7 Zee channels to be uplinked from Noida

Our eFE Bureau

Mumbai, Dec 9: Zee Telefilms has finally obtained government permission to uplink seven of its channels directly from the country, enabling it to tap local advertisers and save yearly $2-3 million through direct operational efficiencies. The mainline channels like Zee TV and Zee Cinema, however, are outside this facility and will continue to be uplinked from Singapore. The uplinking permission was received for Zee News, the four Alpha language channels, Zee Music and Zed TV.

The uplinking will be done through the Essel Shyam Teleport located at Noida near New Delhi. Zee could not qualify to obtain an uplinking permission because of a restrictive clause which does not allow companies with foreign equity participation beyond 49 per cent to uplink directly from the country. The holding of Subhash Chandra, who is an NRI, goes beyond the cap.

The seven channels will start uplinking from the Noida facility within the next few weeks. “The teleport facility is ready. Only the switch-over will take some time. We will have dual illumination for technical glitches and be totally ready in the next few weeks,” said group CEO, Zee Telefilms, Sandeep Goyal.

Besides reaching out to untapped streams of local advertising, the uplinking from the country will help Zee News and the Alpha channels to beam news in real time. The preparation for an increase in news bulletins on the Alpha channels has already started. While Alpha Marathi and Gujarati will telecast six news bulletins in January, Alpha Bangla will make it in February.

“Zee News will have a significant competitive advantage as uplinking from Singapore causes a time lag. The channel has recently deployed 3-D virtual sets for the first time in the country and also strengthened its VSAT feeder system,” said Mr Goyal.

The Alpha channels can also migrate from the language to community channels.