ITV

Tag: Zee UK

  • Zee UK blazes ahead with bold bets, beats rivals at their own game

    Zee UK blazes ahead with bold bets, beats rivals at their own game

    LONDON: Zee Entertainment UK isn’t just keeping up with the times—it’s running laps around its rivals. While other broadcasters are stuck in planning mode, Zee is executing at full throttle across platforms, markets and formats, setting a relentless pace for innovation in south Asian media.

    Zee Cinema has been clocking consistently high monthly reach in the UK, overtaking legacy players like Star Utsav. But resting on its laurels? 

    It’s not Zee’s style. 

    “Success is not a destination, it is a catalyst for the next leap forward,” said Zee TV territory head for the UK and Europe Parul Goel. His team is reshaping the game, not just playing it.

    Zee’s forward thinking approach has made it a model for others globally. From launching Zee One in Germany to pioneering Fast channels in France and the UK, Zee is rolling out initiatives that others are still workshopping. It was first to bring an Indian GEC—&TV—to the Fast ecosystem, and the first to dub Indian content in German, with Shah Rukh Khan himself launching it.

    It’s also made bolder plays outside the box: launching Europe’s first-ever cricket Fast pop-up channel with live ILT20 season 3 coverage, pulling off a multi-platform crossover of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and Rewind: Queens of the 90s at Wembley Arena, and rolling out contextual advertising in the UK to boost engagement and brand ROI.
    With a 30-year head start, Zee’s legacy is already studded with milestones—like the UK’s first South Asian film awards in 2005 (ZCA), exclusive stage productions like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge at Manchester Opera House, and a track record of being the first sponsor behind major Bollywood concerts.

    Now it’s breaking new ground in streaming. Z5 has introduced the first-ever south Asian SVoD tier with ads in the UK and Europe, aggressively priced for reach. Behind the scenes, AI-led content workflows for Fast have helped Zee cut costs while maintaining its hallmark production quality.

    Even industry peers, in marking Zee’s 30th anniversary, have admitted there’s simply no one better at pushing boundaries. 

    As Goel puts it: “Zee has always been a network of firsts not just in India, but across global markets. While others prepare, we deliver. We’re not just adapting to change, we are leading it.” These words echo through every bold step the network takes.

    As the media landscape continues to evolve, Zee UK remains committed to doing what it has always done best: leading with purpose, innovating with conviction, and delivering with consistency.

    With strategy in its veins and speed as its weapon, Zee UK isn’t just a player in the south Asian broadcasting space. It’s writing the future.

  • Zee UPUK reaches 34 mn individuals, becomes the most viewed channel

    Zee UPUK reaches 34 mn individuals, becomes the most viewed channel

    Mumbai: Zee Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand (Zee UPUK) has surpassed all competitors in the region. Currently, it reaches to 34 million individuals and it is the most viewed channel in the state for 31 weeks , according to the latest BARC data released recently. 

    The data stated that Zee UPUK tops the list with a market share of 55 per cent, overtaking its competitor ABP Ganga, which has a 10 per cent market share. The data also shows competitors-News State & News 18, have seen a fall in viewership with just 17 per cent and 10 per cent market share, respectively.

    Zee UPUK covers a wide range of topics, including politics, crime, the city, and entertainment. Some of the popular flagship shows of the channels that have helped the channel gain its dominance across time bands are UP Maange Uttar, Jan Man, Khabar Garda Hai, 4 Ki Chausar, and Jagte Raho.

    Since Zee UPUK garners millions of viewers, it has also become the top choice for advertising and marketing.

    In the past 13 weeks, the BARC report established that the channel also leads in ATS with a reach of 15 million individuals per month in the region. The channel has cemented its leadership in both urban and rural market strata in all time bands too.

    Commenting on this big win, Zee Media’s chief business officer Abhay Ojha said, “We are ecstatic to be the No. 1 channel in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and I am thankful for the trust our audiences have shown in us. We have focused on catering to all the needs of our viewers and are committed to becoming the one-stop-most-trusted regional Hindi news channel. The BARC ratings are testimony to this, which fuels our ambitions, and we hope to continue with the same momentum.”

  • Zeel to launch &TV in UK on 6 April

    Zeel to launch &TV in UK on 6 April

    MUMBAI: &TV, which launched in India and the Middle East on 2 March, 2015, is now set for its UK launch. The new general entertainment channel (GEC) from the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) stable under the ‘&’ franchise will go live in the UK on 6 April at 7 pm.

     

    The channel will be launched on the eve of the 20th anniversary of Zee UK.

     

    Zeel plans to expand &TV’s presence to every country where it has its footprints, subject to licence clearances.

     

    Meanwhile, in India, &TV which, opened up with 90.6 GVMs, has only gone up in the ratings chart, in its second week, recording 105 GVMs. 

     

    The channel, with the philosophy ‘Jashn Jeene Ka’ (celebrating the spirit of life), stands for binding people, ideologies and philosophies and aims to mirror the thinking and values of an evolved, ‘new age’ India.

     

    &TV currently airs a total of 22.5 hours of original programming throughout the week.

     

    Be it &TV’s flagship show hosted by Shah Rukh Khan, India Poochega – Sabse Shaana Kaun? or the strong fiction line up with shows like Razia Sultan, Bhaghyalakshmi, Gangaa, Begusarai, Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai!, and the weekend offerings with Killer Karaoke and Tujhse Naaraaz Nahi Zindagi; the programming seems to have piqued the curiosity of audiences enough to tune in and spend time on the channel’s fare. 

  • “The appeal for Indian content amongst Britasians in the UK is strong”: Business Head – FTA channels, mainstream sales head at Zee Network UK Archana Kanade

    “The appeal for Indian content amongst Britasians in the UK is strong”: Business Head – FTA channels, mainstream sales head at Zee Network UK Archana Kanade

    Archana Kanade is the young and dynamic head of free to air channels business of Zee UK. Her job: increase the cachet that the two channels she heads – Zing and Lamhe – have with Britasians in the UK. In addition, she has the added responsibility of looking after mainstream advertising sales for the network.

    Under her leadership, Zing has become the most watched Asian lifestyle channel in the UK. She has also been responsible for the launch of ‘Cloud 9‘ – the UK’s first Asian drama shot locally.

    Kanade’s background is from mainstream sales, wherein she pushed Zee TV’s shows and film catalogue to global clients. This apart she has had a three year stint in Mumbai with Applause Entertainment, a former Birla group company, involved in production of TV shows and films.

    She recently spearheaded the luanch of Lamhe in the UK, giving it a snazzy look and feel. Indiantelevision.com spoke to her to get her perspective on the potential for Lamhe and Zing in the UK in a short bite interview.

    Excerpts:

    How large is the market for Indian content in the UK? How big is the TV advertising market in the UK?

    South Asians are the largest ethnic group in the UK, with a population close to three million. The appeal for Indian content amongst this group is strong with a large number of channels catering to them. Zee is the largest and fastest growing network catering to this group and aims to distinguish its offerings and provide the best in the genre for them. The advertising expenditure of the UK market is close to US $7.5 billion.

    How many viewers do you currently cater to? How many of those belong to the South Asian and Indian community?

    Zee’s two free-to-air channels are available across the major platforms – Sky on DTH and Virgin Media on cable as well as on the mobile TV service Yamgo. Zee offers premium South Asian content to the South Asian community. Its shows and movies offer English subtitles, making it accessible to the UK’s mainstream communities too. The appeal of the Indian culture and especially Bollywood is widespread across ethnic boundaries, which extends the reach of Zee’s content.

    Furthermore, many of Zing’s shows are in English and the channel aims to be a platform targeted to the second and third generation British Asians in the UK. It is showcasingCloud 9, which represents a milestone in Asian entertainment as it is the very first daily soap-series to be produced in the UK, specifically catering to the UK Asian audiences. This soap highlights the British Asian lifestyle, drawing on themes relevant to their way of life. In a never-before-seen method, the soap showcases the British Asian community in its true form, taking away stereotype perceptions regarding the UK‘s largest ethnic group – the South Asians.

    How many viewers are you catering to currently?
    The channel is available to DTH provider Sky’s subscriber base of almost 11 million, as well as on the cable service Virgin Media’s M+ Pack.

    Lamhe gives viewers the opportunity to view some of the most popular and award-winning shows in the history of South-Asian entertainment

    How are you promoting Zee Lamhe in the UK?

    The promotional plan of the new channel is designed to target the UK’s South Asian audiences through a complete 360 degree marketing plan across outdoor, print, TV, radio and the digital space. The mediums have been carefully selected to target the key pockets of the South Asian population spread in the UK to reach the almost three million strong South Asian community.

    Since both Lamhe as well as Zing are free to air channels are you planning to take them pay anytime soon?

    Zee operates along two models – its pay products and free-to-air offerings – both with distinct offerings. The premium pay products are Zee TV, Zee Cinema and Zee Punjabi. Lamhe offers a free to air window into the GEC space; it is a platform to celebrate the best in the genre of South-Asian dramas and Bollywood Classics. Zing is the UK’s number 1 Asian Lifestyle channel, delivering the best variety of the glamour of Bollywood – music, movies and news. Both channels offer content not accessible on other channels in the UK, which is why we want maximum viewers to enjoy it for free, with no current plan on making the channels subscription based.

    With the current line-up of shows that you have to offer, are you also looking at including more shows and if so, which ones?

    Lamhe gives viewers the opportunity to view some of the most popular and award-winning shows in the history of South-Asian entertainment, including classics such as:

    • Astitva – a popular series, winning many awards in 2005, focusing on the strength and courage of women’s identity.
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    • Amanat – one of the most popular Hindi television shows of its time that received the highest television ratings among many of 2000’s Hindi language shows in India.
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    • Hasratein – one of the most popular television shows of the 1990s, looking at the bold topic of extra-marital relationships.
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    • Kasamh Se – among the top shows in India in 2008, featuring the trials and tribulations of three sisters.

    The channel will also highlight the magnanimity of Bollywood with classic movies, featuring the best of evergreen stars such as Rishi Kapoor, Dev Anand, Kishore Kumar, plus a Raj Kapoor special season at the weekends. We are delighted to already receive great enthusiasm towards this content, with many requests for other classics that people are eager to watch again. We will be monitoring this in line with the remit of presenting the best of South Asian entertainment.

    We will be monitoring the feedback, researching and accordingly selecting the content that would connect with the audiences for Lamhe

    Since Zing is targeted at the youth and Lamhe is bringing back memories from the times passed, which is the target audience group that you are looking at?

    Lamhe is targeted at an audience that will enjoy the best in the genre of dramas and classic movies. Its content is relevant to both younger and older viewers due to the nature of the topics explored by the selected shows and also the treatment of the programming. The selected shows portray topics that were ahead of their times when they were first aired. They focus on strong storylines and their edit patterns mean they are more real to life, compared to many of today’s shows, which holds for an appeal to an international audience.

    Lamhe also endeavours to bring back memories of the time when Zee TV was the only Asian channel in the UK enthralling viewers and Zee was their home away from home. With Lamhe, we want to gift our viewers an opportunity to experience those beautiful memories once again.

    What kind of content would you like to showcase in the coming months? Any movie rights acquisition going forward?

    Lamhe’s content will be driven by what the viewers want to watch. We will be monitoring the feedback, researching and accordingly selecting the content that would connect with the audiences.