The Board of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEE) has institutionalized a structured Monthly Management Mentorship (3M) Program. The objective of the 3M Program is to guide and enable the management team to achieve key performance metrics, including the targeted 20 percent EBITDA margin, proposed by the MD & CEO. This step, led by ZEE Chairman, R. Gopalan, highlights the Board’s commitment towards delivering higher value to all stakeholders.
In order to drive the 3M Program, the Board has formed a Special Committee to review the management’s business performance and provide the required directional guidance. The Special Committee comprises of ZEE Chairman, R. Gopalan and Uttam Prakash Agarwal, Chairman of the Audit Committee.
The 3M Program Special Committee has conducted the first set of extensive review sessions with the management to evaluate business vertical plans, enhance the revenue generation approach and optimize resource utilization for improved efficiencies across the company.
“After completing a detailed set of 33 meetings with various business verticals, corporate functions and leaders of the management team; our confidence and belief in the potential of the Company to deliver the targeted results, has certainly strengthened. Under the able leadership of Mr. Punit Goenka as the MD & CEO of the Company, the businesses are well-aligned and focused towards the set goals for the future. Leveraging the external lens and an outside-in perspective, the Committee has provided its independent, neutral and fresh views to the business leaders enabling them to further improve their efficiency and performance. The Board has also advised the MD & CEO to further simplify the management structure and optimize the utilization of the human capital,” said Gopalan.
The 3M Program Special Committee has also identified business verticals that require a critical assessment. This includes – 1) Margo Networks (Sugarbox) 2) Teleplay & Zindagi 3) Hipi 4) Weyyak and 5) English Cluster of Linear TV Business. The Special Committee has advised that the identified business verticals will need to substantially reduce losses and enhance their performance levels.
The 3M Program Special Committee has also invested its time in conducting a detailed analysis of the Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC), which had incurred an expenditure of approximately Rs. 600 crore in the last year. The committee has noted that the TIC has developed a substantial level of technology and tools; however, it has highlighted the immediate need to focus on Return on Investment.
The Special Committee appreciated the efforts sown in by the TIC in the realm of gaming and product development; but is also of the view, that many of the development projects have reached its maturity levels. After reviewing the TIC’s approach to gradually emerge as an independent technology company; the Committee has advised that the management should stay focused on its core expertise, ethos and DNA i.e. content.
Hence, it has advised the management to utilize the services of TIC to enhance its Content Development and Distribution process. It has also advised that the management should leverage the TIC’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) tools to gain a deeper insight into the consumer profiles. With this view, the Committee has advised that the management should reduce the expenditure at the TIC by 50 percent, for the Financial Year 2024-25; and utilize its services to enhance the Company’s content development, distribution and monetization approach.
The 3M Program Special Committee has also reviewed the Music Business of the Company; and has advised its leadership team to enhance the monetization avenues and subsequently increase the vertical’s contribution to the Company’s bottom-line. It has also advised that the Music Business should focus on further optimizing its costs, without losing its leadership position in the market.
The Board is extremely focused on ensuring highest standards of corporate governance, having already taken several incremental steps to bring in additional measures that protect the intrinsic value of the Company. In order to safeguard the interest of the stakeholders of the Company, the Board has also recently constituted an ‘Independent Investigation Committee’ to fact check / review / examine all allegations raised by the regulatory agencies against the Company, its Promoters and KMPs through a deep dive exercise; and make a submission to the Board, outlining its recommendations and suggesting necessary actions.