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Tag: Zee5

  • ZEE5 Global sees 46 per cent surge in original content watch time in US

    ZEE5 Global sees 46 per cent surge in original content watch time in US

    Mumbai: ZEE5 Global, the world’s largest streaming platform for South Asian content, has registered significant growth in engagement and viewership in the United States, driven by strong original content launches in the market. The platform has reported an impressive 46 per cent increase in watch time for original content over the last year and a 40 per cent jump in viewer growth across original movies and web series. The business also recently reported a 35 per cent YoY increase in viewership over the year in the market.

    This surge in audience engagement underscores the appeal of ZEE5 Global’s exclusive content offerings across multiple languages. After Hindi, the top two languages that grabbed eyeballs within original content were Telugu and Tamil. Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai and Maya Bazaar – For Sale respectively emerged as the most-watch movies and series in the last year, closely followed by widely consumed titles like Tarla, Pitchers, The Kashmir Files: Unreported, Aha Naa Pellanta, Mrs. Undercover, Lost, Vyavastha, United Kachche, Duranga, Rangbaaz: Darr Ki Rajneeti, and Ayali among others.

    Interestingly the platform has also seen a huge response for its Bangla originals in the US in 2023. Recently released thriller drama Abar Proloy not only became the most-watched Bengali Original in 2023 but also witnessed a 25 per cent jump in consumption post its first week of release.

    ZEE5 Global chief business officer Archana Anand said, ” We’re constantly looking to bring our viewers stories that highlight the best of South Asia, stories that not only entertain but also spark meaningful conversations and drive positive change. From Docu-series and biopics to thrillers and titles with strong social and cultural messages, we have been innovating to enhance our Original content library with newer formats and themes across languages. We’re thrilled to see how well this content is resonating across the linguistically diverse diaspora in the U.S.”

    Viewers can catch ZEE5 Global’s upcoming original movie Haddi and more, and stock up on their yearlong entertainment by availing of the limited period Annual pack offer.

  • Watcho’s OTT hits two million premium subscribers in ten months

    Watcho’s OTT hits two million premium subscribers in ten months

    Mumbai: Dish TV’s OTT aggregation platform ‘Watcho- OTT super app’ today announced that its one-stop OTT entertainment solution has achieved a significant milestone of two million premium paid subscribers and a total of 80 million plus users within just ten months of its launch in 2022. The unique service offers bundled packages of the most popular OTT platforms all in one place, providing the subscribers with a comprehensive range of digital content libraries while enabling them the convenience of a single subscription.

    The service offered by Watcho enables viewers to access content from over 17 popular OTT destinations, including Watcho, Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, Sony LIV, Lionsgate Play, Hungama Play, HoiChoi, Klikk, EpicOn, Chaupal, Oho Gujarati, Manorama Max, FanCode, Raj TV, Tarang Plus and ShortsTV, through a single login and subscription model. Additionally, the OTT Super App provides access to Watcho’s massive library of original content including 40+ enthralling web series, Swag (UGC content), snackable shows, and live TV from Watcho exclusives.

    The success of the aggregation app can be attributed to its focus on delivering high-quality content to its users. The exciting line-up of shows from different platforms spans various genres —romance, corporate conspiracies, family drama, fantasy, adventure, and sci-fi amongst others.

    Dish TV India Ltd CEO Manoj Dobhal said, “We are delighted to announce that we have crossed the 2 million premium paid subscribers’ milestone for our Watcho OTT aggregation service, in just 10 months. This achievement is a testimony to our dedication to providing the largest spread of OTT content in a seamless user-friendly experience on our platform. Dish TV has been the pioneer in defining the way entertainment is consumed, carrying on the same legacy we remain committed to innovating and bringing new and exciting platforms to our ‘Watcho- OTT Super App’. We are confident that our efforts to deliver exciting entertainment content along with the best user experience will set a new benchmark in the industry. As we expand our content offerings and explore new opportunities, we thank our subscribers for their continued trust and support.”

    DishTV & Watcho corporate head – marketing  Sukhpreet Singh said, “We are elated to announce that our OTT aggregation platform has achieved the milestone of 2 million premium paid subscribers in a short span of time. This achievement is a significant step towards our goal of making Watcho the go-to destination for entertainment enthusiasts. We are dedicated to providing a comprehensive range of content that caters to the diverse interests of our subscribers. As we continue to expand our content offerings and explore new partnerships, we are committed to offering our users an unparalleled entertainment experience. We thank our subscribers for their support and look forward to adding more OTT partners to our platform in the near future.”

    Watcho also has a unique platform for user-generated content called Swag where people may create their own content and discover their potential. In Hindi, Kannada, and Telugu, Watcho now provides more than 35 original series, 300 exclusive plays, and over 100 live channels. 

  • DP World ILT20 Season 2 to air LIVE on ZEE’s linear channels & OTT platform ZEE5 from Jan 2024

    DP World ILT20 Season 2 to air LIVE on ZEE’s linear channels & OTT platform ZEE5 from Jan 2024

    Mumbai:  Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE) announced that the second season of the world’s second most watched T20 cricket league – DP World ILT20, sanctioned by the Emirates Cricket Board., The action packed tournament will air LIVE across the Company’s linear channels and OTT platform ZEE5 from Jan, 2024.

    Synonymous for its ground-breaking content, ZEE is committed to provide an even grander presentation of the 34-match format DP World ILT20. The second season promises enthralling cricket action in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah in January and February 2024 with the finest players from the cricketing world being retained by the six franchises – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Desert Vipers, Dubai Capitals, Gulf Giants, MI Emirates and Sharjah Warriors.

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., president- business, Rahul Johri said, “We are delighted with the overwhelming response DP World ILT20 received in its first season, generating a massive 367 million worldwide reach across TV and Digital platforms. The second season comes with an even bigger promise of an unparalleled cricketing action with the world’s top T20 cricketers retained by the six teams. DP World ILT20 Season 2 will continue to entertain viewers not just in India but across the world and build our sports business.”

    General secretary ECB Mubashshir Usmani, commented, “DP World ILT20’s inaugural season was a roaring success. The tournament made waves worldwide through the presence of T20 superstars, quality cricket, world class production and a broadcast partnership which generated a reach of more than 367 million across TV and digital platforms. We are once again delighted to partner with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited for Season 2 and our aim is to even better the outstanding broadcast numbers from India and around the world that we gathered from the inaugural season.”

    Abu Dhabi Knight Riders have retained the T20 star Andre Russell and last year’s captain, and the prolific spinner Sunil Narine. Other retained players include Joe Clarke, Charith Asalanka, Marchant De Lange, Ali Khan, Sabir Ali and Matiullah Khan.

    Desert Vipers, the finalists of Season 1, have retained the inaugural season’s top-scorer Alex Hales and the captain Colin Munro. Other retained players from the previous season are Wanindu Hasaranga, Sherfane Rutherford, Tom Curran, Luke Wood, Matheesha Pathirana, Rohan Mustafa, Sheldon Cottrell, Dinesh Chandimal, Gus Atkinson and Ali Nasser.

    Dubai Capitals have retained the West Indian player, Rovman Powell and England’s stalwart Joe Root. The franchise has also retained Dushmantha Chameera, Sikandar Raza and Raja Akifullah Khan.

    Champions, Gulf Giants have retained the captain James Vince and Best Bowler of the Tournament Chris Jordan. Chris Lynn, Shimron Hetmyer, Carlos Brathwaite, Jamie Overton, Richard Gleeson, Rehan Ahmed, Gerhard Erasmus, Aayan Afzal Khan and Sanchit Sharma have also been retained by the franchise.

    MI Emirates retention list is led by Kieron Pollard and highest T20 wicket taker Dwayne Bravo. The other retained players from Season 1 include Nicholas Pooran, Trent Boult, Muhammad Waseem, Zahoor Khan, Daniel Mousley, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Jordan Thompson, Will Smeed, Mckenny Clarke, and Andre Fletcher.

    Sharjah Warriors have retained bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes and batsman Joe Denly. Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Mark Deyal, Junaid Siddique and Muhammad Jawadullah are the players who have also been retained.

  • “Our focused efforts and investments in content and user experience enhancements are displaying positive results”: ZEEL MD & CEO Punit Goenka

    “Our focused efforts and investments in content and user experience enhancements are displaying positive results”: ZEEL MD & CEO Punit Goenka

    Mumbai: Speaking in a conference call, ZEEL managing director & CEO Punit Goenka said during the company’s Q2 FY23 earnings call that he remains hopeful of a steady recovery in the advertising environment during the second half of the fiscal given some of the green shoots due to a good monsoon and the onset of the festive season.

    “We are utilising this period to further strengthen the resilience and fundamentals of our business across all aspects. Our focused efforts and investments in content and user experience enhancements are displaying positive results. Going forward, we remain cautiously optimistic about the overall advertising sentiment gradually recovering through the second half of the fiscal year, which will further aid revenue growth.”

    While the underlying impact of the macroeconomic headwind across the industry continued to spill over in the second quarter of the fiscal year, Goenka emphasised, “That said, we have been able to moderately grow our advertising revenues sequentially in the second quarter on the back of our network share gain and focused efforts from our ad sales team.”

    He noted that the merger with Sony should be completed within this financial year. “As you would know, this is something that we are grappling with on a daily basis because the regulatory approval is required, and we can’t give you one final date. The number of days required for delisting or the company’s continued delisting, our expectation is it will be about five to six weeks.”

    Talking about sports being a newer growth opportunity. Goenka mentioned, “In addition to strengthening our current offerings, we are also consistently identifying new growth opportunities for sustained value creation. We took yet another firm step in this direction by sharpening our strategic vision to build the sports business for the company. The strategic licensing agreement with Disney Star makes Zee the exclusive TV destination for all ICC events starting in 2024. Going forward, all our investment decisions to make the sports segment a compelling value proposition for the company will continue to be taken with a prudent approach. Our energies remain focused on enhancing performance across platforms through compelling content offerings and delivering a robust user experience.”

    “For instance, our linear viewership share has increased QoQ, and our key markets like Hindi and Tamil are showcasing an improvement in their performance.” He explained that both in Tamil and Hindi, it is basically implementation and picking the right shows that have worked for it. “In Hindi, particularly, both fiction and non-fiction have done well for us. Tamil is still largely fiction-driven, and we are pretty confident that these will now continue to grow from here. They are stabilised at this level, and now we should see more growth coming. In Marathi, as I mentioned in previous calls to Abneesh, it was an implementation and team issue. A new team was formed about a quarter of a year ago. They are working on plans for getting the turnaround to happen in Marathi, too. I’m quite hopeful that in the next couple of quarters we’ll see something turn around there.”

    When asked about the reason for the NTO 2.0 delay, Goenka stated, “I don’t know what Trai was planning to do, but as I understand it from informal sources, they were trying to build consensus amongst all the stakeholders. As you will understand, building consensus in this industry among broadcasters, cable operators, and DPOs is not easy. I think that is largely the reason for the delay.”

    “My view is that they are finished with all the discussions and everything. We should see the NTO guidelines come out anytime now. As Rohit (ZEEL CFO Rohit Gupta) mentioned, the 28 of February is the deadline they have kept, but I’m quite confident that they will not miss this deadline,” he added further.

    Gupta noted that in the absence of a clear path ahead for NTO 2.0, the near-term outlook for subscription growth remains uncertain and muted. “We will continue to monitor NTO 2.0 guidelines and will be prepared to implement the same for improved long-term revenue outcomes.”

    When asked about the possibility of rethinking capital allocation towards movies given the disappointing performance of Hindi cinema, Goenka said that the company is rethinking or re-studying its movie portfolio strategy and maybe rejigging the capital allocation within that. “So, instead of spending a lot more on, let’s say, Hindi, for example, do we want to spend a little bit more on the regional languages, which are doing much better than the Hindi side, but will we completely look at reducing capital allocation to movies. No, that’s not in the thought process.”

    When asked if it makes sense to buy movie rights after their theatrical release, Goenka responded that, unfortunately, the industry does not work that way because these films are sold even during production. “If we were to wait for the film to be released in theatres and then take the chance of buying the film, there is a risk to that as well. So therefore, the industry is behaving in the manner that it does. Therefore, we have to participate and play the game as per the industry, and our view is that we would also like to continue to build and buy as little as possible. At times that’s not possible, but we are working on that strategy,” he concluded.

  • ZEE5 announces new campaign ZEE5 World Hits to bring international titles in Indian languages at zero cost

    ZEE5 announces new campaign ZEE5 World Hits to bring international titles in Indian languages at zero cost

    Mumbai: ZEE5, India introduced ‘ZEE5 World Hits’ bringing a slew of successful and premium international titles dubbed in Indian languages at zero cost.

    Launched in October 2022, so far, the platform has brought over 40 international movies, including some exclusives. The campaign has already witnessed an overwhelming response from the audiences, especially for titles like Rising Shaolinand The Python (exclusively available on ZEE5); Mulan and War of Thunder (war dramas), to name a few.

    As part of the initiative, the platform will continue to add six to ten new titles each month, apart from a bumper release of 18 titles on 2nd December. In line with the brand’s vision to democratise access to quality content, ZEE5 aims to empower audiences to binge on new hits from its content library in their own language.

    ZEE5 World Hits features global hits like Rising Shaolin, The Python, Marshal Mu Guiying, Uncaged, Dragon, and more; several of them are exclusively available for the audiences on the platform. Additionally, a number of intriguing war and costume drama portrayals, like Mulan, War of Thunder, and The Golden Horde, are also part of the library.

    Audiences will also be able to enjoy movies like Partition, which features iconic Indian stars Irrfan Khan and Vinay Pathak.

    Talking about the campaign, ZEE5 head of AVoD marketing Abhirup Datta said, “We designed the campaign, ZEE5 World Hits, to empower our audiences with choice and improve accessibility and availability of premium content in multiple languages. Our aim with this campaign is to bring exciting stories from across the globe to Indian viewers in their preferred languages, in a bid towards democratising quality content. While most of these titles are now available in Hindi, we have been adding Tamil, Telugu dubbed versions, as well as some movies in original languages in the coming months. With this, we expand our AVoD offerings and hope that our existing viewers enjoy the World Hits as well as attract new audiences to the platform.”

    “In line with our vision of entertainment inclusion, we recently announced the ZEE5 Manoranjan Festival 2022, where we made some of the most popular and premium titles across languages available at zero cost. During the seven-day festival, 35+ premium titles were available for the AVoD audiences from across genres, including thrillers, fiction, romance, etc.,” he added.

  • Zee5 bags six awards at the Promax Reinvent Digital 2022

    Zee5 bags six awards at the Promax Reinvent Digital 2022

    Mumbai: With six prestigious awards in various categories, Zee5 stole the show at the Promax Reinvent OTT Awards. The categories for which Zee5 won awards are female lead of the year, screenplay, social media or mobile-based promotional digital video content, sound design, and editing-in-house for its regional web series of the year.

    On receiving the awards, Zee5 chief business officer Manish Kalra said, “It is heartening to get recognised at a prominent platform like Promax India Digital Reinvent for our projects across languages. At ZEE5, the vision has been to offer extraordinary entertainment, set new benchmarks, and revolutionise content creation and consumption through the digital medium. I am thankful to the team members, our partners, and our consumers, who have been our biggest allies in achieving the growth that we aimed for. It has been an enthralling journey as we continue to innovate, engage, and create a value-driven platform for our audiences.”

    With titles from Tamil (Vilangu), Telugu (Gaalivaana), and Hindi (Mithya, Forensic) in the spotlight, Zee5’s success as a one-stop shop for top-notch content in all languages is amply demonstrated.

    Zee5 claims it has always led the way in providing multilingual audiences with authentic, timely, and impactful stories across original and acquired content. The accolades the platform received at the event confirm the variety of content that is offered on Zee5 for its multilingual audience base around the world.

    The awards list across categories is as follows:

    • Web Series of the Year – Regional

          Silver Award – Vilangu

    •  Best Female Lead of The Year

         Gold Award – Huma Qureshi (Mithya)

    • Best Screenplay

         Silver Award – Vilangu

    • Best Sound Design

         Silver Award – Gaalivaana

    • Best Editing In-House

        Silver Award – TVF on ZEE5 Library Launch- Happy Hours Promo claimed a silver award for

    • Social media or Mobile Based Promotional Digital Video Content

        Silver Award – Forensic Motion Poster

  • Zeel Q2 PAT down by 58.3%; revenue up by 2.5%

    Zeel Q2 PAT down by 58.3%; revenue up by 2.5%

    Mumbai: Zee Enterprise Entertainment on Friday reported that second quarter revenue grew by 2.5 per cent to Rs 20,284 million compared to the same quarter in the previous fiscal. Q2 FY23 Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) was down 28 per cent to Rs 2,973 million. It was impacted by slower growth in revenue and elevated investment in content, marketing, and technology. Ebitda margin was 14.7 per cent compared to 20.8 per cent for the same quarter in the previous fiscal. Profit after tax (PAT) fell by 58.3 per cent to Rs 1,128 million. Profit Before Tax fell by 50.7 per cent to $1,769 million.

    It said that a challenging macroeconomic environment continues to impact operating performance. Domestic ad revenues came in at Rs. 9,610 million, a decline of 7.7 per cent. Ad revenue growth was hampered by FTA withdrawal (Zee Anmol) and a difficult macroeconomic environment. Other sales and services revenue YoY is up 92 per cent aided by theatrical revenues and other syndication deals. Programming and technology costs increased due to higher theatrical releases, investments in Zee5 and higher programming hours in the linear business. Subscription revenue was up 4.2 per cent compared to the same quarter in the previous fiscal year.

    Q2 FY23 subscription revenues were aided by catch-up revenue from the previous quarter in the linear business and underlying organic growth in Zeee5 and music subscription revenues. Other sales and services revenue was up by 92 per cent aided by theatrical revenues and other syndication deals. The increase in marketing costs on a YoY basis is on account of new content launches and higher theatrical releases. Internationally, in Q2 FY23 ad revenue was Rs 518 million and subscription revenue was Rs 1,060 million.

    It stated that it would continue to invest in ZeeTV, Zee Marathi, Zee Tamil, and Movies in order to increase market share.

    Further, it strengthened its market position in Bangla, Odiya, Telugu and in the Kannada market. Q2 FY23 all-India TV network share was 16 per cent. QoQ it was up by 30 bps.

    Its OTT platform Zee5 reported Q2 revenues of Rs1,671 million, marking a 28 per cent growth over the same period in the previous fiscal. Zee5 global MAUs in Q2 FY23 were 112.4 million. This was an increase of 19 million over the same period in the previous fiscal year. The average watch time per month in Q2 FY23 was 198 minutes, an increase of 12 minutes over the same period in the previous fiscal. Over 66 shows and movies (including six originals) were released during the quarter.

    For Zee Studio, four Hindi and six regional movies were released during the quarter. Zeel also said that Zee Music Company is the second-largest music label with 89 million subscribers on YouTube.

  • Dish TV India launches Watcho OTT plan ‘One Hai Toh Done Hai’

    Dish TV India launches Watcho OTT plan ‘One Hai Toh Done Hai’

    Mumbai: After a successful run with its own original content, Watcho is expanding its selection by offering packages of the most well-liked OTT platforms, giving its customers access to a vast array of new digital material while maintaining the ease of a single subscription.

    Through a single login and subscription mechanism, Watcho will provide OTT content from Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, Sony LIV, Lionsgate Play, Hungama Play, Hoichoi, Klikk, EpicOn, Chaupal, and Oho Gujarati.

    Subscribers will also have access to a massive library of original content, which includes 35+ captivating web series, UGC content, snackable shows, and live TV from Watcho exclusives. DishTV’s plans will be expanded as more OTT platforms join Watcho to make it a comprehensive entertainment destination.

    By juggling multiple platforms, Indian OTT viewers struggle to keep up with the latest content. Watcho’s latest OTT aggregation service lives up to its “One Hai Toh Done Hai” promise, which seeks to deliver the convenience of a single plan and payment package to contribute to the ease of access to maximum content in one place while improving the viewing experience.

    Furthermore, as an introductory offer (available for a limited time), DishTV, D2H, and Siti Cable subscribers can use and enjoy the new service for free for one month. Once subscribed, users would be able to access OTT content via the app or web on mobiles, tablets, laptops, and televisions.

    Speaking on the launch, Dish TV India CEO Anil Dua said, “As pioneers of DTH technology, Dish TV India has played a significant role in changing the Indian television landscape.”

    With rapid digitization, evolving consumer preferences, and a paradigm shift in the industry dynamics, we are moving a step ahead by aggregating video streaming apps (OTTs) and thereby expanding Watcho’s offerings. With Watcho’s new service, we have strengthened our OTT content distribution platform by creating a single subscription gateway that delivers amazing value and convenience to our subscribers.

    “With the introduction of these new services, we intend to make Watcho a one-stop entertainment destination with original content, linear TV, and on-demand diverse entertainment anytime, anywhere, and on any screen,” he added.

    Dish TV India marketing (DishTV & Watcho) corporate head Sukhpreet Singh said, “Watcho—Our home-grown OTT platform has been steadily growing its reach and crossed the 60 million plus downloads mark at the end of FY Q1 2022. The platform has been working towards carving a space for itself in the competitive and energetic streaming video services industry.”

    The industry is brimming with multiple OTT apps, which leaves consumers struggling to search for their preferred content. To address these consumer challenges, we are introducing the Watcho OTT aggregation service that will augment overall digital content consumption at an affordable price point. With this, we want to democratise the accessibility of various OTT platforms from a single platform.”

    Disney Star distribution head (International and India) Gurjeev Singh Kapoor added, “We are delighted to associate with Dish TV for Watcho. As Disney+ Hotstar continues to offer best-in-class content, through this association, we look forward to making our vast library of content accessible to new audiences. The consumers of Watcho will be able to binge-watch and enjoy the best of the content of Disney+ Hotstar.”

    Speaking about the partnership, ZEEL South Asia alliances and partnerships head Vivek Arora said, “At ZEE5, our endeavour has always been to expand our presence, democratise content consumption and make it accessible to audiences across markets. We are happy to partner with Dish TV for Watcho, which aims at broadening the horizons of digital content consumption in India. ZEE5 offers an invigorating slate featuring diverse content across genres, along with catch-up TV, old classics, and blockbusters across languages. We shall continue to strengthen our connection with the audience through innovations and alliances, offering unique entertainment exposures for an enhanced experience on the platform.”

    Speaking on the launch, Lionsgate executive vice president Amit Dhanuka said, “We at Lionsgate Play are elated to partner with Dish TV’s Watcho on their latest bundling offering. With the ever-evolving OTT space in India, app bundling plays an important role in helping brands reach a wider consumer base and will continue to do so in the future as well. With this extensive partnership too, we aim to offer the audience the best of our content at a great price and provide them with an enhanced viewing experience.”

    “The digital ecosystem is constantly evolving, and so are consumers. In today’s market, one needs to be present across platforms, and aggregation is increasingly playing an important role in helping users to find what to watch. With Watcho, we hope to expand our premium and multiform offerings to a larger set of audiences across the country,” said EPIC ON COO Sourjya Mohanty.

    Adding to this, Hoichoi COO Soumya Mukherjee stated, ” We always aim at making Hoichoi easily and widely accessible to our customers. Being a part of Watcho takes us a step forward in that direction. With this form of OTT aggregation, viewers can access a large number of platforms with just a single login. This adheres to our motive of providing our customers with the most convenient and enjoyable viewing experience and fits into our journey of spreading Hoichoi’s reach to all audiences.”

    Angel Television (Klikk) director Abhay Kumar Tantiya said, “We’re extremely happy and proud to partner with Watcho. Dish TV has long been one of the market leaders in the DTH space and has launched an OTT platform, Watcho, which will serve as a marketplace for other OTT platforms. Therefore, we are extremely happy to expand this relationship and push it forward with Watcho. Hopefully, this journey promises to be a memorable one alongside other OTT platforms. We’re looking forward to catering to more people and reaching a greater mass. Only onwards and upwards from here.”

    Oho Gujrati co-founder Abhishek Jain commented. “Today, Oho Gujarati is the foremost regional OTT platform in the Gujarat market. With more than 25 original shows, we look forward to adding two new originals every month. After widespread acceptance in Gujarat, we were looking to partner with national players for a bigger reach. Watcho, a venture by DishTV, is a complete entertainment package that offers new and convenient ways of enjoying your favourite shows and movies. We feel that it is the perfect vehicle to reach a larger audience base, and we are glad to be a part of its wide range of offerings. We look forward to entertaining more and more people with exciting Gujarati shows and films across the globe.”

    Chaupal managing director Sandeep Bansal said, “Chaupal signifies entertainment beyond boundaries, where regional languages and cultures interact, giving a glimpse of the Indian panorama. At Chaupal, we always believed in giving our subscribers a wealth of choices in terms of new content offerings in their mother tongues—Punjabi, Haryanvi, and Bhojpuri, to begin with. Since its launch in 2021, Chaupal has witnessed a huge surge in content consumption on large screens and connected devices. We are hopeful that the association with Dish TV’s Watcho will further boost Chaupal’s engagement and help its content traverse all barriers of region and language. We are thrilled about the collaboration between both brands.”

    Speaking about the association, Hungama Digital Media CEO Siddhartha Roy said, “Hungama Play has a diverse, multi-lingual, and multi-genre library of content. Our association with Watcho enables us to offer consumers wholesome entertainment led by an incredible library of movies, TV shows, and Hungama originals. We are excited to partner with Watcho and are certain that the content experience offered by Hungama Play will delight the consumers of Watcho and also expand the reach of our content to a new customer base.”

  • ZEE5 announces Manoranjan Festival 2022

    ZEE5 announces Manoranjan Festival 2022

    Mumbai: ZEE5 is all set to bring on Diwali with fervour and unlimited entertainment for its AVoD (advertising-based video on demand) users with the annual campaign, ZEE5 Manoranjan Festival (ZMF).

    ZEE5 Manoranjan Festival, which will take place from 22 October to 28 October, will feature a slew of premium and successful SVoD (subscription-based video on demand) content titles streamed across languages for free.

    The initiative is in line with the brand’s vision of providing audiences with quality options and allowing them to binge-watch the latest hits from ZEE5’s content library.

    During the seven-day festival, 35+ premium titles from various genres will be available for AVoD audiences, including thrillers, fiction, and romance. The line-up includes titles like Kaun Banegi Shikharwati, Rashmi Rocket, Simmba, Dream Girl, 14 Phere, Kedarnath, in Hindi; Zombivli, Kaale Dhande, Pandu, Mulshi Pattern in Marathi; Varudu Kaavalenu, Geetha Govindam in Telugu; Aranmanai 3, Oh My Kadavule, Dikkiloona in Tamil; Guldasta, Kolkatar Harry, 8/12 Binay Badal Dinesh, in Bengali; Bhajarangi 2, Ek Love Ya, Hero in Kannada; Prathi Poovankozhi, Kalki, Aaha, Allu Ramendran in Malyalam, among many others.

    “There is a growing appetite for quality content, compelling stories, and diverse genres on OTT platforms across markets, including tier II and III cities,” said Manish Kalra, chief business officer at ZEE5. “We have designed the ZEE5 Manoranjan Festival to cater to that demand by making some of our popular content properties accessible to larger audiences. It has always been our endeavour to democratise the accessibility of quality content while offering better value propositions to our consumers. We hope our viewers enjoy the premium ZEE5 content slate as they celebrate the festivities.”

    Talking about the campaign, ZEE5 AVoD marketing head Abhirup Datta said, “There has been an exponential growth in the number of AVoD viewers and with that, the demand for exclusive content has also seen an uptick. The overwhelming response and success of the ZEE5 Manoranjan Festival last year cemented our decision to bring this campaign back, on a much larger scale. With this campaign, we aim to empower ZEE5’s audiences with choice by bringing a wide selection of premium SVoD content titles across languages, at no cost for a limited period. We certainly do hope that our offerings will be appreciated and enjoyed by our audiences across the country.”

  • Tata Play Binge becomes a standalone OTT offering for Rs 59

    Tata Play Binge becomes a standalone OTT offering for Rs 59

    Mumbai: Content distribution platform, Tata Play (formerly known as Tata Sky), has announced the expansion of its OTT entertainment app, Tata Play Binge, to all smartphone users, with no pre-requisite of needing a DTH subscription. Tata Play Binge, the application that aggregates content from across OTT platforms in India and presents it on a single screen, offers subscribers one of the largest collections of movies, TV series, web originals, and live sports from 17 streaming apps, along with gaming, under one roof. In an endeavour to ease the process of content discovery and reduce the hassle of multiple subscriptions, Tata Play Binge is introducing plans starting at Rs 59 per month and providing access to premium content across popular national, international, and regional apps as per subscribed plans. The platform will soon host 25 apps as eight more apps are slated to be added in the coming months.

    The all-new Tata Play Binge offers content in 12 languages from popular OTT apps such as Disney+ Hotstar, ZEE5, Voot Select, SonyLIV, MX Player, hoichoi, Namma flix, Chaupal, Planet Marathi, Sun NXT, Voot Kids, Eros Now, Hungama Play, ShemarooMe, EPICON, DocuBay & Curiosity Stream. Upcoming integrations include Apple TV+, Lionsgate Play, Travelxp, Shorts TV, Reeldrama, Manorama Max, Tarang Plus, Koode, and more. Tata Play DTH subscribers can access Netflix combo plans, and Amazon Prime Video can be accessed with an add-on subscription on Binge.

    Tata Play MD & CEO Harit Nagpal said, “Today, in India, approximately 70+ OTT services cater to 450 million plus consumers with just 90 million paid subscriptions. The penetration at a subscriber level drops further as each consumer needs to subscribe to multiple OTT services. The biggest bottlenecks to the growth of OTT subscriptions are accessibility, availability, and affordability. With our aggregated OTT platform, Binge, we endeavour to address these pain points. Content from across 17 OTT providers plus gaming is available today to all subscribers, accessible through a unified interface with a single subscription package starting at Rs 59 a month. Tata Play Binge makes entertainment easy for consumers while increasing the subscription footprint for our OTTpartners.

    “India is a value-conscious market and value is a derivative of both time and money. Just as Tata Play DTH has connected television viewers across the country to channels from multiple broadcasters, so will Tata Play Binge aggregate content from across OTTs for digital viewers across the country.”

    Tata Play Binge app presents a freemium model, wherein anyone can install the Binge app and view and browse free content across partner OTT apps; and can also watch premium content behind paywalls by choosing subscription plans starting from Rs 59 per month. A single subscription will allow simultaneous viewing on two or more devices. Options such as “Universal Search,” “Language Preference,” and “Create Your Own Binge List” have been made prominent features of the app to create personalised experiences for consumers that reduce time spent navigating multiple platforms.

    Tata Play continues its association with actors Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan, R. Madhavan, and Priyamani, who have played relatable, everyday characters to bring out the essence of Tata Play Binge to larger audiences through the campaign, to make entertainment more jingalala. Covering multiple touchpoints, Tata Play Binge’s marketing campaign aims to reach out to potential customers across the country this festive season.

    Tata Play chief communication officer Anurag Kumar said, “Through our campaign, “Bachcha Bachcha janta hai” we have created relatable, slice-of-life characters to bring out the essence of the Tata Play Binge offering, which is – access to all the content from 17 OTT apps covering movies, shows, live sports and more, under a unified platform-  making entertainment consumption easy and simple.”

    Rooted in its mission of providing entertainment on any budget, any screen, anytime and anywhere, Tata Play, through Binge, gives easy and simple access to a variety of OTT content, personalised for the consumer.