KOLKATA: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has recently released the guidelines for unlock 4.0. While as a part of the guidelines cinema halls will continue to remain shut, leading players are looking at direct premieres. Jumping on the bandwagon, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEE) has announced the launch of its ‘Cinema2home’ service ‘Zee Plex’. It is scheduled for launch on 2 October. With this new offering, consumers will now be able to watch their favourite new blockbuster releases in the comfort of their homes, along with their entire family at an attractive (per film) price point.
The new C2H service from the network is for both television and digital platforms. Along with convenience for consumers, this new movie distribution model will enhance the overall commercial ecosystem for the film producers, enabling them to present their creative work, to a wider range of audiences on established entertainment platforms.
“We are very excited to bring this new offering to all the movie buffs across India and around the globe. While we all love to catch the latest movies at the nearest theatres, we sensed the need for a solution like Zee Plex, which gives the consumers flexibility and convenience, to catch their favourite films in the comfort of their homes, along with friends and family. We have received great interest from producers and are looking forward to release a strong slate of blockbusters across languages,” Zee Studios CEO Shariq Patel said.
With new releases every month, Zee Plex aims to bring the theatres right to the consumers’ homes, offering them a quality family viewing experience at an attractive price-point. ZEE has partnered with leading television distribution platforms in India and has also established strategic alliances with distribution partners in the international markets. Zee Plex as a C2H service will also be available on ZEE5 globally.
MUMBAI: In these difficult times caused by the Covid2019 pandemic, entertainment and information keep floating into our television sets despite the shelter-in-place mandate. Although the TV viewership growth slowed down in the sixth week of the Covid2019 disruption, it is evident that audiences across India are consuming more content than during the pre-crisis period. While the spike has been attributed to various factors, the “real heroes” who are ensuring the flow of content have been undervalued: the distribution platform operators (DPOs).
A few days back, the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) also urged Direct-to-home (DTH) operators, multi-system operators (MSOs) and local cable operators (LCOs) in a letter to continue to provide uninterrupted services to their subscribers and cooperate with other players within the distribution chain. Despite health risks, the DPOs have kept working on ground.
How ZEEL honours distribution partners through multilingual campaign
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has come forward to pat its distributors on their backs. The network has rolled out two digital campaigns commending cable and DTH operators. One of the promos features Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan watching TV in a hall, superimposed with his own voiceover which thanks the ”superheroes” on account of whom Indian audiences are able to watch the superheroes of the screen in the comfort of their homes even as the pandemic is wreaking havoc. For the second short film, ZEEL’’s top TV stars were roped in and they are seen thanking and clapping for the entire workforce employed with LCOs, MSOs and DTH platforms for the effort they are putting into ensuring that viewers at home stay connected, informed and entertained.
Ideation of the campaign
ZEEL chief consumer officer Prathyusha Agarwal has said that their creative partner Lowe Lintas worked very closely with their teams on the concept and the execution of the applause film. The ubiquitous mobile phone was innovatively deployed as actors across channels of the network came together to create this extraordinary salute. Moreover, several solutions were deployed to ensure that the post-production work could be done seamlessly. She also noted that the entire concept to production was completed in record time and the major investment was all the people coming together and pouring their heart and soul into creating the film.
“In line with the rising trend of movie-watching, as part of this campaign we also used the concept of creating a parallel between superheroes and the true super heroes of this lockdown – our distribution partners. This was entirely a movie footage-based film made across languages executed by the teams at ZEEL. In the true spirit of being ‘Extraordinary Together’ we at ZEEL have viewed this adversity as an opportunity to innovate creatively and come up with methods of executing communication even while most stakeholders have been at home,” she added.
Agarwal says that consumers have been confined to their homes, making TV entertainment an ‘essential service’ infusing positivity and uplifting the mood of the nation. She added that ZEEL wholeheartedly applauds the undaunted efforts of distribution partners across the country through this multilingual campaign. “As the entire ecosystem is fast moving towards digitization and lower contact, we see this contextualized campaign in each genre and region as a strong trigger for the long due behaviour change towards prompt and proactive online subscription payments,” she added.
How ZEEL is working closely with DPOs; encouraging online payment mechanisms
ZEEL chief revenue officer and affiliate sales Atul Das expressed his faith in the long and valuable partnerships with all of the distribution partners making them ‘Extraordinary Together’. According to him, it is this extraordinary partnership that has been instrumental in ensuring that the consumers have been able to enjoy uninterrupted entertainment. He also added that ZEE recognizes and deeply appreciates the challenges that the distribution partner fraternity has faced as a result of the Covid-19 lockdowns.
“We had observed that in the changed environment, our distribution partners had been keen to promote contactless payments and online recharge. We have taken a step further to extend our unflinching support by promoting the online recharge option through our vast network of national and regional channels with an intention to communicate with them in their local languages. Through this campaign, we also expressed our heartfelt thanks to each of our DPOs, and would like to assure them of our continued support and are committed to work closely with them in the days to come,” he added.
He stated that ZEEL supports the digitisation endeavours of its partners by encouraging consumers to move towards online payment mechanisms. According to him, the campaign is their effort of extending partnership to help distribution associates by ensuring that the message quickly reaches billions of consumers. This in turn allows DPOs to continue to provide their services seamlessly to consumers, he added.
How the DPOs respond to ZEEL’s online recharge campaign
Tata Sky MD and CEO Harit Nagpal: “ZEEL was amongst the first to respond to remind customers to recharge in time, during the lockdown, so that they can remain connected to the world outside their homes. We are happy that ZEEL partnered with us and other DPOs to come out with a consumer campaign to acknowledge the contribution of DTH partners, and also to encourage consumers to make online payments through the Tata Sky app & website.”
IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd. (IN Digital & NXT) CEO
Vynsley Fernandes: “Encouraging consumers to make monthly subscription payments in a contactless manner via online mechanisms has now emerged as a priority for our industry. ZEEL’s online recharge campaign is a reflection of a true partnership approach that comes in at a time when the whole of the industry is adjusting to new ways of collecting subscription payments online. We really appreciate ZEEL’s support to promote this campaign through their network channels at this critical hour.”
Digiana Projects Pvt. Ltd chairman and managing director Sukhdev Singh Ghumman:
“We as partners are fully committed to ensure that consumers get uninterrupted access to all content. Through the online recharge campaign, ZEEL has made a pioneering effort in spreading the message to consumers on how to keep the entertainment going while staying in the safety of their homes. We have also played the promos on our local channels to promote the campaign. We thank ZEEL for their wonderful initiative.”
Asianet Digital Network Pvt. Ltd. president and CCO Shankar Narayan:
“Online payment mechanisms have emerged as a new normal not just in metros but in regional markets as well. ZEEL with its strong regional presence has truly been very supportive with the multilingual and culturally relevant online recharge campaign for our market. We really appreciate the support that the Zee Network has extended towards making this initiative into a full fledged national campaign.”
Along with these leading players, several other distribution partners from across the country including Haldwani Digital, Darsh Digital Patna, Cable Combine Communications Siliguri, Skynet Allahabad, KCBPL, Kolkata and many others have expressed their deep appreciation for ZEEL’s online recharge campaign that is now on-air across the network channels.
Mumbai: With the new tariff/pricing regime all set to come into effect from February 01, 2019 ZEE, the No. 1 television network of the country, announces attractive launch offers for its consumers. Zee family packs will be available for Rs. 39* only. This special launch offer has been devised for consumers across Hindi speaking states, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Odisha. Leading the change agenda for the new pricing paradigm, ZEE was the first network to roll out its multiple customer-centric packs and now with this attractive launch offer, it promises greater value and more affordability for consumers.
ZEE has three types of packs that come in very attractive prices ranging from the lowest at Zee Prime Pack Tamil-SD at Rs. 10* for 8 channels, Zee Family Pack – Hindi SD at Rs. 39* for 23 channels to the ZEE All-in One SD pack that brings the entire lot of 26 channels at just Rs. 59* only. The Zee Family Pack includes leading channels such as Zee TV, &TV, Zee Cinema, &Pictures, Zee Bollywood, Zee News, Zee Anmol, Big Ganga, Zing, LF and many others, cutting across multiple genres such as entertainment, movies, news, music and lifestyle thereby offering content that caters to every member of the family, every day. The a-la-carte rates for certain channels like Zee Cinema, &pictures, Zee Talkies, Zee Yuva & Zee Bangla Cinema have also been revised.
Mr. Atul Das, Chief Revenue Officer – Affiliate Sales, ZEE said, “Zee is the No. 1 television network in the country. We continue to innovate and bring new content offering across genres like entertainment, movies, music, news and lifestyle and in multiple languages including Hindi, Marathi, Bangla, Odia, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English. As the new price regime gets implemented from 1st February 2019, we are excited that this would allow better choice to consumers and bring transparency across the television value chain. To provide greater value to our consumers during this transition, we have come up with an attractive launch offer on the Zee Family Packs across Hindi, Marathi, Bangla and Odia. All these packs are now available at a special price of Rs. 39* per month. We are delighted to offer the best of television series, drama, feature films, news, lifestyle content and incredible new experiences, all at a great value to our consumers across the country.”
With a total of 59 channels (43 SD & 16 HD) in 11 languages reaching a total of 148 million households every day, ZEEL has been offering audiences in India ‘superhit’ entertainment cutting across genres. Whether it’s Pragya, Preetha, Zara Siddique or Bhabhiji in the Hindi Belt to Radhika in Maharashtra, Rani Rashmoni in West Bengal and many more in every region, our characters share a deep bond with viewers wanting them as dinner-table companions every day! The No.1 TV network that fulfills all the demands is Zee with its family packs that bring together the right assortment of superhit channels across the top genres of entertainment, movies, news, music, and lifestyle, making it a must-have for every family!
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has announced the appointment of Atul Das as president – affiliate revenues and distribution.
Appointed with effect from 1 July, Das will report to ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka. With more than 24 years of corporate experience, Das is a senior business leader with strong insights on the Media & Entertainment industry.
Prior to this appointment, Das led a broad portfolio of responsibilities at ZEE across key business functions including revenues, general management, P&L management, corporate strategy, finance, business development, team leadership, marketing and communications.
Earlier, Das led the corporate strategy of the media business in his role as the chief strategy officer of Zee, where he was responsible for developing and executing the strategy as a member of the executive leadership team.
With a strong track record of initiating new growth opportunities within the Indian broadcast media, DTH and cable space, he established key strategic partnerships and managed subscription joint venture Mediapro as a board member. Das had led dynamic teams across functions including nurturing start-up businesses successfully to leadership positions, building consumer brand equity while creating shareholder value.
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment has got on board a subsidiary company that will handle the distribution of the entire Zee Network in the form of Taj Television India. It will distribute channels of both Zee Entertainment as well as Zee Media.
This apart, it will act as an agent for Turner International India channels as well. The latest addition and the start for Taj Television is the new general entertainment channel Zindagi.
Commenting on the development, Zee MD and CEO Punit Goenka said, “I am very pleased to announce that Taj Television, which earlier was distributing Ten Sports channels, will now distribute all the channels of Zee Entertainment and Zee Media Corporation, while also representing Turner channels as its authorized agent. I would like to thank all our DTH and Cable partners who have been part of our growth journey and look forward to their continued support to Taj Television.”
Arun Kumar Kapoor who was earlier CEO of MediaPro, Zee’s distribution JV with Star India, will be the CEO at Taj Television too. Rajesh Sethi will continue to be CEO for the sports broadcasting network of Zee which includes the Ten brand of channels.
Said Kapoor, “Zee has been the pioneer in Indian television and has the experience and leadership capability to shape the future of pay revenues in India. With Taj Television being created as the distribution entity for the network, we bring together the best of television channels to our customers. We are confident that the new channel Zindagi will really connect with the viewers and help grow Taj Television offering even stronger. We are committed to quality and achieving leadership through fair and transparent business practices.”
Taj Television president Atul Das commented, “With digitization having been completed in Phase I and Phase II cities in India, we now look forward to its implementation in rest of the country. Taj Television would aim to create a harmonious relationship within the ecosystem and create value for all stakeholders. With a leading portfolio of television channels, both in the national and regional space and with a powerful portfolio of sports programming, we are excited about the future of pay revenues in the country.”
Taj Television has a list of 47 channels. Taj Television distributes Zee’s well-known brands like Zee TV, Zee Cinema, &pictures, Ten Sports, Zee Cafe, Zee Studio, Zing and a powerful repertoire of regional language channels including Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada and Zee Tamizh, besides the HD channels like Zee TV HD, Zee Cinema HD, Zee Studio HD and Ten HD. Taj Television also distributes channels of Zee Media Corporation with two national and eight regional channels. Taj is also distributing channels in the kid’s space and English movie segment, including HBO, Cartoon Network, Pogo, CNN and Warner Brothers as an authorised agent of Turner International.
