UTV Software Communications

2008 - 2009 has been a year of real tests with the economic slowdown
 baring its fangs across the globe. Only those organisations which have
 a structured model will emerge as the real winners in this meltdown.
 Our mantra of ‘Diversification’ has made our Company achieve stability
 in these times of turbulence. We believe the downturn is a blessing in
 disguise for our business and to the media and entertainment industry
 in India, in general. There was too much free equity flowing into the
 industry that was not making any businesses sense to work in. A
 correction in this has really been able to allow those people with
 strong business models to get back to business and not having to deal
 with the fluff. Also, the correction which would normally have taken
 two-three years to happen, which would have been a long wait, thus
 arriving earlier, has spared us the delay.
 
 Be the change you want to see in the world
 
 This statement of Mahatma Gandhi epitomizes what UTV has always stood
 for. Our company has believed in taking the first steps towards a new
 direction that has worked for the organization and for the industry as
 a whole. Whether it was actually giving India its first reality game
 show – ‘Saanp Seedhi’ many years back, pioneering the studio model in
 India, being the first in creating a bouquet of specialized channels to
 exploring a new talent pool in India with Spotboy – Being & therefore
 creating change is in UTV’s DNA.
 
 Diversify & Prosper
 
 While many media groups in India took a severe blow in the second half
 of this year due to high dependence on pure advertising revenues, I
 believe we have built a near non-replicable model which provides
 stability through inflection points for each of the businesses, and at
 the same time, tremendous scalability in creating IP’s that can deliver
 a global footprint. We have managed and will continue to strive towards
 delivering maximum value to every stakeholder of UTV.
 
 The year that was
 
 This recent Global correction has been constructive for companies with
 scalable and forward looking business models. Our company has stayed
 the course on all its investments in all its verticals and not cut back
 on anything as it is in line with our mid and long term plans. We also
 believe that from here on, for listed media companies there will be a
 lot more focus from investors and shareholders on the various models –
 the business model, the cost model, the growth model and the
 profitability model - and we believe UTV will stand out from the crowd
 on this.
 
 The past year was the first year of operation for three of our
 verticals - True Games, Broadcasting and New Media. In 2009 – 2010,
 with 4 entertainment channels, Broadcasting will continue to be in the
 investment mode. So will True Games, whereas New Media and our other
 Gaming subsidiaries are expected to be profitable.
 
 Next change
 
 1 TV CONTENT - We will continue to innovate on the content and concept,
 and adapt to the requirements of the market
 
 1 MOTION PICTURES - As we continue to build on our No.1 position, the
 Motion Pictures division is likely to record good growth, as its slate
 for the year is larger than what was in 2008 - 2009, both in terms of
 the number of releases and also the size of the movies
 
 1 GAMES
 
 INDIA GAMES - Mobile Division will grow well and deliver, but we ntend
 to re-invest all of that to build the subscriber base for its online
 Games-on-Demand
 
 IGNITION - While we will continue to be aggressive on the publishing
 front, we will also take significant steps for the launch of our IP’s
 
 TRUE GAMES - With 2 new MMOG titles on the anvil, it’ll sure be a
 hectic first year
 
 BROADCASTING - Within a short time span, we have begun to carve a space
 for our specialized channels and will continue to work towards
 attaining better brand recall for each of our properties, and stay on
 track for being amongst the top 5 networks in the country
 
 NEW IDEA - We will continue to explore newer avenues in the digital
 space
 
 The propensity for our business verticals to grow is significant and we
 have positioned ourselves in domains that are extremely scalable. We
 need to remember that just because it’s different, it takes a while to
 be accepted, but its this different approach that delivers a leader
 
 Next Year, UTV would have been in existence for 20 years and we believe
 that the coming year will bear fruit for our work in progress of the
 last 2 years
 
 Warmly,
 Ronnie Screwvala