Zee Entertainment Enterprises, now that its merger with Sony’s India channels is dead, is focussing on cutting costs and, in the words of MD Punit Goenka, is “chopping off anything that doesn’t yield a return on investment”. Those cost-cutting measures will include expensive sports rights some of which will be “economised”, he stated – as […]

The past few days have seen just about every Indian business newspaper reporting that Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) was back in discussions with Sony’s India business about resurrecting their merger plan, valued at some $10 billion. Not so, saccording to ZEEL. India’s Economic Times reports that executives from both parties had meetings in Mumbai and […]

Most observers do not expect there to be any resurrection of the Zee merger with Sony’s India assets. Consequently Zee Entertainment says it is to examine and review its entire structure. The aim is to focus on those divisions and elements that are the most profitable. CEO Punit Goenka told analysts that he would be […]

The Zee-Sony merger cancellation dispute rumbles on. India’s National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) issued a formal notice to Culver Max (formerly Sony Pictures Networks) on February 6th and has asked for a response in two weeks. The NCLT move comes in response to an application filed by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Zee’s application, in essence, wants […]

Two important elements are keeping the Zee/Sony merger on the front pages of India’s business newspapers. The first is that Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) has rejected an emergency petition for arbitration to happen. The request was made by Sony. Zee, in response, says that it will now look for an Indian arbitration of the […]

India’s National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which has been closely involved in the Zee Entertainment and Sony merger negotiations, has accepted a Petition from a shareholder in Zee which calls for the merger to go ahead. The Petition from Mad Men Film Ventures, a shareholder of Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL), directing Sony Pictures Network India, […]

The fallout from the collapsed $10 billion merger between Zee Entertainment and Sony’s India broadcasting interests (Bangla Entertainment) continues to have serious ramifications. Both sides have said that litigation will commence, and Sony already has an arbitration claim filed in Singapore claiming $90 million of what it alleges are contractual obligations from Zee. However, Subhash […]

Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL), clearly suffering as a result of its collapsed merger with Sony’s Indian broadcasting interests, is pulling out of its contract with Disney India for a massive sub-licensing $1.4 billion (€1.29bn) agreement to cover key International Cricket Council (ICC) matches for the 2024-2027 seasons. ZEEL is already extremely late in paying an […]

Punit Goeka, CEO at Zee TV, addressed all staff on January 25th and updated them about the merger fallout, saying there would be no impact on Zee’s day-to-day business. “It is time to move on as a team, more importantly as a family. The intrinsic value and fundamentals of Zee remain unmatched,” he commented. He […]

India’s Zee Entertainment has asked Sony to come back to the negotiating table. On January 24th, despite the collapse of the merger agreement last week and legal moves already being made, Zee admitted it had urged Sony to revive the plan. The move, said by some locals to be an act of desperation and in […]