Tag: Zee Tamil

  • Zee Tamil to produce Season 3 and 4 of DNA in India

    Zee Tamil to produce Season 3 and 4 of DNA in India

    MUMBAI: Zee Tamil, a general entertainment channel of the Zeel group has bought the format DNA to India for the third time in a row. The Singapore based content distribution and production agency Bomanbridge Media announced the renewal deal with Zee Tamil, for seasons 3 and 4 of the hit family game show format.  Renewal of Season 2 was announced in the January of this year. 

    Zee Tamil will produce another 26 episodes each for season 3 and season 4 of the show. This simple and fun game show divides parents on one side and children of any age on the other side of the studio.  The contestant stands in the middle and has to play the game of matching the parents and children together through entertaining and unexpected challenges. Every day, a prize is awarded to the person who manages to identify all the pairs.

    This show has been produced in Spain, Italy, India and Indonesia. DNA. is currently one of the top-rated game shows on TV across Tamil Nadu in India. 

     “Bomanbridge is thrilled to announce yet another renewal of this great family format, demonstrating that India is happy to take the DNA challenge. The success of the show proves that great formats can enjoy longevity while helping foster family togetherness,” said Bomanbridge Media CEO Sonia Fleck. “Bomanbridge continues to distribute great formats around the region that earn our partners faithful audiences,” she added. 

     “Zee Tamil knows how to produce great programs and we are pleased that DNA will continue to be on their schedule for some time. This unique show gets the entire family involved while having a great time,” said  Bomanbridge director of Sales and Business Development, South Asia Arpit Agarwal. 

  • Zee Digital launches AVOD platform OZEE

    Zee Digital launches AVOD platform OZEE

    MUMBAI: Zee Digital Convergence Limited (ZDCL), the digital arm of media & entertainment conglomerate Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has launched a new video on demand platform called OZEE. 

    The platform will follow the AVOD (advertiser based video on demand) model. Pertinent to note here is that Zee already has an over the top (OTT) platform in DittoTV.

    The new platform OZEE will celebrate life at the consumers’ own pace and will offer entertainment in a manner that resonates with the vision of ZEEL’s corporate philosophy – Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The World is My Family.

    The app highlights enhanced user experience, tempting first time exploration followed by loyal viewing on personal gadget. An official statement said, “The name hence inspired by the ‘O’ symbolising the circle that encompasses our universe and the entertainment we seek in it – the world of Zee.”

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited MD and CEO Puneet Goenka said, “In India, entertainment is life. The fact that today people are finding it easy to cut away from appointment viewing and are able to watch their chosen entertainment anytime and anywhere, has only driven consumer expectations higher. The video on demand platform has become the need of the hour and we are excited to bring to our viewers this whole new level of entertainment. OZEE will offer a user friendly platform and the comfort of watching your favourite ZEE show/movie at your convenience. Living in the ‘instant’ era, OZEE will make content available within minutes of its television telecast. With this offering, we hope to conquer the hearts of our viewers as much as we have been doing with our other products.”

    Zee Digital Convergence Limited CEO Debashish Ghosh added, “We believe that OZEE will define the future consumption benchmarks of Entertainment Content from ZEEL and deliver an effortless and pleasurable experience to all viewers of On Demand content on OZEE – irrespective of location, age group, SEC and comfort with technology platforms. While OZEE will deliver the best entertainment content from ZEE – which viewers have loved over decades – it is also designed to make the viewing experience truly unique and trouble free. We hope the world will love what OZEE has to offer”. 

    OZEE will launch with the following shows across each channel:

    The platform will also showcase exclusive content, be it award shows, movie premieres or concerts; anything and everything to do with entertainment.

  • Zee Digital launches AVOD platform OZEE

    Zee Digital launches AVOD platform OZEE

    MUMBAI: Zee Digital Convergence Limited (ZDCL), the digital arm of media & entertainment conglomerate Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has launched a new video on demand platform called OZEE. 

    The platform will follow the AVOD (advertiser based video on demand) model. Pertinent to note here is that Zee already has an over the top (OTT) platform in DittoTV.

    The new platform OZEE will celebrate life at the consumers’ own pace and will offer entertainment in a manner that resonates with the vision of ZEEL’s corporate philosophy – Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The World is My Family.

    The app highlights enhanced user experience, tempting first time exploration followed by loyal viewing on personal gadget. An official statement said, “The name hence inspired by the ‘O’ symbolising the circle that encompasses our universe and the entertainment we seek in it – the world of Zee.”

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited MD and CEO Puneet Goenka said, “In India, entertainment is life. The fact that today people are finding it easy to cut away from appointment viewing and are able to watch their chosen entertainment anytime and anywhere, has only driven consumer expectations higher. The video on demand platform has become the need of the hour and we are excited to bring to our viewers this whole new level of entertainment. OZEE will offer a user friendly platform and the comfort of watching your favourite ZEE show/movie at your convenience. Living in the ‘instant’ era, OZEE will make content available within minutes of its television telecast. With this offering, we hope to conquer the hearts of our viewers as much as we have been doing with our other products.”

    Zee Digital Convergence Limited CEO Debashish Ghosh added, “We believe that OZEE will define the future consumption benchmarks of Entertainment Content from ZEEL and deliver an effortless and pleasurable experience to all viewers of On Demand content on OZEE – irrespective of location, age group, SEC and comfort with technology platforms. While OZEE will deliver the best entertainment content from ZEE – which viewers have loved over decades – it is also designed to make the viewing experience truly unique and trouble free. We hope the world will love what OZEE has to offer”. 

    OZEE will launch with the following shows across each channel:

    The platform will also showcase exclusive content, be it award shows, movie premieres or concerts; anything and everything to do with entertainment.

  • Siju Prabhakaran to head the Zee Tamil business

    Siju Prabhakaran to head the Zee Tamil business

    MUMBAI: Zee Kannada business head Siju Prabhakaran, will now take over as the business head – Zee Tamil. He replaces N S Easwaran who has decided to move out of ZEE.

     

    Prabhakaran has been with ZEE for over 15 years now and has experience in sales as well. He will report to ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka.

     

    Elaborating on his new role Prabhakaran said, “Tamil Nadu is a market with huge potential. This is one market where television viewing is a habit that is quite difficult to break. I’m looking forward to bringing the necessary changes to this habit that will benefit Zee Tamil and help us grow in leaps and bounds.”

  • Zee Tamil to launch new show ‘Mella Thiranthathu Kadhavu’ from 2 November

    Zee Tamil to launch new show ‘Mella Thiranthathu Kadhavu’ from 2 November

    MUMBAI: Zee Tamil is all set to offer its viewers a new serial called Mella Thiranthathu Kadhavu from 2 November. The show will be aired from Monday – Friday at 8 pm.

     

    Mella Thiranthathu Kadhavu is an endearing love story with a difference, which takes viewers to the bright, cheerful and colourful world of the visually impaired people – very self-sufficient and independent, who go about their everyday life, just as any of us would do. The serial, with its natural treatment of storyline makes the key characters in serial look real and in turn, promises to arouse the empathy of the viewer and get them totally engrossed.

     

    Mella Thiranthathu Kadhavu is a heart-warming love story between two visually challenged individuals Santhosh and Selvi. Santhosh is the son of a multi-millionaire, who in a fatal accident not only loses his parents but also his eyesight. He then joins an institute for the visually impaired, where he bumps into Selvi, a simple, charming middle class visually impaired girl. Their affection for each grows and at one point in time they are so blinded by their love for each other that they are unaware of how fate is conspiring against them. Forces are at work to separate the two of them and break their love for each other.

  • Zee Tamil acquires ‘DNA’ format rights from Bomanbridge Media

    Zee Tamil acquires ‘DNA’ format rights from Bomanbridge Media

    MUMBAI: In a first for the channel, Zee Tamil has licensed the format of a show called DNA from the Singapore-based distribution and production agency, Bomanbridge Media.

     

    The channel will produce 26 episodes of the show in Tamil. The format has previously been produced in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Indonesia.

     

    Additionally, Bomanbridge Media has also inked a format deal with Vietnam’s Lasta Multimedia, which has licensed Beauty Academy created by A2G Creations. The format of Beauty Academy was previously sold in China on Dragon TV, and in Brazil on Globo TV.

     

    “The ultimate test for an international TV format is in its ability to travel to distant lands, take on local flavours without losing its fundamental characteristics. We’re delighted that TV networks in South Asia are increasingly looking to us to bring them these winning formulas for non-fiction programming,” said Bomanbridge South Asia office head Arpit Agarwal.

     

    “Bomanbridge Media has licensed other successful formats in the region such as NHK’s Dr. What and Miss Country Girl to China and are pleased to add the popular formats, Beauty Academy and DNA to the list. We look forward to working closely with Zee and Lasta Multimedia to help them create winning versions of these shows,” said Bomanbridge Media CEO Sonia Fleck.

     

    “We bring hot formats to the region, as Asian broadcasters continue to have an appetite for the genre,” Fleck added.

  • Zee Tamil to launch new weekend comedy show

    Zee Tamil to launch new weekend comedy show

    MUMBAI: Zee Tamil is all set to launch a new comedy show during the weekends.

     

    Titled Varuthapadaatha Vaalibar Sangam, it will be a hilarious and witty slapstick show and will air from 23 May and will be telecast every Saturday and Sunday at 7 pm.

     

    The show will have four predominant movie comedians Kovai Sarala, Urvashi, Mano Bala and Ramesh Khanna. The competitors team-up and the most talented team will win eventually.

     

    Through this new show, Zee Tamil hunts for talented, skillful and competent people across Tamil Nadu.

  • Zee Tamil dons fresh look; lines up new content offering

    Zee Tamil dons fresh look; lines up new content offering

    MUMBAI: Zee Tamil is all set to don a fresh look and feel with its new packaging, which is aligned with its new content offering.

     

    The channel’s refreshed logo reflects the colour of Manjal (turmeric) and Kunkumam (kum kum), the two most auspicious colours and symbols in Tamil Nadu. The channel has positioned itself as people’s favourite channel with the new positioning statement “Ithu Namma Channel” (It is Our Channel).

     

    At the content level, new programmes include entertaining game shows, serials as well as reality and star-studded shows. The channel has recently launched two new serials namely Lakshmi Vanthachu and Annakodiyum Ainthu Pengalum in tune with the new positioning.

     

    The new upcoming serials will have differential and aspirational storylines appealing to the entire family. A new format game show Genes, is slated to launch in April. This will be the first of its kind show in Tamil GECs where celebrities play the game along with their relations. The show will be anchored by Suma, the most popular anchor in Telugu television, who is making her foray into Tamil Nadu market through this show.

     

    Tamil Nadu being a film market, movies play a key role in contributing to the overall television viewership. Zee Tamil has also expanded its movie library with the acquisition of blockbusters like Vikram Prabhu’s Vellaikara Durai, Kamal Haasan’s Uthama Villain, critically acclaimed Kayal and Sidharth’s Enakul Oruvan.

     

    Elaborating on the need for the new look, Zee Tamil business head Easwaran said, “Understanding the pulse of Tamil Nadu has been the strength of Zee Tamil. Every few years, a new set of audience come into television. The challenge lies in embracing the new audience into the existing one. The aim is to capture the hearts and minds of Tamil Nadu in its entirety and to make Zee Tamil the most watched general entertainment channel in Tamil Nadu.”

  • Godrej moves beyond TVC with soaps integration

    Godrej moves beyond TVC with soaps integration

    MUMBAI: The 30-sec ad has served all of us well and still continues to do so. Today, content is king, and broadcasters are trying newer ways of communication to reach consumers.

     

    One such means is brands’ integration with broadcasters on TV shows. A case in point is the Tata Safari tie up with Colors’ for 24. With the fast changing consumer behaviors, attitudes, lifestyles and beliefs, brands along with broadcasters have realised that integration with the popular shows will help build recall value.

     

    Recently Madison Media Ultra team partnered with national and regional broadcasters on their prime time serials and scripted Godrej product story with ongoing story line of episode. It executed this ‘epistory’ concept where they got lead characters of the show advocating the simplicity and joy of owning and using Godrej products in their day to day life.

     

    Prime time serials, which represent the metro forward audiences, were chosen (like Mere Rang Mein Rangne Wali on Life OK, Uyirmei on Zee Tamil, Parvati Parameshwara on Zee Kannada and Raage Anuraage on Zee Bangla) for the eight brand integrations in a single episode.

     

    The eight products were – U-sonic Washing Machine, Godrej Interio Video-door phone, Godrej Interio Kreation Wardrobe, Electronic hydraulic Karbon Bed, Good Knight Fast Card, Yummiez – Mumbai Vada, Godrej Expert rich cr?me hair colour and Godrej Properties.

     

    Godrej Group head – strategic marketing Shireesh Joshi said, “There are two core objectives behind the brand integration. One, it wants people to recognise that Godrej has the most comprehensive range of modern products that takes into account their lifestyle needs. For that we need to ensure that multiple Godrej examples get shown on television.”

     

    Secondly, it wants to drive the revenue traffic to the individual products themselves. “Having an opportunity to tell what the product is about and what it does, it helps both the attraction and the revenue for the individual products,” asserts Joshi.

     

    The campaign revolves around a young modern couple who discover a new idea from Godrej. In this eight series film campaign, Godrej products were interwoven in an episodic way showcasing a slew of innovative products, through the continued story of Sam and Meera, who made their debut in Godrej Masterbrand campaign last year.

     

    Joshi feels that there is an advantage in integrating with TV shows, as it allows them to showcase unlimited products, where a quick 30 sec TVC demands only one or two. Further it also helps the brand to explain the products in a far more detailed manner and also helps them to move beyond a 30 sec TVC. “Because it is embedded in the story and coming from characters that audiences are watching, it also acts as an endorsement.”

     

    So how does it work? Firstly, the brand identifies the channel. Looking at that as a starting point, it tries to identify which program makes sense based on the kind of communication that the brand wants to convey to the audiences. It took between 8-12 weeks right from ideation to scripting and lastly shooting.

     

    On the marketing front, customized promos from the integration episode were created and promoted separately on-air on the respective channels to drive maximum tune-ins for the integration episode. An additional watch and win promo was also created for brand contest to drive maximum call on Godrej Free G number where viewers could participate and answer questions and win prizes.

     

  • Zee News sees improvement in profits in FY 2013 financials

    MUMBAI: By the time Zee News Ltd announces its financials this time next year, it could well be sporting a new name Zee Media Corp. It could well also have merged its news broadcasting business with Essel group publication DNA as proposed by its board (see Zee News-DNA: merger on the cards?). Additionally, it could well also have news and infotainment channels in Rajasthan and Bihar/Jharkhand on air (it plans to launch them in the first half this year) adding to the roster it already runs in Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi, Zee News UP, Zee Tamil, Zee 24 Gantalu, and 24 Ghanta.

    That could well be good news for any Zee News watcher. But what is better news is the fact that the company has achieved a turnaround of sorts by reporting a profit in Q4-2013 of Rs 6.87 crore. That‘s despite a drop in ad and overall revenues in the quarter. Subscription revenues have, however, been buoyant in the period.

    Let us look at the Q4-2013 results as against corresponding Q4-2012

    Revenues for Q4-2013 stand at Rs 79.06 crore, a dip of 8.43 per cent from last Q4- 2012‘s Rs 86.34 crore. Of this, subscription revenues have increased to Rs 22.2 crore as against last quarter‘s reported Rs 20.8 crore. Ad revenues have declined to Rs 52.2 crore from Rs 56.3 crore.

    Operating costs have significantly dropped to Rs 14.15 crore as against last corresponding quarter‘s Rs 21.39 crore. However the overall expenses have surged to Rs 78.05 crore, a rise of over 9.6 per cent from Rs 71.02 crore of the last corresponding quarter especially with its employee benefit expenses rising to Rs 23.2 crore (a rise of 22 per cent annually).

    EBITDA for the quarter was disappointing at Rs 4.68 crore as against Rs 18.4 crore reported in the last corresponding period, a dive of over 74 per cent.

    PAT for the quarter (Q4-2013) at Rs 6.87 crore is a massive surge of 300 per cent from a reported loss of Rs 3.95 crore in the last corresponding quarter- Q4-2012..

    Let us look at the consolidated annual FY-2013 financials vs FY-2012

    While total revenues have slipped to Rs 303.81 crore in FY-2013 as against FY-2012‘s Rs 307.22 crore, subscription revenues for the full year have surged by over 13.5 per cent to Rs 84.27 crore as opposed to last year‘s Rs 74.27 crore. Subscription revenues contributed to 27.7 per cent of the total revenues indicating stronger viewer demand for the channels, while ad revenues standing at Rs 202 crore contributed a majority to the total revenue stream.
    Expenses have risen 5 per cent to Rs 278.23 crore from last year‘s Rs 265 crore, with its employee benefit expenses at Rs 87.7 crore increasing by over 17.4 per cent. EBITDA for the full year is reported at Rs 37.54 crore a drop of over 29.6 per cent from last year‘s 53.35 crore.

    Net profit for FY-2013 has ballooned 109 per cent to Rs 24.17 crore as against FY-2012‘s Rs 11.55 crore. The major reason for this surge is the pouring in of funds through sources apart from its core operations including the Rs 4.8 crore dividends it received from its subsidiary Zee Akash News Pvt. Ltd. Its interest cost has narrowed to Rs 8.79 crore as against last year‘s reported Rs 10.66 crore. Also the taxation costs have reduced by 3 per cent over the year.

    Its online property Zeenews.com has been doing well and gaining traction. Even its microsite for the India Vs Australia series generated close to 2.9 million page views while its Union budget site knocked up 1.3 million page views.

    Says Zee News managing director Punit Goenka,” Our subscription revenues have shown a double digit increase and have partially compensated for the revenue constraints from a tepid advertising response in the backdrop of a muted period of growth. Out constant endeavour to bring innovative, quality and unbiased content to the viewer will remain the cornerstone of our programming. We aspire to be the one-stop destination for news in the country by building seamless synergy among the group‘s TV, print and digital platforms. Our company is redefining itself in tune with the changing times, laying emphasis on the digital medium and addressing broader viewer tastes.”

    Adds Zee News CEO Alok Agrawal,” The Zee bouquet of news channels reached the highest number of people across the country touching over a 100 million viewers the last quarter of the fiscal. The network also had the highest relative share in the same period. It is a testimony to the fact that our viewer oriented and innovative programming has shown results. Our differentiated offering to business news viewers has resulted in Zee Business being a leader in five out of 13 weeks of the quarter. Also we are seeing a significant swing of viewers from English business news to Hindi business news. In the last quarter we expanded our footprint by establishing our presence in burgeoning central Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with the launch of news and infotainment channel-Zee Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh.”