Siti Networks Limited, an Essel Group company, has appointed Anil Malhotra as Chief Executive Officer with effect from September 1. In this role, Malhotra will spearhead the business post the successful implementation of the New Tariff Orders.
Malhotra joined Siti as Chief Operating Officer in 2011 and since then he has helmed various leadership roles across Essel Group. Prior to Siti Networks, he held various successful entrepreneuria stints, including serving as President (North India) for InCablenet, a distribution vertical of the Hinduja Group.
The Subhash Chandra Foundation, the philanthropic initiative of Rajya Sabha MP and Zee and Essel group Chairman, Subhash Chandra, has launched ‘SACH Impact’ Incubator – a programme to support early-stage social ventures.
SACH Impact, a first-of-its kind initiative to identify and mentor fledgling social entrepreneurs from various parts of India, has been created, launched and will be run in partnership with LetsEndorse, a collaborative ecosystem of social change-makers and enablers.
Commenting on the launch, Chandra said: “Most entrepreneurs work to earn big but few ideate for the betterment of society. Subhash Chandra Foundation is inviting social entrepreneurs, the change-makers, for SACH Impact Incubator, who want to impact the lives of people to make world a better place.â€
The selected teams will be mentored by Chandra himself and Punit Goenka, MD and CEO, Zee Entertainment and Amit Goenka, CEO – International Broadcast Business, Zee Entertainment, and senior management of Essel Group. For details and application info: http://bit.ly/SACHImpact.
It was a dream that was waiting to become one big reality. When the rest of India was hooked on to the goings-on of the Gulf War in 1991 through relay from international news channels, a bunch of visionaries were contemplating launching a private channel that would do something similar in India. Thus was sown the seed of India’s first and private Hindi channel, Zee.
When we spoke with him in October 2012 on the occasion of Zee’s 20th anniversary, Ashok Kurien, the man who ran Ambience Advertising which handled the ad business of Essel Group, recountedto Johnson Napier how a chance conversation took shape to create one of India’s earliest and most successful Hindi channels. Mr Kurien continues to be on the Board of Directors of Zee Entertainment.
Do you recall how you reacted when Mr Subhash Chandra first came to you with the idea of launching Zee? From what we hear, it’s after your reassurance and active support that he got into it.)
January 1991: Subhash, my client at Esselworld, and I were watching the Gulf War ‘Live’ on CNN. It was our early exposure to satellite TV in India.
“Why can’t we do this here in India?†the conversation went.
“What do you know about TV?†asked Subhash.
“More than anyone else,†I replied, having spent many years on the ad agency side: Concepts and Pilot programmes, Sponsored programmes and FCT during the Doordarshan days…
“Write me a business plan,†said Subhash.
I did… and the rest is history.
Of course, Subhash was way ahead of me, with advice and plans from some ex-Doordarshan people.
The first 5 or 6 years, working hands-on to help Subhash build India’s first private TV station, was the most exciting chapter of my life.
Zee changed the Indian entertainment scenario, and along with it changed the Indian consumer forever.
Zee obviously had the advantage of being the first mover in the Hindi space, and later there were many others who entered the scene. What according to you is the reason Zee has been such a success story?
Zee moved fast, was always the first, and stayed far ahead of everyone for over the first decade.Zee understood the emotions and tastes of the Indian consumer. It took a long time for the competition to figure it out… mainly by hiring Zee TV’s people.
Other than being a director on the Board, are you active in advising the Zee management presently?
No advice to Zee at all….. unless I am asked to.I have played a role in helping Dish TV grow to leadership over its first 3 or 4 years, and now helping to take the Zee group into new media with India.com.
If there was one thing that Zee could have possibly have done differently in these 20 years, what would it be?
Zee should have launched a Tamil/South channel 15 years ago. But it was my error of judgement and ill advice that prevented that. My one, big, unforgettable mistake!
Zee, it’s said, mirrors Mr Subhash Chandra’s personality: dynamic, aggressive, a maverick, often restless, cost-conscious, risk-taker and a visionary. He’s been a friend for many years, would these descriptors be appropriate (for him and Zee). And how much would you attribute the success of Zee to Mr Chandra and in recent years, his family?
Subhash’s personality is all this and more. He is fearless and will walk where angels fear to treadBut as a friend I have seen the warm, but very private, human side of him too. He has great inner strength, and this too is inbuilt in Zee’s DNA.
Zee’s success was driven almost 100 percent by Subhash for many years, and only in the last decade or so did the professionals who joined Zee start contributing majorly.
Punit has reinvented the ‘creative magic’ that Zee started with 20 years ago.
Essel Group, the leading entertainment-led business group, is celebrating 90 years of existence and to celebrate the occasion, Chairman Dr Subhash Chandra announced the launch of the DSC Foundation by contributing Rs 5000 crore from his family wealth, the ‘Sarthi’ initiative and its English global news network, WION – World Is One News, in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Sunday. The Group also honoured the winners of the first edition of the Zee Media Family Business Legacy Awards – Dabur India Ltd., Wagh Bakri Tea Group and Wockhardt Ltd.
Said Dr Chandra: “This journey of 90 years has been filled with remarkable successes as well as challenges and obstacles. It has been a journey of creating history, venturing into unknown territories, only to emerge as leaders, capitalising on our pioneering vision and sheer entrepreneurial spirit. As we look to the future, I am confident that we will carry forward the legacy of the Group with complete passion, dedication and above all, the spirit of #YoungAt90! On this occasion, we are launching our new initiatives – Sarthi, DSC Foundation and WION, that will empower the lives of the people. Sarthi will provide a platform to help people with their problems by connecting them to the right persons and then taking it to the logical conclusion. With WION, we want to provide a medium which will give people news from around the world and how it affects India. This initiative is not for profit, but a medium for society and the nation to benefit. Through the DSC Foundation, we will be building capacity in the society to take on problems and tackle them. We are pledging Rs. 5000 crore out of our profits towards this Foundation.â€
Meanwhile, the Essel Group also announced the winners of the first-edition of Zee Media Family Business Legacy Awards which aim to honour and recognise India’s oldest family-run businesses which have expanded their empires over successive generations. To select the winners, entries from business groups which spanned a tleast four generations and had a turnover of over Rs 1000 crore, were invited and then verified by Ernst & Young, the internal process partner, using rigorous criteria to arrive at the final winners.
The winners of the first-edition of the Zee Media Family Business Legacy Awards are Dabur India Ltd., Wagh Bakri Tea Group and Wockhardt Ltd.
Leading political leaders from Maharashtra came together at the launch of the Marathi edition of ‘The Z Factor – My Journey as the Wrong Man at the Right Time’. the autobiography of Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha and Chairman – Essel Group, Dr Subhash Chandra. These included NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and former CM Prithviraj Chavan. Popular Marathi film and television folk were also in attendance.
Paying a tribute to the city of Mumbai and Marathi culture, Chandra said: “While Haryana is my ‘janmabhoomi’ (homeland), Mumbai is my ‘karmabhoomi’ (land of work). After living and working in Mumbai for the last 35 years, I feel that I have been accepted as a Maharashtrian. Mumbai is the land of dreams, where like me, millions of people strive to make their dreams come true. At Essel Group, it has always been our endeavour to preserve and promote the true essence of Marathi culture through our various ventures such as Zee Marathi, Zee Talkies, Zee Yuva, Zee 24 Taas and our Marathi films like ‘Natarang’, ‘Fandry, ‘Killa’,‘Lay Bhari’, ‘Natsamrat’ and ‘Sairat’. I am extremely grateful and humbled by all the encouragement and support that this wonderful city has bestowed on me.â€
After a multi agency pitch, Fortuity Gaming Pvt Ltd handed over the creative duties of PokerNation to Scarecrow Communications. As a part of the extensive pitch process, the agency had to cater to every aspect related to the brand, such as brand positioning, strategy and creative.
PokerNation is an online Poker gaming website promoted by Fortuity Gaming. It has been created like a virtual nation on the Internet – a nation, for the players, by the players and of the players.
The mandate for Scarecrow includes a complete digital campaign, blogs, digital videos, videos on how to play  Poker and TV commercials.
Gautam Thawani
Confirming the development, Gautam Thawani, Business Head, Fortuity Gaming, says, “Globally over 6.8 per cent people play Poker. That’s about 40 million people. Of this, a large percentage is below 35 years of age. In India too, it’s quite popular in Mumbai, Delhi, Goa and Bangalore most of which is played online and in offline private Poker Rooms. For us, it was a great opportunity to tap into the gaming category.â€
Arunava (Joy) Sengupta, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications, adds, “The online Poker space is not properly regulated. Hence, people are hesitant about playing Poker on websites whose credentials are questionable. Essel Group’s entry will go a long way in reassuring the gaming community about online Poker. For Scarecrow too, it was a unique experience to partner Essel Group in this new age category.â€
Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow says, “It’s rare when an agency gets a mandate to create a virtual nation for Poker lovers. The challenge is to make it exclusive, yet inclusive. Scarecrow had the opportunity of being involved in the formation of this ‘nation’ from its birth. From naming it to designing its look. From writing the blog to the online communication. From designing merchandise like Poker chips to T shirts and jackets. This is a nation where anyone can migrate to, and become its citizen. The official game is Poker. This nation has its own currency, its own national animal and even its own national anthem.â€
Leading publihser HarperCollins India has announced the launch of the autobiography of Dr Subhash Chandra of Chairman of Zee and Essel groups. The book is an unusually candid memoir of a truly desi self-made businessman who came to Delhi at age twenty with seventeen rupees in his pocket. Today, he has a net worth of $6.3 billion and annual group revenues of in excess of $3 billion. Senior journalist Pranjal Sharma helped put the book together.
Dr Chandra, the promoter of Essel Group and Zee, is an unlikely mogul. Hailing from a small town in Haryana, where his family ran grain mills, Chandra has been a perennial outsider, repeatedly aiming high and breaking into businesses where he was considered an interloper Starting work as a teen to pay off family debts, Dr Chandra had to rely on bluff, gumption and sheer hard toil to turn things around. A little bit of luck and political patronage saw him make a fortune in rice exports to the erstwhile USSR.
Always a risk-taker, Chandra then had the vision of getting into broadcasting early, even as established media players failed to see its potential. Zee TV, India’s first private Indian TV channel, changed the rules of the game and tickled the fancy of a public starved of entertainment.
Several gutsy initiatives followed, though not all of them were successful. Chandra’s attempts to launch satellite telephony and a cricket league came a cropper. But the man continues to reinvent himself; he is now also focusing on infrastructure and smart cities.
The book was unveiled by the Prime Minister on Wednesday and then a day later amidst much fanfare at the Jaipur Litfest.
Living Entertainment has announced the launch of an international food and lifestyle channel ‘Living Foodz’. This foodtainment channel specializes in exploring the evolving social status of food; moving out of the confines of the conventional kitchen into a world of entertainment and adventure with food. Having food at its core, Living Foodz will explore different perspectives towards food and the way it touches people – from lifestyle, travel, wellness to food infotainment and reality.
The channel will be available across all DTH providers like Dish TV, Tata Sky, Airtel, Videocon and all other leading cable networks in dual feed Hindi and English from 11th September 2015.
Living Entertainment in India will be an extension of the Living network belonging to Essel Group which already exists in the international markets. Living aims at bringing alive all things factual with an element of entertainment in order to appeal to the global audiences. Living in India will truthfully echo the ‘Living’ philosophy and encompass everything that will help one to discover, awaken and transform oneself.
In sync with the corporate brand positioning of ZEEL – “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam -The World is My Familyâ€, Living Foodz will resonate the philosophy perfectly with the energetic programming mix. For the Indian market, Living Foodz will be the international food & lifestyle channel that will have a universal feel; which will appeal to the new age Indian. This foodtainment channel is targeted at both men and women across all age groups in urban digital households. The core audience set would comprise of well-travelled & connected people with high interest level of food.
Within a year, Living Foodz will be available across countries worldwide producing global food content for global audiences. The audience will be taken on an exhilarating food expedition alongside eminent celebrity chefs and food personalities like Ranveer Brar, Gautam Mehrishi, Rocky & Mayur, Vicky Ratnani, Kunal Kapur, Rakhee Vaswani through their different shows. With a substantial increase of audience interest in various niche sectors, Living Foodz, has the right formula that is sure to enthrall one and all.
Speaking on the new initiative, Dr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEEL and Essel Group said, “We are very proud to present Living networks in India. This is yet another endeavor from our group to bring the world closer through entertainment. Living is all about global mindsets and experiences. This is also in line with our group philosophy of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The World is My Familyâ€. Our group has always believed in creating not just great content but building genres and brands that are milestones.â€
Also present for the launch, Punit Goenka, Managing Director & CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited said, “With Living, we intend to make global content for global audiences. This will be for the first time ever that original content from India will be available to audiences across the globe. We are very proud to present this new form of entertainment to our audiencesâ€
Commenting on the occasion Piyush Sharma, CEO Zee Living- India APAC says, “Living is our endeavor to showcase audiences with great lifestyle content. Growth of digitization is leading to fragmentation of audiences, thereby creating an opportunity for differentiated and genre specific content. Moreover, increasing digital households are giving rise to increased audience expectations and demand for more diverse viewing opportunities. Under this scenario we are providing Living Foodz to people who love exploring and knowing more about food.â€
Zee Learn, an arm of the Essel Group and one of the leading education companies in India, has awarded its creative mandate to Scarecrow Communications. The agency was selected after a comprehensive pitch process. It may be noted that Scarecrow already handles multiple brands of the Essel Group including &Pictures, Zee Khana Khazana and DittoTv.
Zee Learn pre-schools chain Kidzee (which has 1350+ pre-schools in more than 500+ cities), Mount Litera Zee schools, Brain Cafe, Zee Institute of Creative Art and Zee Institute of Media Arts.
Confirming the news, KVS Seshasai, Chief Executive Officer, Zee Learn Limited said, “In Scarecrow, we found the perfect blend of creativity and passion that can empower our journey to the next level. Also, we are poised for strong growth across different categories and this journey with our creative partner will play a critical role in bringing strong ideas and innovations to life for our brands”
“With Scarecrow Communications as our creative agency, we are confident their passion for creativity will help us communicate our passion and excellence in knowledge buildingâ€, added Abhinav Upadhyay, Head – Marketing and Innovation, Zee Learn Limited.
Raghu Bhat
Said Raghu Bhat, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications said, “At a personal level, I am very happy to be working on Zee Learn as this is an interest area. But there are two other things that make this mandate even more exciting. Firstly, the sheer audacity of Zee Learn’s vision plus the role of communication in realising it and secondly, the company is very entrepreneurial in its approach.”
Added Arunava Sengupta, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications: “We are thrilled to be partnering Zee Learn at such an important stage of the brand life cycle. Through this mandate, we have an opportunity to touch of lives of children from the ages of 2 to 18. That is very satisfying.”
Dr Subhash Chandra, Chairman, Essel Group and Zee dedicated a special episode of the Dr Subhash Chandra (DSC) Show to young entrepreneurs of India. Dr Chandra addressed over 200 budding and established entrepreneurs as well as Management students from Mumbai’s Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research on Saturday, January 3.
Dedicating the episode to the topic of entrepreneurship, Dr Chandra engaged in a lively and interactive session with the entrepreneurs. By sharing key insights and examples from his own entrepreneurial journey, Dr Chandra discussed several important facets of entrepreneurship including the traits required to become a successful entrepreneur, how to develop entrepreneurs in an organisation, risk assessment and analysis.
Commenting on the special qualities that make an entrepreneur, Dr Subhash Chandra said, “Experience can be acquired, knowledge can be transferred but talent cannot be acquired nor transferred. Either you have it or you don’t have it.â€Â He furthermore inspired the audience to pursue their dreams by encouraging them to “break all the rules, to follow new practices and to have self-confidence.â€
Besides entrepreneurship, Dr Chandra also touched upon various significant issues that affect an organisation like attrition, how to retain and motivate employees and corruption. While discussing these pertinent concerns, he also emphasized on “Better Indiaâ€Â a dream seen by most Indians.
The Dr Subhash Chandra (DSC) Show is aired every Saturday at 10 pm on Zee News and 7pm on Zee Business and on Sundays at 11 am on both Zee News & Zee Business. This show is also aired on other channels of Zee Media.
Zee and Essel group Chairman Subhash Chandra was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration from the University of East London (UEL).
Mr Chandra received the Doctorate from Lord Gulam Noon, the Chancellor of the University of East London, at the ceremony for their Royal Dock Business School graduates. Accepting the award, Mr. Chandra thanked the entire senior management team at the Royal Dock Business School, saying, “It is indeed a privilege to be recognized outside one’s country, and in the presence of such highly acclaimed and respected individuals. I thank you all for bestowing this prestigious award that I feel honored to receive.”
Mr. Chandra’s felicitation adds a feather to the crown of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd and marks the establishment of the broadcaster in the UK andEurope, and follows a recent launch of DittoTV, an online, tablet and mobile platform providing live streams and TV on demand from 17 Zee channels. ZEE TV is now in the process of commissioning new programming produced specifically for the UK and European audience.
Later today (Nov 21), Mr Chandra will deliver a keynote speech at AsPIRE, the annual event hosted by JP Morgan at Lord’s to promote Asian-Pacific global leadership. Mr Chandra will take the audience through his life journey from humble beginnings in India to becoming a global billionaire. He will reveal his role models and advise on implementing ideas into successful business operations.
The Zee group’s English daily dna has appointed Malcolm Mistry as CEO.
Mr Mistry has over two decades of experience across the India Today and Indian Express groups. As Publishing Director at the former, he was responsible for the flagship India Today magazine and all its language avatars, Business Today and Readers Digest amongst others. In addition, he was the chief architect of the sales synergy process as he created a unified sales team across various brands. His last stint saw him turning entrepreneur and launching Ushta Te HR Consultancy Services to provide recruitment solutions across key verticals like media, advertising and luxury. The appointment, say industry observers, will be a boost to the sales function at dna which needed a ‘face’.
Commenting on the appointment, Subhash Chandra, Chairman, Essel Group said: “We are delighted to have Malcolm on board. His extensive experience in leading strong media brands will help build on the momentum and navigate ‘dna’ into a phase of high growth.”
On his new role, Mr Mistry said: “dna has strong brand equity. I am excited with the challenge of raising the bar and creating a more vibrant ‘print plus’ product with greater consumer traction and increased shareholder value.”
dna is now part of the Zee Media Group which also comprises a slew of television channels and digital offerings. Dr Bhaskar Das, formerly President, Bennett, Coleman and Co and associated with several industry associations, is Group CEO. The position of CEO at dna has been vacant since K U Rao moved on to a Zee group firm and later exited the media conglomerate.
In recent months dna has gone in for a new look, appointed an editor-in-chief and also undertaken an aggressive marketing campaign.
Essel Group, the leading entertainment-led business group, is celebrating 90 years of existence and to celebrate the occasion, Chairman Dr Subhash Chandra announced the launch of the DSC Foundation by contributing Rs 5000 crore from his family wealth, the ‘Sarthi’ initiative and its English global news network, WION – World Is One News, in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Sunday. The Group also honoured the winners of the first edition of the Zee Media Family Business Legacy Awards – Dabur India Ltd., Wagh Bakri Tea Group and Wockhardt Ltd.
Living Entertainment has announced the launch of an international food and lifestyle channel ‘Living Foodz’. This foodtainment channel specializes in exploring the evolving social status of food; moving out of the confines of the conventional kitchen into a world of entertainment and adventure with food. Having food at its core, Living Foodz will explore different perspectives towards food and the way it touches people – from lifestyle, travel, wellness to food infotainment and reality.
By A Correspondent
By A Correspondent