In the seventh anniversary issue of Outlook Business*, Zee TV bossman Subhash Chandra offers seven rules for success in the media:
1) Don’t take your position for granted: Even if you’ve been No.1 for a long while, always remember to guard your turf
2) Don’t ignore the rural market: Through its direct-to-home business, Zee reached out to a market that had no access to television
3) Look for opportunities in allied businesses: Over the years, along with television broadcasting, Zee has entered online lotteries, cricket, cable TV and DTH
4) Be ready to constantly improvise your convergence strategy: Over the years, Zee has stepped up the cable distribution game and it has paid off for the group
5) Ensure your programming is always cost-effective
6) Make sure one revenue stream is always robust: Steady growth in subscription revenue will reduce the dependence on advertising
7) There is always an opportunity in sports
* Disclosures apply
Photograph: courtesy Forbes
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Also read: Ramachandra Guha‘s 12 and a half steps for journalists
Vinod Mehta‘s seven rules for young journalists
V.S. Naipaul‘s seven rules for writers
Garrison Keillor‘s seven rules for reading the newspaper
William Safire‘s 18 steps to better writing
IJR 
There is one very important 8th and 9th reasons for media success that Subhash Chandra fails to mention.
Perhaps he forgot. Perhaps he does not want to divulge the media’s most important trade secret. I will do that for him:
8) Always go for paid news. The real moolah lies in paid news. Look at the business leader (good ol’ TOI) for inspiration and earn through paid news..
9) Be good at bribing politicians and bureaucrats for getting the TV broadcasting rights, TV spectrum and muscle out the smaller guys from the business. The more bribes you can pay to the top leaders and bureaucrats, the higher you will rise in media
Your 8th, 9th reasons are not applicable to him – it is very foolish to attribute these two points to him and Zee. These may be are for TOI etc but why unnecessarily show ur stupidity and ignorance by connecting unrelated things
Pity that one rule he doesn’t have is, Value For Money. I pay for cable but am very disappointed in the old shows being aired like the 20 to 10 year old sitcom Friends and taking off, without warning to viewers, a current show such as The Big Bang Theory. Out of date shows are cheap to buy. Zee Entertainment is either short of money or they don’t respect or appreciate their viewers.
Another rule should be professionalism. Staff should be sent to TV school to learn about programming. I don’t think of Zee Entertainment as being on a level with global entertainment. They still have a lot to learn about television and should take note on now western television operates.
Also, find out what viewers want. The feedback field on the Zee Tv site doesn’t work. Obviously feedback is not welcomed.
I doubt Subhash’s business intelligence. Listen to customers, find out what they want. Most of the programs currently on air are old repeats. Yawn! Give customers/viewers what they want and invest in current shows.