Zee's sales up 26%, TV Today's leaps by 40%; Eng broadcasters report losses

Even as English-news broadcasters exert to maintain a respectable bottom line, Zee News and TV Today have capitalised on their regional properties and have registered profits for the September quarter. Zee's year-on-year net sales spiked by 26% to Rs155 crore, while the net profit of TV Today (the Aaj Tak proprietor) leaped by 40%, to Rs10.6 crore.

On the other hand, NDTV, IBN Broadcast, Television Eighteen India, and UTV Software Communications have incurred losses.

As for the profit-making broadcasters, the performance of Zee ” the largest player in India in the Hindi and regional-languages space”was boosted by higher advertising revenues. And Aaj Tak's strong show was buoyed by a surge in viewership, brought about by the Lok Sabha elections and those for the assemblies in several critical states.

The prospects for the English-language broadcasters ” which cater to small, niche audiences ” do not seem particularly sanguine. To cite just one illustrative example: TV 18's advertising revenues slid to Rs63.7 crore, or by nearly 20% year-on-year, in the September quarter. TV 18, NDTV and UTV are all in debt and will find it difficult to pay back unless their revenues grow.

At any rate, for most broadcasters the break-even mark seems elusive, as it has been for almost three years.