The recently concluded cricket series between India and Australia generated Rs 400 million in airtime sales, Monica Shrivastav, in charge of airtime sales for Zee Telefilms, has said.

Zee Group company Buddha Films had signed a four-year deal last year for airtime sales rights covering nine international cricket series to be played in India. Zee purchased the rights from national broadcaster Doordarshan for a whopping Rs 4,500 million.

Coming up at the end of the year are two series which will feature England and Sri Lanka. If India‘s cricketers can again perform the way they did in this series, Zee just may have reason not to right off its commitment to Doordarshan. There was talk at one stage of Zee pulling out which would have invited an immediate forfeiture of Rs 700 million as bank guarantee.

Other news that should cheer Zee officials is Initiative Media president Ashish Bhasin‘s observation that cricket viewership was 25 per cent more than even the most optimistic estimates at the start of the series.

Pentamedia Graphics has reported a 55 per cent jump in its net profit at Rs 1535.5 million on a turnover Rs 5523.8 million for the financial year ended 31 March 2001. It has also declared a dividend of Rs 3 per share.

Regarding the vexed issue of its bid to take over the US-based Film Roman, which has run into difficulties, Pentamedia has declared that the issue has been left to chairman V Chandrasekaran to deal with. Chandrasekaran will be leaving on Monday to the USA to negotiate with Film Roman management.

In its annual report released on Thursday, Pentamedia reported a 104 per cent jump in its net profit for the fourth quarter at Rs 337.6 million against Rs 164.7 million last year. Turnover went up 41 per cent as against Rs 3929.9 million last year. The turnover for the quarter ended 31 March 2001 was Rs 1450 million.

The company claims it has got orders on hand worth $ 155 million to be executed over the next 15 months with a human resources strength of over 2,100.

Among the projects which it has completed are Sinbad‘s television premiere which was released in the US on November 2000. In the last quarter of the year Pandavas - The Five Warriors, a 90-minute hybrid (convergence of live action & animation) 3D animation movie based on the famous epic Mahabharatha, was released in English for global audiences. Pandavas won the National Award for the best English feature animation movie. At the Vancouver Film Festival in Toronto, Canada, Pandavas was adjudged as the second best movie from a total of 22 animation movies.

Pentamedia has also successfully completed the production of Alibaba, to be screened in the May 2001.

This year Pentamedia is planning six more animation movies, each of 90 minutes duration. It is also planning to expand its presence in gaming by using existing animation contents and by developing new gaming contents.