Mumbai: Zee Telefilms Ltds and its subsidiaries net profit for the quarter ended 30 June 2002 is at Rs 476.70 million as compared to Rs 363.80 million in the corresponding period last fiscal. Total sales and services have increased from Rs 2,335.10 million in JQ01 to Rs 2,488 million in the quarter ended 30 June 2002. During April 2002, Zee started a separate encrypted broadcast beam for Zee TV in the Middle East, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, which has started to open up these markets for their full advertising potential on the channel and for enhanced pay revenues.

The separate beam allows Zee TV to tailor content to coincide with prime time in different markets while concurrently valuing airtime inventory at locally relevant and competitive rates. Zee Music is being transformed into a 100-per cent interactive channel and is expected to air its new avatar towards the later part of this year.

Zee English has acquired the latest series (Season 8) of Friends and Mad About You and continues to offer cutting-edge content for English-speaking audiences. Zee Telefilms had recently increased the limit of investment by foreign institutional investors from 30 per cent to 49 per cent of the issued and paid-up capital of the company.

Zee Telefilms also subscribed to 22,20,812 equity shares of Rs 10 each of ETC Networks Ltd, a price of Rs 31.52 per share on preferential basis, as approved by the shareholders of ETC Networks at their EGM held on 26 March 2002.