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MUMBAI:
Media stocks took a severe beating on Monday along with the
Sensex which plunged 834 points to close at 16,630.91.
The
crash was across the board even as the market sentiment stayed
bearish with Reliance Power sinking well below its IPO (initial
public offering) price of Rs 450 to close its first day of
listing at Rs 372 on the BSE.
Zee
Group felt the heat with Zee News Ltd. losing 17.67 per cent
to close Monday at Rs 49.15. While Wire and Wireless India
Ltd (Zee's demerged cable TV distribution business) slipped
10.60 per cent to Rs 43, Dish TV (direct-to-home operator)
lost 6.93 per cent to close at Rs 61.80.
Zee
Entertainment Enterprise Ltd, however, remained unshaken with
a rise of 2.55 per cent to stand at Rs 247.15.
News
ventures of other broadcasting companies also were hurt with TV Today losing 9.37
per cent (Rs 132.05) and TV18 4.35 per cent (386.70). NDTV fell by 2.50 per cent
to close at Rs 400.10. Global
Broadcast News, however, did not lose much and stood at Rs 901.30, with a dip
of 0.99 per cent at the end of the day. Group company Network18, on the other
hand, fell 8.32 per cent (Rs 329.85). UTV
Software Communications slipped 6.37 per cent (Rs 737.65). UTV Global Broadcasting
Ltd. had announced plans of launching a Hindi movie channel on 24 February. It
has already put on air the World Movies channel.
Balaji Telefilms touched Rs 189 (losing 8.74 per cent), while B.A.G Films and
Media lost 7.93 per cent to stand at Rs 47. FM
broadcaster Entertainment Network India Ltd closed at Rs 416.35, incurring a lose
of 6.47 per cent. On
the southern shores, Sun TV lost 6.40 per cent (Rs 304). Raj Television also dropped
7.63 per cent (Rs 125.25).
Hinduja Ventures, which runs the cable TV business, slipped 13.29 per cent to
close at Rs 482.10. Analysts
are reluctant to offer their predictions on how the media stocks would behave
in the short run, after basking in the sun for long. "Many media scrips were
built on hype and enjoyed a bull run as the market gathered steam. It remains
to be seen if the hype and the bullish sentiment stays or there would be a further
price correction," an analyst at a leading broking firm said. | 
