NEW HEAD FOR SITICABLE, ZEE SCRIP FLARES UP AGAIN

Zee Telefilms Ltd (ZTL) chief executive & managing director Vijay Jindal will also be heading Siticable, the cable TV firm jointly promoted by the Essel group's Subhash Chandra and global media baron Rupert Murdoch. Earlier, Siticable was headed by Harish Agarwal, who has been shifted to another company within the Essel group.

The Zee Network has denied reports that both Siticable and ZTL have been merged. "Only a new boss has been brought in," says a company spokesperson. "Zee Telefilms and Siticable continue to operate independently."

The company also denied reports that the change was a precursor to a final merger between Zee TV and Star TV for the Indian market.

Speculation about a merger between ZTL and Rupert Murdoch's Indian operations of Star TV has led to a flurry of activity in the ZTL scrip which skyrocketed to a high of Rs 748 from a lowly Rs 89 earlier this year. The ZTL scrip flared up again following reports of a merger between ZTL and Siticable on 10 November to Rs 692 the next day only to subside as the week progressed and settle down to Rs 653 by Friday.