Subhash Chandra to take role of chairman emeritus at Zee Entertainment; R Gopalan appointed new chairman

Media and entertainment company Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has appointed Subhash Chandra as chairman emeritus, following his resignation as non-executive director after 27 years of founding the company. His appointment will be effective from Wednesday. This would mean that Chandra who was previously chairman would now continue to be associated with the business in an honorary fashion. ZEEL has also appointed R Gopalan, former financial services secretary, as the new chairman. Gopalan has been serving as additional director (independent) at Zee since November 2019. “In recognition of the fact that Chandra founded the company and considering his unmatched contributions, as a mark of respect, the Board requested him to act as ‘Chairman Emeritus’ with effect from August 19, 2020 and the same was accepted by him. This position will not carry any remuneration. As Chairman Emeritus, Shri. Chandra will continue to guide the Board and the Company’s Senior Management,” ZEE said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Tuesday. The media company on Tuesday posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 29 crore for the quarter ended June, down 95 percent from Rs 530 crore in Q1 FY20. In regulatory filings, Zee said its total income in the April to June quarter dipped by 36 percent to Rs 1,338 crore from Rs 2,112 crore in the same period a year ago. Advertisement revenues dropped by 64 percent to Rs 421 crore from Rs 1,187 crore. Zee said there has been a strong bounce back in viewership shares across the network post COVID-19 lockdown and the broadcaster enjoys 19.2 percent all-India entertainment share over the last four weeks. Its domestic subscription revenues grew by 6.2 percent on a higher base, primarily led by Zee5 subscription revenue. In accordance with government directives, COVID-19 lockdown restrictions have started to relax, enabling content production to commence. This is expected to result in an increase in business activity for the group, the company said. The group has also taken various steps aimed at augmenting liquidity, conserving cash including various cost-saving initiatives and sale of non-core and other assets. With inputs from ANI