Subhash Chandra to say bye to Zee in couple of years

Zee group chairman Subhash Chandra Tuesday said he will retire from business in a couple of years and let Generation Next take over and possibly expand his family's media empire and other enterprises.

"I can't say about them but I will definitely retire in one or two years' time," Chandra told a two-day broadcast entertainment convention here, referring to two industry veterans -- media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Viacom's Sumner Redstone.

Participating at the 16th convention of the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa), the Zee group chief said he would like to heal his soul and indulge in socially meaningful activities post-retirement.

"I strongly believe that one should not always continue working to make money."

The Zee group chairman said he also "sometimes pities" his eldest son Punit Goenka since people nurture "unnecessarily high expectations" of him, considering his own background. "But Punit is shaping up well."

He said his son has worked in various group companies in different roles that has given him a lot of experience. He is presently chief executive of Zee Entertainment that has interests in cable distribution, direct-to-home, film production and music.

Other Indian speakers at the convention include Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi, BAG Network chairperson Anurradha Prasad, Digicable Network chief executive Jagjit Singh Kohli and Reliance Entertainment president Rajesh Sawhney.

Chandra was also frank and candid about the Indian media industry and said broadcasters squabble among themselves a bit too much to be an effective lobby group, which has also slowed the process of digitalisation and other positive initiatives.

He, however, felt that there would be a shakeout in India's direct-to-home industry over the next five years, where six operators are presently offering services, priced at various levels.

"I think there will be only four direct-to-home players in a few years' time, including two national level players."

The six operators in India are Zee group's Dish TV, Tata Sky, Sun Direct, Reliance Big, Airtel Digital and Videocon group's D2H. Several other players have also shown interest in entering the business and have applied for licences.

ap/ank/jg

( 363 Words)

2009-11-04-16:11:38 (IANS)

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