KOLKATA: When things aren’t working out, it’s better you step back until they start looking better. Exactly how Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) is doing with its investment in internet connectivity start-up Margo Networks. It was barely a year ago that it had announced that it would invest Rs 522 crore in the latter which offers bandwidth to consumers under the brand name SugarBox.
The broadcaster aimed to create a tech-content synergy through the investment in order to help subscribers get over connectivity constraints that plague India’s mobile networks. However, Zeel has decided to scale down its investment in SugarBox owing to the changing situation.
“Given the current pandemic and uncertainties, we will not be investing very aggressively behind SugarBox. From our original plan itself, it will be scaled down significantly for the foreseeable future,” ZeeL MD & CEO Punit Goenka said during an investors’ call.
Of all the reasons behind the decision, one is that the project has been delayed significantly. ZeeL was expecting it to roll out in February but the pandemic has hindered its execution. As no one knows how long Covid2019 will last, there are fair chances of a further delay.
“More importantly, even after everything stabilises, we don’t know how the traffic will build. Traffic consumption was very different when we planned the project. For FY22, we do not see that kind of investment that we were planning earlier,” ZeeL investor relations, corporate strategy head Bijal Shah said.
Reduction in non-core investments in Sugarbox due to the COVID-19 pandemic is a welcome step, brokerage firm Motilal Oswal said in a recent note.
“The unique technology will enable us to serve content to consumers across the nation, without being restricted by connectivity constraints. We are confident that this synergy will create a strong foundation for us, as we progress towards offering relevant content to consumers across platforms,” Goenka said at the time of the investment.
However, analysts were sceptical of the timeliness of the investment from the beginning. Brokerage firms found it ill-timed due to a weak ad environment.
In the year 2017, ZeeL had acquired an 80 per cent equity stake in SugarBox. The latter creates a hyperlocal data distribution ecosystem by installing CDN Edge servers at key places of interest (POIs), which users can connect to over a local Wi-Fi network.
KOLKATA: The over-the-top (OTT) market is ripe for growth in India, the segment which has emerged as one of the most obvious winners in the pandemic time. Most OTT platforms in India have multiplied their user base over the last year. Zee5 was no exception as it also drew more viewers to its platform, but it may take some time before the paid subscription base is reflected in its overall revenue.
Zee5’s global monthly active users (MAU) and daily active users (DAU) have gone up to 72.6 million, 6.1 million respectively in q4 from 65.9 million, 5.4 million in the q3. Despite the growth, its revenue has declined to Rs 107.5 crore in the quarter from Rs 117.8 crore. However, EBITDA loss has come down to Rs 162.5 core from Rs 175.7 crore in q3.
The fall in revenue is on account of advertising, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZeeL) MD & CEO Punit Goenka said in a conference call post the earnings. But that is cyclical in nature, Goenka noted. Along with that, pending telco deal renewal is another reason for the drop in revenue. Moreover, the platform saw a bump up in revenue in the previous quarter because of the festive season, ZeeL investor relations, corporate strategy head Bijal Shah added.
However, Zee5 may see a better result in Q1 of FY22 as the blockbuster Radhe has premiered on the platform and management seems confident about the movie’s performance. “Radhe has done what we expected it to do for us,” Goenka highlighted saying the film has been quite successful for the platform. However, he did not delve into deeper numbers as it has been only a week since the release of the movie. The company hopes Zee5 revenues to move up in Q1 on the back of the film along with other reasons.
Predominantly, the platform’s MAUs and DAUs are coming from its own organic growth as telco partnerships are only on the subscription side. On the AVoD side, 90 per cent of users are coming from India as there are few international markets of Zee5 with an advertising model. As the platform plans to launch Zee5 in the UK, US, Europe market, those markets will only have a subscription-led model.
“We are seeing people moving to SVOD service (in India). It is slow but it is certainly heartening to see people who come to the funnel of catch up TV and then move to paid services,” Goenka added.
Zee5 last year took several new innovations like adding education content, gamification of shows, and launching short video segments. Goenka was asked on the call why Zee5 didn’t continue its efforts in those segments. “We never got into e-learning, gamification itself. These initiatives were partner driven,” he responded.
“Certainly, a lot of our content may not have succeeded or was not for the right audience base that we have seen but we have taken a relook at our entire strategy at Zee5. We planned to reduce the pricing to Rs 499 per year in line with what is happening in the market. That is one value proposition,” Goenka quipped.
“Other value proposition is going to be a focus on good quality content in the form of films as well as originals across multiple languages that we are going to focus on going forward,” he stated further. Goenka also remarked that Zee5 is going to focus on the tech platform significantly for it to be an app that can delight consumers.
KOLKATA: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZeeL) has posted operating revenue of Rs 1965.8 crore for the fourth quarter. The leading broadcaster has reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 275.8 crore for the quarter ended March.
Advertising revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 1123 crore and subscription revenue was at Rs 803.4 crore. The company said the growth in subscription revenue was driven by Zee5.
Domestic advertising revenue for the quarter grew by 8.9 per cent year-on-year driven by the continued recovery in the macro advertising environment. Overall, domestic advertising revenue declined by 19.7 per cent in the financial year 2020-21 due to the continued impact of the pandemic in H1.
Programming cost, excluding one-time inventory write-off of Rs. 259.8 crore, declined by 19.2 per cent during the quarter, primarily due to lower accelerated inventory amortisation this quarter; Adjusted programming cost for the year declined by 8.2 per cent due to lower original programming during first quarter.
Zee5’s revenue and EBITDA for the quarter stood at Rs 107.5 crore, Rs (162.5) crore. The platform’s global monthly active users (MAUs) 72.6 million monthly active users, daily active users (DAUs)6.1 million global DAUs at the end of March. Zee5 viewers spent 156 minutes on average per month.
KOLKATA: Media professional Vibha Chopra has moved on from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZeeL) to join Amazon Prime Video. She will be looking at content acquisition in her new role.
“It’s been an exciting journey at Zee, where I got to learn , grow and work on exciting projects and with amazing people. I owe my rich experience to the wonderful teams across the globe with whom I had a chance to work. The achievements by my team at Zee Studios International of building it from scratch to the No.1 international distributor of Indian films across the world will always be cherished,” she wrote on professional networking platform LinkedIn.
“ I am thankful to my seniors Amit Goenka and Punit Goenka who trusted me enough to give me different portfolios, latest being the opportunity to launch TVoD. There comes a time when you want to reinvent yourself. And with that in mind, I’m thrilled to announce that I have joined Amazon Prime Video, India. I’m super excited for this new chapter in my life and looking forward to an exciting journey with this global organization,” she added further.
At ZeeL, Chopra was leading global syndication and international film distribution. She was associated with ZeeL in various capacities since 2006.
MUMBAI: While Cinema is said to be a universal language, most of us grew up watching only Indian or Hollywood movies. However, of late, viewers increasingly value quality of storytelling and entertainment over the language of the content itself. it is for these movie aficionados that English language movie channel &PrivéHD launched ‘Privé World Box Office’ – a new category to curate foreign movies from around the world. In a freewheeling chat with Indiantelevision’s Shikha Singh, ZeeL premium channels business head Kartik Mahadev spoke at length about the decision to bring foreign films for Indian audiences, the programming line-up and more.
Edited excerpts:
On the decision to curate foreign films for the Indian audience.
In the quest for entertaining cinema and exceptional storytelling, cinema lovers occasionally come across foreign films through word of mouth but they do not find enough supply or a clear destination to watch them. Our aim was to solve this consumer challenge through curation of titles from ten different languages that have been loved by audiences in their origin country.
On how foreign films will create an impact on the Indian audiences.
Director Bong Joon Ho in his award-winning speech at the Golden Globes made a very pertinent remark as he teased moviegoers to embrace the ‘one-inch-tall barrier’ to explore a world of amazing films. Today, the consumer appetite for world-class movies transcending languages has been witnessing a rise by leaps and bounds. Our offering has been crafted with insights that aim to bridge the gap between the Indian film fans and the universal narratives in foreign language films.
On the promotional campaign and the creative team behind it.
We have arrived at ‘feel at home, no matter the language’ as the core messaging to bring to the fore a curation of foreign movies with familiar themes that are relatable and enjoyable. Flux @ The Glitch was roped into helm the light-hearted campaign along with Jigar Fernandes, Third Floor Films, who brought the vision to life with his direction. The film marks the return of the legendary Deepak Tijori along with the evergreen Renuka Shahane who brings their expertise along with the new age internet sensation Rohit Saraf. Through the lens of a typical Indian family, the film captures a relatable situation in a foreign language through a fun-filled banter amongst the family.
On the programming line-up.
The offering includes a mix of genres ranging from romance, drama to action and comedy thus catering to the tastes of all movie lovers. A new movie will be released every week with our viewers having the option of watching the movie at their convenience on any day of the week @9 PM. Some of our key titles include the latest instalment of the biggest French action franchise Taxi 5, the top-grossing Norwegian monster movie, Ragnarok, one of the craziest French love stories, Jeux D’enfants aka Love Me If You Dare, The Idol (Arabic) directed by the two-time Academy Award nominee Hany Abu-Assad among others. Some of the other titles to premiere include the French comedy, Fonzy, the Chinese neo-noir crime thriller The Wild Goose Lake, the Norwegian drama film based on a real-life event, Utøya: July 22 and others like The Farewell (Mandarin), Headhunters (Norwegian) and Pain And Glory aka Dolor Y Gloria (Spanish).
On advertiser interest and sponsors on board.
While consumers undoubtedly are at the core of what we offer, our major focus in 2021 is to delight our brand partners by providing value through our offerings. We have seen great sponsor interest for the property with Cetaphil onboard as the presenting partner and Standard Chartered as the special partner for the block.
On the marketing activations to bring this offering to audiences.
With the Covid2019 outbreak, we have witnessed a surge in television viewership alongside brands engaging on digital through Live video formats. In the English cluster, we have adopted digital engagement alongside television as part of the channel marketing strategy. We had a robust marketing campaign rolled out across TV, digital, trade, on-ground screenings and bolstered via PR that targets the six metros. Digital has always played a pivotal role in our marketing mix. Through Rohit Saraf and Renuka Shahane's social media handles, we teased movie fans with a teaser that intrigued the movie lovers, which was later released across digital and TV. We also hosted a fun-filled Valentine’s day activity with Rohit Saraf on Instagram reels, which garnered immense traction via UGC as fans reached out to the actor with their proposal messages in a foreign language.
On the channel’s plan for 2021.
In the coming months, we will have the Ticket To Hollywood movie airings for the biggest Hollywood blockbusters. We will continue to bring originals on Zee Café that add to the repertoire of locally nuanced content along with iconic international shows. The foreign language premieres as part of Privé World Box Office will continue to entertain movie fans with new movies every week through the coming months and we have more in the pipeline. So, all in all, it’s a promising and packed content line-up for the Zee English cluster.
MUMBAI: Zee has onboarded Hyphen as a strategic and design partner for the launch of its new channel, Zee Zest. Hyphen will look after channel positioning, strategy, design direction, design execution, computer graphics and production of all films executed in-house.
Zee Zest has four categories including food, travel, wellness and home decor and these were harnessed in the design philosophy while developing the brand identity as well as channel graphics.
Zee Zest TV and digital business head Amit Nair said, “Brand Zest embodies the Indian essence and seamlessly, confidently navigates the international. It tells the story of our times, creating a space where conversations about culture take place in an entertaining manner. What caught our imagination also was the ‘logo identity system’ rather than the standard logo design. Set to a foot tapping score, the overall packaging delivered on all three parameters and has stood apart for its differentiated philosophy, the visuals aesthetics and the functionality of it."
Zee Zest programming head Srikant Malladi said, “The design theory suggested by Hyphen was organic and showed a keen grasp of design trends worldwide and how an Indian brand can locate itself in it. The multiple routes that were explored gave us a lot of options and helped us to funnel the brand’s vision.
Hyphen founder Prasanna Sankhe mentioned the brand personality of Zee Zest was meant to communicate the dynamism and energy of the modern Indian. “Therefore we arrived at the value of ‘unstatic/unlimit’ this was translated in the moving medium, as the motion and kinetic energy of spheres. This also gave the necessary vibrancy to visually communicate the zing of Zest.”
NEW DELHI: Even as Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZeeL) CEO Punit Goenka's 4.0 vision measures are beginning to bear fruit and are resulting in a better performance for the company, credit rating agency Brickwork Ratings India has downgraded its rating and that of its debt, namely the six per cent cumulative redeemable non-convertible preference shares. These debt instruments are worth Rs 806.78 crore.
ZeeL informed the Bombay stock exchange about Brickwork's downgrade yesterday.
The previous rating for the six per cent cumulative redeemable non-convertible preference shares instrument was BWR AA- (credit watch with negative implications) while the new rating is BWR A (credit watch with negative implications).
The previous issuer rating was BWR AA- (credit watch with negative implications) while the new rating is BWR A (credit watch with negative implications).
Brickwork said it has done this factoring in heightened uncertainties on contingent liabilities/claims against ZeeL causing increase in credit risk and rating concern.
ZeeL is one of India's largest and oldest media conglomerates with a presence in linear, OTT and digital mediums. The media house is present in multiple genres such as news, films, production, GEC and others.
MUMBAI: Despite the challenging business environment, 2020 was a year of adaptability, growth and innovation. During the lockdown, television came across as a trusted medium. There was significant growth in TV viewership, led by more walk-ins as well as more time spent on television. The Zee English cluster of channels grew by 93 per cent (BARC data week 12-week 22 vs week 1 to week 11).
&flix, the Hollywood blockbuster movies channel had one of the most engaged audiences in megacities, with 56 minutes (BARC data week 12-week 22) average weekly time spent on the channel. This, given the context of the lockdown, tells us that viewers find content on television compelling and comforting, said ZeeL premium channels business head Kartik Mahadev.
English entertainment (movies + GEC) on television caters to 216 million+ viewers (BARC data All India Period: week 01’20-week 49’20). The lockdown has shown broadcasters that people choose to watch television for the curated content experience it provides, not just to individuals but the entire family. Mahadev shared that the English entertainment viewership grew by 45 per cent as compared to last year (BARC data @ All India 2+ U+R data, week 12-week 22’20 vs week 12-week 22’19).
This year, Zee English cluster introduced tactical changes in the programming with specially curated properties to suit the entertainment needs of a steady subscriber base. For instance, Zee Café added 300+ hours of new content, which includes the latest season of dramas such as Grey’s Anatomy, Nancy Drew and Evil along with iconic sitcoms such as Seinfeld and I Dream of Jeannie along with the original airings of the celebrity chat show Starry Nights GEN Y. Recently, the channel launched its first-ever original production Dance With Me with celebrity dance experts Shakti Mohan and Mukti Mohan. According to Mahadev, the show added to the merriment of the festive season coupled with a unique and interactive format via exciting weekly hook step challenges. The year 2020 also marked the milestone celebration of 20 years for Zee Café.
Khul Ke Nacho because @MohanShakti and @thisIsMukti are bringing you the coolest, the most interactive and a Dhamakedar dance show.#DanceWithMe on Zee Cafe starts 25th October, Sundays 10 PM and from 1st November, Sundays 10 AM on @ZeeTV.
Moreover, with the growing popularity of Hollywood movies across India, the network launched ‘Flix for All’ on &flix, which played blockbuster movies in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. With this, the channel witnessed a 41 per cent jump in viewership. The ‘Pick your Flix’ initiative found consumer resonance with immense traction across &flix’s social handles, with 2X engagement and 3.5 million reach.
While the supply was sporadic, the demand for movies in regional languages also grew. Thus, the network spearheaded the launch of ‘Ticket to Hollywood’, a pan network offering where it combined the might of Zee to broaden access to Hollywood movies across the width and breadth of the country through a multi-channel, multi-language offering.
“In addition, our fastest to TV premieres with the First Day First Show at Home of blockbusters like Jumanji: The Next Level and Bad Boys For Life enthralled audiences through the year while delivering value to our brand partners. A true testimony to this is the premiere of Jumanji: The Next Level on &flix and a simulcast on Zee Cinema clocking a whopping 34 million impressions,” Mahadev said.
*(BARC; TG : NCCS AB 15-40, Megacities, pre-Flix For All Period- week 45’19- week 14’20, during Flix For All Period- week 15’20 – WK 37’20).
English GECs are facing tough times but at a macro level, interest in English content is growing. There is a whole set of audiences moving from regional to English content as they become more comfortable with English as a professional, conversational language. Mahadev has designed unique offerings such as world television premieres, multi-language block, Flix for All on &flix and locally nuanced content on Zee Café, that will stand out as enablers of bringing an aspirational, English-comfortable audience onboard.
On television, he has witnessed a trend in audience preferences towards light-hearted content, superhero flicks and adventure as a genre. Moreover, ‘nostalgia’ clearly emerged as a big theme across shows, with several successful examples in Hindi GEC.
There was a growth in non-prime time viewing as well, and hence to keep viewers entertained throughout the day, Zee Café introduced back-to-back episodes of MasterChef Australia S8, Nancy Drew and Evil, Everybody Hates Chris, and The Big Bang Theory S12. There is also an increasingly leaning towards genres like action, animation and horror.
As for the network’s distribution strategy, its strengths and weaknesses across time bands, Mahadev revealed that post lockdown, there has been a growth in English content viewership led by both reach and a more engaged audience across dayparts. Zee Café introduced 'Café Film Club' which features blockbusters from Hollywood in the afternoon time band, leading to cutting-edge English GEC content in the prime-time band.
He highlighted that the youth-focused premium brands can choose from a repertoire of high-quality content to drive association with and reach a premium subscriber base, given a sharply segmented audience that English entertainment on television attracts while similar content on digital is behind a paywall. Said he: “Over the years, we have delivered value to some of the most reputed brands who have partnered with us in our endeavour to engage an evolved audience with the latest in international content. At present, some of the top categories active across Zee English cluster include FMCGs, auto, BFSI and insurance, OTT, smartphone brands, and e-commerce.”
The rapid flux in the traditional media landscape and rising levels of digital sophistication in consumers has led to the emergence of multiple mediums to engage with the consumer. Context has also emerged as a key factor in any integrated marketing strategy. With the Covid2019 outbreak, there has been a surge in television viewership alongside brands engaging on digital through live video formats. In the English cluster, Mahadev has adopted digital engagement alongside television as part of the channel marketing strategy. He quipped, “For instance, our First Day First Show at Home campaign featuring comic José Covaco garnered an overwhelming response with nine million views on YouTube.
For Zee English cluster, the primary target audience for &flix include Hollywood enthusiasts from metros. They are brand-conscious, tech-savvy, and in sync with the latest trends. When it comes to Zee Café, the viewers are evolved, motivated and have a global outlook. &PrivéHD, on the other hand, is for the non-conformists and cinephiles who appreciate nuanced content.
During the pandemic, we saw a shift in consumer trends toward OTT platforms, and it has confirmed that the digital video platforms are here to stay. However, today we live in an ‘and’ world, not an ‘or’ world. Studies reveal that consumption of overlapped content between TV and OTT grew on television from 59 per cent pre-NTO to 82 per cent contribution post-NTO for sitcom, drama, reality genres. It naturally follows that navigation between screens is seamless and consumption on TV and digital is complementary in nature.
“When it comes to OTT, content discovery is and will continue to pose a challenge to viewers looking to unwind with quality content. This is where television channels that understand their consumer and curate well, delight the viewer. With content availability growing across platforms leading to fragmented viewing, it has led to a greater and a more central role for television. Curation of content on television that lends to co-viewing, making TV for a great community experience for family and friends,” added Mahadev.
All in all, he believes the network has certainly moved the needle to a noticeable degree this year and the future too looks promising.
MUMBAI: Zee Biskope from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZeeL) has managed to win the hearts of the audiences since its launch in 2019. As a new player in the Bhojpuri movies space that is already crowded (comprising Big Ganga, Enterr10 Rangeela, Bhojpuri Cinema, Humar TV, B4U Bhojpuri, and Oscars Movie Bhojpuri), the channel has attained the third spot on the pay platform in (U+R) market and carved a niche for itself.
Moreover, Zee Biskope has been a gamechanger in differentiation by continually curating viewer experience beyond just movies. Along with a stellar launch campaign, the brand has presented many initiatives including blockbuster premieres, curated movie festivals, and novel audience engagement drives throughout the year.
Extending the legacy of novelty to the celebration of its first anniversary, the channel is looking to expand its reach by creating its own content and shows. In conversation with indiantelevision.com’s Shikha Singh, Zeel Zee Biskope and Big Ganga business head Amarpreet Singh Saini and Zee Biskope lead brand management Jit Sengupta spoke at length about the channel’s vision going forward, content strategy, marketing, promotions, and much more.
Edited excerpts:
On the 2020 report card
We started with the belief that the movie market in Bihar is very commoditised and the time is ripe for presenting something that is well-curated and born out of consumer insights. Hence we attempted Zee Biskope. All the strategies on content or its projection or its extension that we envisaged, achieved success. In the Bhojpuri category, it was the first channel in the number one position. Initiatives like the first Bhojpuri screening almost got a gate crash audience. Digital mascots Bhaiyaji and Gamchaji – a first in the Bhojpuri category – got a huge response as well as in viewership increment of more than 10 per cent on an average. Also, we curate content specifically for the bands we have targeted. We stood corrected on the belief that audiences are ready to be super served so the brands will have to pull up their socks.
The Pandemic was a setback for the TV industry but the silver lining was that the news and movies genre flourished because of the lack of content on GECs. Non-prime time became bigger than prime time, there was a lot of family viewership that was happening. We repurposed our content, re-engineered our FPC, launched extended weekend bands, we did more premieres than usual. We knew the appetite was higher, and we gained the leadership position.
Now, closer to the anniversary date, the category is seeing a bit of a challenge with the comeback of Hindi channels on the Free Dish platform. There is a demand to go beyond showcasing a movie for greater viewer engagement. We are still holding the market share of 23 per cent in this category.
The movie festivals registered growth on an average of 25 to 30 per cent GRP in the category. In primetime, both on weekdays and weekends, we are the leaders. Even the engagement activities that we have done got an average of 10 to 20 per cent reach increment on the platform.
On distribution
It is content or movie acquisition from the vendor or movie producers, however, the added filter we apply into that is consumer insights on what kind of content or genres people are more amenable to. Post pandemic, theatrical releases have died down so we’re looking into the trend of TV-first or satellite, as well as direct movie releases. Apart from that, there are a lot of in-house movie productions which are happening. Currently, it is sourced from external vendors but in future we will create our own movies and build on that model.
On increasing recall
Going forward, content initiatives will remain the same but engagement activities will be the primary driver because their success has shown that the brand is more than a viewership-driven brand, it is becoming a part of viewers’ lives. If only one activity would have given such a high number of participation we would have been apprehensive but activity after activity like Camera day, Dance Day, and Emoji Day has seen participation numbers increasing. It indicates that audiences are looking at more action from the channel which helps them to participate on the channel. They will remain our key focus to increase brand awareness. The star initiatives will be supported by network promotions.
On viewership trends in the Bhojpuri category this year
Earlier there used to be skewed bands or individual bands like females, kids, but those skews are more diluted in the non-prime time because every member of the family is at home. Apart from this, viewing hours or viewing consumption has increased, maybe because of the boredom in being homebound, and TV entertainment is the only window to break that.
We are capitalising on that by putting more movies on active bands by doing more premieres, film festivals which are tied around consumers present in that band and topicality. For instance, if morning and afternoon have become family viewership bands then we have film festivals celebrating the family day, Saawan season, Teej, romance, and other festivities. During special occasions like New Year or Christmas, we bring events on-board. Very soon we will add original shows to the platform because we always considered Zee Biskope as a movie plus channel. Currently, we have started pre-production work for an untitled show which will be launched in January.
On advertisers’ response to the channel
Advertiser and market response has been very strong since the beginning. From the beginning, we came in with a very robust package, we even came up with a brand song. We got celebrities from the region for the first time, then we did a lot of consumer seed activities so that saw a lot of promise and confidence amongst advertisers and got campaign partners. Since then, there have been brands which have been consistent with us and we have curated marketing activities around their brand promise. During the pandemic, there had been a slowdown but now the market is opening up and advertisers are coming back. We have got a very robust ROI and our business objectives are met already, and we are looking at closing the financial year close to the target that we have kept for our businesses.
Recently, we celebrated Litti Chokha Diwas, so Adani Fortune Oil came on board for that and we curated content for them. Nestle is our constant partner and we have done integrations for them.
During the launch we had Lux and Nihar as channel partners and thereon we had Airtel, Parle and Adani Fortune Mustard Oil. Largely, the participation is driven by FMCG brands, a lot of other categories that are seeing the upsurge are edtech, health and sanitisation brands.
On the impact of consumer-centric campaigns
The biggest campaign we did was during our launch, in terms of viewership we achieved more than we targeted for the opening numbers. Each festival registered a 30 per cent jump in viewership. We started with the biggest screening in Bihar. The launch campaign did make an impact. Our internal track of the awareness level during the launch phase and the intention to engage levels showed more than 90 per cent of positive response.
On their marketing mix
Traditional media still plays a vital role, however, we have been very consistent with radio or audio mediums. We have also used play tunes platforms to reach out to audiences, though TV remains the primary platform followed by digital. We have tried print, it also works but after the pandemic, the situation changed a bit. Since people are not going outdoors much we are not looking at OOH mediums. For our anniversary we have organised a DJ night with DJ Vee and then we are also holding interactions with celebrities.
On content strategy for 2021
We want to be differentiated, we are looking at genres that are not explored on TV to date. Overall, we want to change the movie experience. We are exploring newer days to celebrate and once the situation is normalised we want to do a lot of ground-level activities also. We believe that movie channels should not be a passive entity in your life. It is something that you can celebrate. So, all the acquisitions that we are doing, the kind of premieres that we’ll bring in the next year, will be very different from what we have done so far.
MUMBAI: Consumers’ viewing habits are changing, and it’s landed a clear impact on the overall broadcast sector. Despite the challenges posed by the Covid2019 pandemic and other setbacks, broadcasters are seeing virtue in launching new channels. Even during the lockdown, people turned to television to keep themselves engaged and entertained, with BARC reporting a 43 per cent increase in India's TV viewership during this period, compared to the pre-Covid2019 figures.
The rise in TV consumption signifies viewers’ appetite for content – and clearly, the time is ripe to green-flag new channels catering to different tastes and smaller sub-segments across geographies. Let’s have a look at all the new channels that arrived on the idiot box in 2020.
ZeeL
ZeeL’s first lifestyle channel Zee Zest started airing 1 October 2020. The channel presents content that is a perfect encapsulation of food, travel, lifestyle, home improvement, wellness, culture, and DIY. Zee Zest brings some original shows like 100% South Indian, India’s 50 Best Dishes, Ghar Sa Yummy – Swaad Familywala, Food Veda, and Meetha toh Banta Hai. Also in the pipeline are popular global shows making their debut in India, such as Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown Season 5, Jaime: Keep Cooking & Carry On, Far Flung with Gary Mehigan, MasterChef Australia – Season 9, MasterChef USA Junior Season 5, and more programmes across various genres.
Hopping towards a wonderland of delicious experiences, the junior chefs have signed up for an adventurous and a fun filled ride!
Are you ready to join?
The broadcaster forayed into the regional music space with the launch of its Marathi music channel – Zee Vajwa. It will offer 3,000+ playlists, and also have a non-fiction show in the comedy genre, a category first. The network has already captured 57 per cent viewership share in Maharashtra with Zee Marathi, Zee Yuva and Zee Talkies.
ZeeL chief consumer officer Prathyusha Agarwal said, “With Zee Vajwa, we identified a need gap in the lifestyle genre to serve a holistic entertainment experience to the focused Sec A target audience. These viewers seek experiences from around the world but from the comfort of their own homes. That’s where Zee Zest seamlessly comes in, with diverse lifestyle content themes such as wellness, travel, lifestyle, food, home improvement, and culture.”
Another offering, Zee Thirai was launched on 19 January 2020. The channel offers the latest blockbuster Kollywood movies and premieres.
Agarwal stated that all of Zeel’s new launches not only established themselves strongly in their respective markets but also aided market growth. Zee Punjabi captured a third of the viewership pie in the first four weeks of its debut, and consumption of Punjabi language content grew by 23 per cent compared to the one per cent growth in total TV viewership in Punjab/Chandigarh. Even during the lockdown, Zee Punjabi capitalised on the surge in demand for content as viewership grew by nearly 60 per cent (BARC data: weeks 12-15). The network’s new movie channels – Zee Biskope, Zee Picchar and Zee Thirai – captured a significant share in the movie genre, which rose by 28-29 per cent in a growing TV pie. (BARC data: weeks 12-15).
Enterr10 Television Network
The network expanded its footprint in south India with Dangal Kannada, close on the heels of its Bhojpuri offering, Enterr10 Rangeela.
Dangal Kannada underlines the network’s aggressive expansion into the growing regional broadcast entertainment space. Armed with dubbed versions of shows such as Ramayan, Mere Sai, Phir Laut Aayi Naagin,Tenali Rama, etc, the channel started airing from 30 September. Kannada film and TV actress Hariprriya is the brand ambassador for the channel and plays an integral part in its marketing campaigns.
After Bhojpuri Cinema, Enterr10 Rangeela is the network’s second offering for Bhojpuri audiences. The channel has launched a strong mix of fiction and non-fiction content ranging across series and reality shows, awards, and blockbuster films and world television premieres. Ramayan (Bhojpuri) is the channel’s launch pad serial.
Star Vijay, owned by Disney-Star, came out with Tamil music channel Vijay Music. Priced at Re 1 per month, Vijay Music hopes to compete with other channels in the segment such as Raj Television Network’s Raj Musix, Sun Network’s Sun Music, Jaya TV Network’s Jaya MAX.
Star India has also postponed the launch of three new channels, Star Movies Select, Star Sports 3 HD, and Disney Channel HD. It is also rebranding Movies OK as Star Gold 2. It has not provided a new date of release.
The broadcaster has decided to add Star Movies Select to cater the audiences in standard definition (SD) category as a premiere movies channel, in addition to Star Movies Select HD (high definition).
To give larger-than-life experience to customers, the broadcaster will offer Star Sports 3 HD at a price of Rs 5 per month, in addition to existing Star Sports 3 in the SD category. Meanwhile, it plans to launch a second HD kids’ channel, Disney Channel HD, that will cost around Rs 10 per month.
With the revamping of Movies OK to Star Gold 2, the broadcaster will end the ‘OK’ branding. Previously, it had renamed the Life OK channel to Star Bharat. Star Gold 2’s SD version will cost Rs 2 per month, while for its HD variant customers will need to shell out Rs 5 per month.
DD Free Dish
The state broadcaster run free-to-air DTH platform DD Free Dish added three new channels – ANB News, Aryan TV National, and News India 24×7 hese channels won the bid during the forty seventh e-auctions held on 26 August. They are allotted slots for the period between 1 September 2020 to 31 March 2021.
All three channels have a presence on other DTH platforms and fall under the news category – ANB News is a Punjab-based Hindi news channel, Aryan TV National caters primarily to Bihar, and News India 24×7 is a Hindi news channel focused on Rajasthan.
Tata Sky
In a move to further strengthen its regional slate, the DTH operator launched Tata Sky Malayalam Cinema, for which it joined forces with leading Malayali GEC Asianet.
Tata Sky Malayalam Cinema offers an uninterrupted movie-viewing experience to film enthusiasts, across the content spectrum – action, romance, drama, and comedy on television. The service will showcase the biggest blockbusters of Mollywood with exclusive movie premieres before television. The channel is now available to all subscribers on #1805 (SD) at a minimal cost of Rs 1.5 per day. With this, Tata Sky has regional cinema offerings in all four major south Indian languages – Tata Sky Telugu Cinema, Tata Sky Tamil Cinema, Tata Sky Kannada Cinema, and now Tata Sky Malayalam Cinema.
In10 Media Network
The network recently ventured into the kids’ entertainment space on Children’s Day with a new premium Hindi channel, Gubbare — Masti Ke Phuwarre. The current programming includes a mix of Indian animation such as Appu – The Yogic Elephant, Love U Ganesha, Chhota Hatim and Seven Monsters, and has introduced Billa Jasoos, Marcus Khiladi, My Bhoot Friends, Leo and Tig, The Dabangg Girls, Atchoo to Indian audiences on the channel. Apart from cartoon shows, animated movies are telecast on weekends. Gubbare, a pay channel, is available on all major DTH and cable operators across India.
In10 Media Network MD Aditya Pittie shared that the network is focused on building scalable businesses and strategically expanding its footprint in the industry. He added, “In our country, television continues to be a primary viewing platform for kids’ entertainment among most households.”
Prior to this, the IN10 Media Network launched its first regional movie channel – Filamchi – Filman Ka Laalchi, a 24×7 linear broadcast channel for Bhojpuri cinema fans across the country. With an extensive collection of over 250 Bhojpuri blockbusters, the channel is available on DD FreeDish and will soon be accessible across all major cable operators and platforms.
Shemaroo Entertainment Media Network
On 1 May 2020, Shemaroo Entertainment Media Network launched Hindi GEC Shemaroo TV. CEO Hiren Gada mentioned that the network is always keen to experiment and set milestones in the media and entertainment space. With this industry-first initiative allowing viewers to tune into Shemaroo TV live on Facebook, Gada hopes to reach out to a new and wider set of audience and offer content that they would like to watch and enjoy in their free time.
Other channels that debuted in 2020 include Fun TV, Blue (Naaptol), Satya Movies, Surya Cinema, BDM Bhojpuri, Surya Bhojpuri, 9X Jalwa, Maha Punjabi, C7 and Lord Budhha TV.
