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HFCL-Nine to wind up TV biz

BS ICE Bureau

It's curtains for the much-hyped HFCL-Nine Broadcasting India Ltd. Having decided not to bid for the prime-time slot on DD Metro, even on the revised terms, the company's television business will cease to exist from September 10. The company is also laying off 50-odd employees, out of its total strength of 67.

"It was a hard decision to take, but given the uncertainties after September (HFCL-Nine's contract for DD Metro ends Sept-Oct), we decided to close down our TV business related to DD Metro," HFCL-Nine Broadcasting India chief executive, Raveena Raj Kohli, told Business Standard over the phone from Bombay on Thursday.

The company is promoted by Mahendra Nahata's HFCL Group and Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer's Nine Broadcasting.

According to Kohli, the company will not bid for the DD Metro slots. "Even the revised terms and conditions (no floor prices, for example) don't make the business viable," she added.

Though Kohli said a core team will still remain after September, she admitted, "Our total staff strength is 67. Out of that 50-odd will have the opportunity to look for other career opportunities."

Asked specifically if she was also leaving the company, Kohli said, "I don't have an answer right now. But for the present, I am still the CEO of the company."

Lashing out at DD, a statement from the company said, "DD's decision to overlook HFCL-Nine as a partner comes as a surprise considering the great success of Nine Gold in re-launching Metro."

HFCL-Nine India has further pointed out that the present terms of DD for the Metro slots are unrealistic on various grounds including the following:

New media and Internet rights to belong to DD.

The hold back clause for the re-runs of programmes for one year after the playout of the final episode could date programmes by more than two years before replay, thereby reducing their value.

The rigid free commercial time allocation. DD, without any financial consideration, will use the programmes on DD World (the international channel), thus reducing the value of any international sale for the shows.

DD reserves the right to terminate the contract without notice and without ascribing any reason to the company on-air makes it a pointless contract.

Pointing out that the company increased the viewership base on DD Metro between 7-10 pm from 15.6 to 25.6 million in just about a year, Kohli said, "I won't say we have been a failure, but DD has failed us by having unrealistic terms and conditions."

The company had a few months back petitioned DD to extend its Rs 1.21 billion one-year contract and give it some additional sops like flexibility in programming and more commercial time to be hawked to advertisers. DD, while agreeing to an extension between 6-18 months, had put its foot down on the other demands.

It is also understood that the company's investment in the DD Metro initiative, including fresh programming and marketing amounted to over Rs 2 billion.

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