Barun Das, CEO of Zee News, has said that the company will put expansion plans on hold due to the current economic slowdown.

“Given the uncertainty, we are critically reviewing each and every plan. Unless we derive significant benefits, we would naturally wait for the economy to stabilise before going for any further expansion. As of now, we are concentrating on two new launches – Zee News UP and Zee 24 Gantalu,” he said.

“It is difficult to project anything for the next fiscal. If the economic scenario deteriorates further, ad revenue will see a further slowdown in growth. Different reports are making different estimates for media sector’s growth. While some project a growth of around 11-12.5 per cent, others are projecting a negative growth. As we have always maintained, our endeavour would be to out-grow the market growth rate by 5-10 per cent,” Das said.

On the topic of advertising revenue, Das said that they are trying to beat the recession by offering innovative or tailor-made solutions for advertisers. To this end, the company has decided to completely do away with the commercial breaks for its prime time 9 pm news bulletin. The initiative, called NonStop@9pm, provides uninterrupted news for 24 minutes at a stretch. Instead, the channel is looking to get a sponsor for the entire slot. According to Das, the initiative has been a great success. The company also expects election advertising to give a boost.

The company has decided to stay in the Hindi and regional news space. Of the regional channels, the company claims that 24 Ghanta has already broken even, while Zee 24 Taas is firmly on the path to break even too. The company has also launched Zee Tamil recently which, they claim, is picking up fast.

“While we understand that there exists a big enough market in the new English domain, our primary focus has been regional and HSM markets. We have been exploring and evaluating opportunities for English channels as well,” says Das. The company has also picked up a 26 per cent stake in Akaash Bangla.

According to Das, an investment of Rs 15-20 crore will be spread over a period of a little over one year.  Meanwhile, the Zee Board has also approved the closure of Zee Gujarati from April 30, 2009.

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