Yesterday Zee Telefilms and Turner International India (a 100 per cent subsidiary of AOL Time Warner) announced a joint venture with Zee holding a 74 per cent equity stake and Turner holding the balance 26 per cent.

What happened on the bourses following this piece of positive news makes for interesting reading though. The Zee scrip has been in a downward spiral since peaking on 11 December at Rs 151.45. The scrip closed down at Rs 134.35 yesterday and continued its fall to close at Rs 123.75 today.

According to Motilal Oswal Securities though, this movement is not surprising. A report it has prepared states that the core issues dogging Zee remain - that of management quality, transparency, disclosure standards and unauthorised advances to group companies. Zee is also badly in need of funds to repay its debt of Rs 7 billion plus. It needs money for its hybrid fibre coax (HFC) network and acquisition of the last mile too. The number of days debts are outstanding on a consolidated basis has touched 180 days, clearly indicating stress on the business. None of these crucial issues would be addressed by this marketing JV, due to which Oswal Securities remains distinctly cool to these developments.

The report it has prepared further states that prospects of any resurgence driven by content continues to be bleak. Viewership is down significantly, making Zee TV the No 3 Hindi entertainment channel. Zee TV?s channel share has slipped to an abysmal 4.4 per cent compared to Sony TV?s 8.2 per cent and Star Plus? 19.4 per cent in the prime time slot. Now, the gap with Sony is also increasing continuously and there seems to be no major reversal in sight.

The management owes Zee Telefilms around RS 2.2 billion and there are no evident signs of repayment of the dues coming through. This after having missed the promised deadline several times. Even if the new JV brings along benefits in terms of better acceptance of the bouquet by MSOs, earnings will not get impacted materially over the next 4 quarters.

Oswal Securities expects an EPS of Rs 4.96 in FY02 (a growth of 12 per cent) and Rs 5.95 in FY03 (a growth of 20 per cent).

The stock price has run up from Rs 70 exclusively on the hopes of induction of a strategic partner (AOL Time Warner) in Zee Telefilms at a price of Rs175 plus. This JV with Turner International does not match up to anything close to a strategic stake by AOL Time Warner in Zee Telefilms.

This is a major disappointment for the market after expectations were run up so high. At the current price, the stock quotes at a P/E of 27x FY02 and 22.4x FY03 earnings. With valuations clearly stretched, the stock price will fall from these levels, the report concludes.
 

For the second successive year movie channel HBO has done well in Television Asia‘s regional survey. Fans from India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong responded enthusiastically.

Some categories where HBO was the top dog include Programming, Sales and Marketing, Viewer Feedback and Most Popular Channel. HBO was runner up in Best On-Air Look and came in third in Best Value for Money.

President and CEO, HBO Asia, Dan Murrell had these remarks to make: "We are very pleased and honoured to once again be recognized No.1 by the industry. As the premium movie channel in the region, we will continue to work towards creating and delivering even more value to all our viewers and partners".

In America, meanwhile, the channel is pulling out all the stops in a bid to connect with its viewer base. On hbo.com fans of OZ, a series which runs in America, can take a 360-Degree Virtual Tour through ‘Virtual OZ‘.

The series examines the lives of the correctional officers and inmates at the Oswald State Correctional Facility which is a maximum-security prison. Film director Barry Levinson (Rainman) is one of the executive producers. The ensemble cast includes Ernie Hudson (Congo), Terry Kinney (Sleepers), Dean Winters and Kirk Acevedo.

It offers a ‘First Look‘ at the prison set part of the OZ Web Site which has been redesigned. Viewers will be shaken up by the harsh difficulties prisoners have to face at the correctional facility.

HBO.com started five years ago. It is created and produced by Home Box Office, the premium television programming division of Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P. HBO has exclusive licensing deals with Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment (Columbia/ TriStar), Universal and Warner Bros (including New Line Cinema).

Site visitors can "walk" in a virtual world through the penitentiary by using Apple Quicktime VR, Flash 5.0. They will also be enthralled by three dimensional animation features. They can explore the halls of the experimental "Em City" and experience the intense loneliness of solitary confinement.

All this is a clear attempt on the part of the channel to build up expectation before the series‘ fifth season which starts on 6 January 2002 at 10pm ET on the channel.

Virtual OZ will also offer 40 360-degree photos and what the channel terms as "hot spots" that provide information and audio clips. This is aimed at familiarising viewers with the role that the locations they visit played during past episodes.

The information and audio clips will also delve into details about the characteristics of each OZ area and provide insight on past events at that particular location.

Another new site area is "Behind OZ,". This aims at educating viewers about how the series was made. Cast and crew members will talk about their experiences making the series.

There will also be an exclusive "sneak peek" slide show of the upcoming fifth season. "Question of The Week" contests will bestow winners with OZ merchandise. A television schedule along with an episode guide will also be on display. OZ also has a newsletter and if fans can sign up receive for show and cast information.

For the flagship channel of the Star network, it could be a tall order retaining a hold on audiences in the 9 PM slot after 9 January. But lest it be said that the channel is not trying its best, Star is lining up a variety of new shows on all bands to keep those fickle viewers from reaching for the remote.  strong line up of soaps is waiting to be unleashed on the channel as the year draws to a close. The channel has also packed in telecasts of a variety of events to ensure that the TRPs remain on a high.

The strongest weapon in Star‘s arsenal is Kamzor Kadii Kaun, the Indian cousin of BBC‘s The Weakest Link, which will be Star‘s Christmas gift to viewers. Beginning 25 December at 9 PM, Neena Gupta takes on a bunch of participants in a keen battle for intellectual survival and a prize kitty of Rs 2.5 million. Siddharth Basu directs the show produced by BBC Worldwide in association with Star India.

Wednesdays 9 PM will be taken over by Sanjivani, a Cinevista Communications creation set around hospital life and the lives of four young doctors, and loosely structured like the hugely popular US show, ER. Beginning 16 January, the serial is directed by Kaushik Ghatak, and stars Mohnish Behl, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Rajiv Verma and Daisy Irani.

KBC Junior at 10 am on Sundays will be replaced by Bol Baby Bol, a show on which 10 children get to ask questions while adults guess the answers. Hosted by Manoj Pawa, it is an adaptation of Small Talk, produced by Freemantle India.

Immediately following on from 10:30 to 11 am there is Yehi Hai Right Price, a game show that begins 6 January. The format for this one has been picked up from a successful original, The Price is Right. Host Ronit Roy invites participants from among the audience to test their consumer knowledge and walk away with a host of products. Remember Tol Mol Ke Bol hosted by Ritu Raj on Zee TV a couple of years ago anyone?

A talk show, Kashmakash also makes its debut on 4 January at 3 PM Anchored by Renuka Shahane and written by Sathya Saran, the programme deals with marital and other problems, with experts providing solutions. Also in line is Wajood, a four part series directed by Sukhwant Dhadda that kicks off on 3 January at 8 PM Set in Punjab, it weaves a story of family feuds, misunderstandings and revenge. It stars Kanwaljit Singh, Ashish Chowdhary and Shraddha Nigam.

Saturday noons from 5 January will be dominated by the three headstrong protagonists of Eeena Meena Deeka, a whacky sitcom about three single women who hate to believe it‘s a man‘s world and are out to change it. This one boasts of Reena Roy, Anita Raaj and Asha Sachdev in lead roles. All three are filmstars from the eighties era who are now trying to make their presence felt on TV.

Star Plus has also filled in all the Sundays of January 2002 with proposed telecasts of glamorous events in the past months. Beginning with the Hero Honda Indian Television Academy Awards at 8 PM on 6 January, the channel will also show the Raymond International Fashion Awards at 11 am and the Best of Screen Awards at 8 PM on 13 January, the 8th annual Star Screen Awards at 8 PM on 20 January and a concert, Celebration of a Nation at 8 PM on 27 January. Hosted by lyricist Javed Akhtar, the concert features Sukhvinder, Abhijeet, Jaspinder Narula, Kumar Sanu, Usha Uthup and veteran singer Mahendra Kapoor. Star‘s Republic Day treat for viewers is J P Dutta‘s Border.