ITV

Tag: Sunil Buch

  • Zindagi handpicks stories from across the world

    Zindagi handpicks stories from across the world

    MUMBAI: Zindagi launched with a promise of bringing the best stories from across the world to Indian television screens. This summer, fulfilling its brand promise of Bemisaal Kahaniyaan, the channel has launched stories that will charm our viewers with their realistic appeal, superlative character portrayals, captivating performances and their ability to satiate the sensibilities of the modern viewer. These dramas have struck an emotional chord with the audience and has provided its viewers with glimpses into the lives of people from across the world.  Zindagi has brought an all new line-up of good storytelling from India, Pakistan and Turkey. These masterpieces are a testament of Zindagi’s commitment to bring viewers good storytelling from across the world.

    Commenting on the new slate of shows,  Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) chief business officer Sunil Buch said, “At Zindagi, it has always been our endeavour to showcase unique and compelling content. We have evolved our proposition to Bemisaal Kahaniyaan with a view to bring unparalleled world-class content to its viewers in India. Showcasing stories that had universal themes is now taken ahead with some noteworthy shows that are a reflection of the channel’s brand promise. The overwhelming response from our viewers since our launch encourages us to stay ahead and continue to strive for excellence.”

    From Pakistan, covering a myriad of varying emotions; this month, Zindagi presents some beautifully penned dramas. Malika- e- Aliyathat premiered on 11th May at 9.40 PM, is a family thriller written by Nadia Akhtar and is the story about making one’s dreams come true. From veteran author, Umera Ahmad, comes the tragic romantic drama that airs at 8 PM, Mohabbat Subha Ka Sitara Hai. It is a modern day Cinderella story. Premiering on 23rd May at 8.50 PM is Ishqaway, a twisted tale of love, friends, envy and family pressure.

    From India, Zindagi will present three popular stories with a timeless appeal that premiere on 23rd. May. Kick-starting at 6.30 PM, the channel will present Antara, a heart-warming story of an autistic child. Airing at 7.00 PM is Babul ki Duaien, a show that explores a father’s anxiety and emotions on getting his daughters married and celebrates the beauty of a tender bond between a father and his daughters. Also premiering at 7.30 PM is Vrindavan Ki Radhika, the timeless love saga of soulmates Radhika and Dev. After the resounding success of the Turkish drama Feriha and on popular demand, the show is airing at an all new time-band of 5.30 PM from 12th May.

    Keep watching the line-up of Bemisaal Kahaniyaan that will surely keep audiences on the edge of their seats with its twists and turns and nail-biting performances by charismatic actors as Zindagi delights it’s viewers with good storytelling from across the world! 

  • Zindagi handpicks stories from across the world

    Zindagi handpicks stories from across the world

    MUMBAI: Zindagi launched with a promise of bringing the best stories from across the world to Indian television screens. This summer, fulfilling its brand promise of Bemisaal Kahaniyaan, the channel has launched stories that will charm our viewers with their realistic appeal, superlative character portrayals, captivating performances and their ability to satiate the sensibilities of the modern viewer. These dramas have struck an emotional chord with the audience and has provided its viewers with glimpses into the lives of people from across the world.  Zindagi has brought an all new line-up of good storytelling from India, Pakistan and Turkey. These masterpieces are a testament of Zindagi’s commitment to bring viewers good storytelling from across the world.

    Commenting on the new slate of shows,  Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) chief business officer Sunil Buch said, “At Zindagi, it has always been our endeavour to showcase unique and compelling content. We have evolved our proposition to Bemisaal Kahaniyaan with a view to bring unparalleled world-class content to its viewers in India. Showcasing stories that had universal themes is now taken ahead with some noteworthy shows that are a reflection of the channel’s brand promise. The overwhelming response from our viewers since our launch encourages us to stay ahead and continue to strive for excellence.”

    From Pakistan, covering a myriad of varying emotions; this month, Zindagi presents some beautifully penned dramas. Malika- e- Aliyathat premiered on 11th May at 9.40 PM, is a family thriller written by Nadia Akhtar and is the story about making one’s dreams come true. From veteran author, Umera Ahmad, comes the tragic romantic drama that airs at 8 PM, Mohabbat Subha Ka Sitara Hai. It is a modern day Cinderella story. Premiering on 23rd May at 8.50 PM is Ishqaway, a twisted tale of love, friends, envy and family pressure.

    From India, Zindagi will present three popular stories with a timeless appeal that premiere on 23rd. May. Kick-starting at 6.30 PM, the channel will present Antara, a heart-warming story of an autistic child. Airing at 7.00 PM is Babul ki Duaien, a show that explores a father’s anxiety and emotions on getting his daughters married and celebrates the beauty of a tender bond between a father and his daughters. Also premiering at 7.30 PM is Vrindavan Ki Radhika, the timeless love saga of soulmates Radhika and Dev. After the resounding success of the Turkish drama Feriha and on popular demand, the show is airing at an all new time-band of 5.30 PM from 12th May.

    Keep watching the line-up of Bemisaal Kahaniyaan that will surely keep audiences on the edge of their seats with its twists and turns and nail-biting performances by charismatic actors as Zindagi delights it’s viewers with good storytelling from across the world! 

  • Zee Cine Awards hops on to Zee Cinema & Zee Anmol; regional categories introduced

    Zee Cine Awards hops on to Zee Cinema & Zee Anmol; regional categories introduced

    MUMBAI: In its 16th year, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s (ZEEL) awards property – Zee Cine Awards 2016 has made several changes and introduced new elements.

    Zee Cine Awards 2016 will be held on 20 February in Mumbai and will be simulcast on 5 March across the Zee Network channels like Zee Cinema, Zee Cinema HD and its free-to-air channel Zee Anmol. Pertinent to note here is that previously, the awards were aired on the network’s flagship Hindi GEC Zee TV. However, this time round it has been put on its Hindi movie channel – Zee Cinema as well as its FTA channel Zee Anmol, which has been doing well on ratings front ever since the BARC rural inclusive data was released last year.

    “The reason why we shifted Zee Cine Awards from Zee TV to Zee Cinema is because initially it started from Zee Cinema itself. As it’s an award of cinema, it should belong to its home on Zee Cinema and now onwards we will be airing it on Zee Cinema,” ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka tells Indiantelevision.com.

    ZEEL chief business officer Sunil Buch added, “ZEEL comes alive in a synergistic way to deliver Zee Cine Awards 2016. Zee Music Company continues to be our music touch point in the fraternity. This year’s Zee Cine Awards has been conceptualised, created and produced by Zee Studios, our state-of-the-art film and TV production arm. And there is a goodness of fit to a film awards show being premiered on Zee Cinema rather than on a GEC. Zee Cinema with an average weekly base of 184 million viewers is higher than any other channel across Hindi Speaking Markets (Source: BARC-Urban + Rural India, Average of Week 41’15-Week 3’16, NCCS 4+). The simulcast of the awards on India’s leading FTA GEC channel, Zee Anmol also adds to its reach in rural India.”

    Moreover, for the first time ever, the awards, which until now lauded the best of Hindi cinema, will also award Marathi, Bangla, Telugu cinema this year. ZEEL will also showcase the regional awards content on its regional channels namely Zee Bangla, Zee Marathi and Zee Telugu.

    Goenka added, “Keeping the Zee’s ethos, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The World Is My Family, into consideration we have introduced a few new elements this year in Zee Cine Awards 2016. For the first time on the national award stage, regional content will be presented awards this year. Renowned personalities from Telugu, Marathi and Bengali cinema will perform on stage and that exclusive content will be telecast on Zee Bangla, Zee Marathi and Zee Telugu respectively, so that people can see the talent that regional cinema has.”

    Apart from that ZEEL has also introduced the Jury Awards this year, which will be adjudged by a panel comprising Rakesh Roshan, Resul Pookutty, Ravi K Chandran, Anurag Basu, Leena Yadav, Prasoon Joshi and Shantanu Moitra.

    The 15th edition of Zee Cine Awards was telecast on Zee TV in 2014 and a no show in 2015. Talking about the same, Goenka said, “We missed the awards last year because we were in the process of launching new brands from our network. However, we will ensure that it doesn’t happen in the future.” 

    To authenticate the voting mechanism of both, the Jury Awards and the Viewer’s Choice Awards, Zee has appointed the Ernst & Young.  

    This year the award ceremony will be hosted by Shahid Kapoor and Karan Johar.

  • Zee Cine Awards hops on to Zee Cinema & Zee Anmol; regional categories introduced

    Zee Cine Awards hops on to Zee Cinema & Zee Anmol; regional categories introduced

    MUMBAI: In its 16th year, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s (ZEEL) awards property – Zee Cine Awards 2016 has made several changes and introduced new elements.

    Zee Cine Awards 2016 will be held on 20 February in Mumbai and will be simulcast on 5 March across the Zee Network channels like Zee Cinema, Zee Cinema HD and its free-to-air channel Zee Anmol. Pertinent to note here is that previously, the awards were aired on the network’s flagship Hindi GEC Zee TV. However, this time round it has been put on its Hindi movie channel – Zee Cinema as well as its FTA channel Zee Anmol, which has been doing well on ratings front ever since the BARC rural inclusive data was released last year.

    “The reason why we shifted Zee Cine Awards from Zee TV to Zee Cinema is because initially it started from Zee Cinema itself. As it’s an award of cinema, it should belong to its home on Zee Cinema and now onwards we will be airing it on Zee Cinema,” ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka tells Indiantelevision.com.

    ZEEL chief business officer Sunil Buch added, “ZEEL comes alive in a synergistic way to deliver Zee Cine Awards 2016. Zee Music Company continues to be our music touch point in the fraternity. This year’s Zee Cine Awards has been conceptualised, created and produced by Zee Studios, our state-of-the-art film and TV production arm. And there is a goodness of fit to a film awards show being premiered on Zee Cinema rather than on a GEC. Zee Cinema with an average weekly base of 184 million viewers is higher than any other channel across Hindi Speaking Markets (Source: BARC-Urban + Rural India, Average of Week 41’15-Week 3’16, NCCS 4+). The simulcast of the awards on India’s leading FTA GEC channel, Zee Anmol also adds to its reach in rural India.”

    Moreover, for the first time ever, the awards, which until now lauded the best of Hindi cinema, will also award Marathi, Bangla, Telugu cinema this year. ZEEL will also showcase the regional awards content on its regional channels namely Zee Bangla, Zee Marathi and Zee Telugu.

    Goenka added, “Keeping the Zee’s ethos, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The World Is My Family, into consideration we have introduced a few new elements this year in Zee Cine Awards 2016. For the first time on the national award stage, regional content will be presented awards this year. Renowned personalities from Telugu, Marathi and Bengali cinema will perform on stage and that exclusive content will be telecast on Zee Bangla, Zee Marathi and Zee Telugu respectively, so that people can see the talent that regional cinema has.”

    Apart from that ZEEL has also introduced the Jury Awards this year, which will be adjudged by a panel comprising Rakesh Roshan, Resul Pookutty, Ravi K Chandran, Anurag Basu, Leena Yadav, Prasoon Joshi and Shantanu Moitra.

    The 15th edition of Zee Cine Awards was telecast on Zee TV in 2014 and a no show in 2015. Talking about the same, Goenka said, “We missed the awards last year because we were in the process of launching new brands from our network. However, we will ensure that it doesn’t happen in the future.” 

    To authenticate the voting mechanism of both, the Jury Awards and the Viewer’s Choice Awards, Zee has appointed the Ernst & Young.  

    This year the award ceremony will be hosted by Shahid Kapoor and Karan Johar.

  • Zindagi forays into original non-fiction programming with ‘Shukriya’

    Zindagi forays into original non-fiction programming with ‘Shukriya’

    MUMBAI: Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) from the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) stable, Zindagi has forayed into a new territory. The channel, which was launched in 2014 with shows from Pakistan, is now gearing up to launch its first original non-fiction show. Titled Shukriya, this reality show has been produced by Frames Production.

     

    This, according to the channel, is just the beginning, as it plans to launch a number of original shows in this quarter. Refusing to spell out the genre of the original shows in the pipeline, Zindagi and FTA cluster business head Priyanka Datta said, “The fact that we air finite shows gives us the opportunity to create more content and churn out more original programming.”

     

    The new show Shukriya, which premieres on Sunday, 9 August at 8 pm, is a 13 episode series, which is designed to urge people to pause life, reflect and acknowledge the good things life has given.

     

    “Given the format of the channel, it was clear that when we got onto creating original programming, it had to be something which built an emotional connect with the audience,” opined Zeel chief business officer Sunil Buch. 

     

    With original content in its programming mix now, the channel will however continue to air shows from Pakistan. “Pakistan has a legacy of great content and we have a huge library of shows from the country. Considering the cultural overlap, it was but natural for us to get shows from Pakistan when we launched with the theme of ‘Jodey Dilon Ko.’ We want to give our viewer varied content experience and so we decided to launch original content, this doesn’t mean we will discontinue those shows,” said Buch. 

     

    Shukriya, according to Datta, as a concept marries well with the brand philosophy of ‘Jodey Dilon Ko.’ 

     

    Anchored by Gunjan Utreja, this reality programme will give people a platform to exhibit their real emotions and in turn give those they want to thank a memory that will last a lifetime. The show will travel to several cities including Delhi, Mumbai and parts of North India. “All 13 episodes of the first season have been canned. We will come up with multiple seasons of Shukriya,” informed Datta. 

     

    Promotional strategy for Shukriya 

     

    The channel’s new concept has been backed by some unique promotional strategies. “Every communication highlights not just the real emotions, but also embodies the spirit of Shukriya,” said Datta.

     

    According to her, the real hero is the concept of the show. “We have ensured that this stands out in all the promotional activities, be it in print, radio, outdoor or digital. The aim is to create an element of surprise that will inspire people to do the same,” she added.

     

    Creative communication has been given a new age approach that drives interactivity. The identity of the campaign was centered around #Shukriya. Three short promos have been created and seeded across platforms like Facebook, Youtube and all digital platforms of Zindagi.

     

    “The first two videos have already created a social surround driving close to 7.9 lakh views and counting,” she informed.

     

    The channel has also associated itself with e-commerce player Snapdeal for a dedicated Shukriya Store on its website and app. “This initiative is in association with friendship day, where Zindagi and Snapdeal give netizens discounted offers to buy special Shukriya gifts for loved ones,” said Datta.

     

    Additionally, Zindagi in association with Big FM created unique Shukriya experience for their listeners where RJs were heard saying Shukriya to local unsung heroes across its 24 stations. 

     

    “We have taken this ahead on Zindagi by creating a special section called ‘Keh Do Shukriya’ wherein Gunjan and RJ Siddharth will narrate some real life stories that have reached to us through Big FM,” she said.

     

    With ordinary people being a part of the show, the channel will also visit close to 50 housing colonies in Delhi to celebrate Shukriya day with residents. 

     

    Multiplex viewers have also been targeted across more than 400 screens for three weeks with blockbusters like Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Drishyam and Mission Impossible 5.

     

    “This is alongside high impact print and TV campaigns including leveraging the platforms of our sister concern ZMCL to drive tune-ins in our key markets,” concluded Datta.

  • Zee launches HD League bouquet targeting affluentials

    Zee launches HD League bouquet targeting affluentials

    MUMBAI: The High Definition (HD) feed is clearly a value added proposition. With five popular HD channels under its umbrella namely – Zee TV HD, &Pics HD, Zee cinema HD, Zee Studio HD and Ten Sports HD – Zee has launched the network’s new brand identity- Zee HD League bouquet.

     

    The bouquet will have Hollywood and Bollywood blockbusters as well as sports action. It will also include HD content that will exclusively premiere on the bouquet and not on the SD feed.

     

    To begin with Zee TV HD will showcase the World television premiere of the critically acclaimed and award-winning movie The Lunchbox on 8 February. The move, according to a source, is to make the trade as well as the consumer segment aware of the HD offerings by the stable.

     

    Speaking on the launch, ZEEL chief business officer Sunil Buch said, “With close to 40 per cent increase in the sales of flat-panel TVs coupled with an aggressive push by DTH and digital cable players, HD channels continue to gain consumer traction. The bouquet is aimed at giving an enriched viewing experience to the affluential viewers.”

     

    Buch further said that the network will follow a two pronged approach for the same. Firstly, by adding width in terms of new HD channels and secondly by looking at HD exclusive offerings from each of the channels. The pricing will differ from platform to platform.

     

    When queried as to how he views the pattern for HD consumption in India, Sun Direct managing director Mahesh Kumar said, “Incrementally HD feed is becoming more and more attractive because an increasing number of subscribers consume HD. Not a game changer as yet, but we foresee in the next one or two years the HD consumption going up.”

     

    On the other hand, Dish TV chief operating officer Salil Kapoor finds the strategy beneficial for the feed as its overall consumption is picking up. “We have the highest number of HD channels – i.e 39 now and are happy with the focus turning to HD,” he added.

     

    A 360 degree marketing campaign across affluential touch-points such as airports and multiplexes along with special emphasis on digital is being rolled out to promote ZEEL’s new bouquet. ZEEL chief sales officer Ashish Sehgal informed that this was an opportunity for advertisers to sharply target the elusive affluent audience segment.

     

    “HD subscribers have a high skew towards the premium 25+, SEC AB in six metros and are growing at a whopping 50 per cent per annum. By adopting a network approach, we will further strengthen our monetisation strategy by offering advertisers a suite of advertising options across multiple genres,” he concludes. 

  • Sunil Buch joins Zeel as chief business officer

    Sunil Buch joins Zeel as chief business officer

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) has appointed Sunil Buch as its new chief business officer (CBO) to drive the business deliverables to the company.

     

    He joined the company on 3 November and will report to Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka. Buch will be responsible for effective and quick implementation of prioritised strategic initiatives across the organisation.

     

    Speaking on his appointment, Goenka said, “We are extremely happy to have Sunil join us as the chief business officer. As we work towards accomplishment of our Vision 2020 goals, we want to undertake enterprise-wide strategic initiatives that focus on not only enhancing business performance but also bring in operational excellence and efficiency across the network. We are confident that Sunil’s high degree of consumer connect, his creativity and communication skills coupled with his sharp business focus and ability to manage a wide spectrum will enable us to gain significant competitive advantage.”

     

    Commenting on his new venture, Buch said “I look forward to joining Zee at this exciting juncture. The path ahead is challenging yet filled with immense opportunity and I hope to contribute positively to this growth.”

     

    Sunil has over two decades of experience in functional and general management across various sectors including FMCG, advertising, media and entertainment and telecom retail. Prior to joining Zee, he was the business head – Reliance Own Retail at Reliance Communications. He has also worked at Colgate – Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson, Leo Burnett and Marico.