel, Zee TV, gained market share and viewership.

Zeel reported consolidated net profit of Rs 1.57 billion for the quarter, up from Rs 1.30 billion.

Zeel chairman Subhash Chandra said, ?It is encouraging to see that Zeel has recorded a strong improvement in the operating and the financial performance during the quarter. This has been on the back of increased investments that we are undertaking to grow the business and the market share."

Zeel operating revenue also jumped 21 per cent during the quarter to Rs 8.43 billion (from Rs 6.98 billion), while expenses grew by 12 per cent.

Consolidated operating profit (Ebitda) for the quarter zoomed 50 per cent to Rs 2.33 billion, from Rs 1.56 billion in the year-ago period. Ebitda margins for the quarter stood at Rs 27.7 per cent.

Said Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka, ?Zee has started the year on a good note with improvement in the operating performance in Q1 FY?13. During the quarter, we have been able to improve operating margins, partly due to higher viewership share and partly due to lower sports losses.?

Zeel? ad revenue growth came primarily due to increase in market share of many of its channels. The advertising climate, though, stays sluggish.

Subscription revenue rose 19 per cent to Rs 3.64 billion. However, on a QoQ basis, it fell 9.45 per cent (Rs 4.02 billion in Q4). Domestic subscription revenue for the fiscal-first quarter stood at Rs 2.50 billion showing 20.7 per cent growth, while international subscription revenue was at Rs 1.14 billion (up 16.5 per cent Y-o-Y).

On the expenses front, programming and operating cost for the quarter saw a 10 per cent rise to Rs 3.76 billion, from Rs 3.42 billion a year ago. Employee cost rose 19 per cent over the earlier year. Selling & other expenses for the quarter stood at Rs 1.45 billion, increasing by 16 per cent. Total costs incurred by the company rose 12 per cent to Rs 6.1 billion.

Sports business:

The sports business revenue stood at Rs 992 million in the quarter, while cost incurred was Rs 1.20 billion.

Zeel share price jumped 2.64 per cent to close Friday at Rs 149.85 on the BSE.

MUMBAI: Star India business head - Hindi channels Nitin Vaidya has put in his papers after a short stint of 14 months.

He had joined Star India in May 2011 and was heading Hindi TV channels - Star Plus, Star One (which is now discontinued), Star Gold and Star Utsav.

"Yes I have quit. It was an interesting and excellent experience," Vaidya told Indiantelevision while confirming the development.

Prior to Star India, Vaidya was Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) COO - National channels and Zee TV business head.

MUMBAI: Broadcasting major Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) expects to cut down its sports losses this fiscal to Rs 700 million as subscription revenues are showing strong growth trends.

?The distribution revenues should see an upside. International syndication, including Pakistan and the Middle East, should look up. The cricketing lineup is also reasonable. There could also the possibility of a series between India and Pakistan in the fiscal,? a source said.

The live telecast of cricket properties in FY?13 include series like Sri Lanka-England and West Indies-Australia (April 2012); Sri Lanka-Pakistan (May-June); West Indies-New Zealand and Sri Lanka-India (July-August); Zimbabwe-Bangladesh (August-September); Zimbabwe-Pakistan and Sri Lanka-New Zealand (November-December); South Africa-New Zealand (December 2012-January 2013); and South Africa-Pakistan , Sri Lanka-Bangladesh and West Indies-Zimbabwe (February-March 2013).

The prime revenue from cricket will be from the India-Sri Lanka series. The company is targeting ad revenue of Rs800 million from the series. There is only one India-playing series this fiscal.

A weakening rupee , though, remains a concern. The weakening of the rupee had upset Zeel?s early guidance of capping sports losses at Rs 1 billion in the previous fiscal. Hit by forex losses to the tune of Rs 270-Rs 280 million, the company ended FY?12 with a loss of Rs 1.48 billion from its sports broadcasting business on a revenue of Rs 3.93 billion.

?Ten Sports (the sports broadcasting arm of Zeel) has seen a 13 per cent increase in content cost due to the softening of the Indian currency. When the content deals were signed, the rupee was around Rs 44 to a dollar,? a source said.

For the fiscal ended March 2011, Zeel?s sports losses stood at Rs 2.08 billion on a revenue of Rs 4.4 billion.