ITV

Tag: Zeel

  • Dish TV considers deploying 15-20 million multi-layer CAS STBs over 5 years

    Dish TV considers deploying 15-20 million multi-layer CAS STBs over 5 years

    MUMBAI: The Jawahar Goel led Direct-to-home service provider Dish TV India is considering deployment of around 15-20 million Set Top Boxes(STBs) incorporating multi-layer condition access system (CAS) solutions over a period of 5 years and is hopeful of completing the selection process by December 2015. Adoption of multi-layer (CAS) will ward off potential security threats as well as enhance system efficiency going forward.

     

    Further, Dish TV is also toying with deployment of STB’s supporting card-less technology simultaneously. Currently, the DTH operator uses Conax card-based CAS from Nagra and plans to adopt simulcrypting technology going forward..

     

    Dish TV recently issued a request for proposal (RFP) to leading CAS vendors across the globe. Irdeto, Viaccess, Pace, Verimatrix, Cisco, Nagra, Nstv, Conax, Civolution-Nexguard, CRI and SMI are some of the vendors that have shown the interest. The company is currently evaluating all proposals received on a strict core security benchmark and shall select multiple partners keeping its business interests in mind..

     

    With more than 13 million subscribers Dish TV, a part of the Essel Group also provides digital cable television services through its cable distribution arm, Siti Cable (approx. 4 million subscribers). 

     

    Zee Entertainment Enterprise Limited (ZEEL) is the flagship company of the group, and beams more than 100 channels across the globe, through its direct to operator (DTO) arm.

  • Zee Magic launches in Indian Ocean Island on Parabole Maurice

    Zee Magic launches in Indian Ocean Island on Parabole Maurice

    MUMBAI: A month after it was launched on the Canal Plus platform in Africa, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) has launched its customised general entertainment channel Zee Magic on Parabole Maurice in the Indian Ocean Island.

     

    Dubbed in French to to accommodate the French African audience, Zee Magic is tailored for all types of viewers from movie fanatics, avid series followers, food lovers and reality show enthusiasts.

     

    Zee Magic will launch on Parabole Maurice with three series namely Remariage, La Promesse and Lien Sacre as well as Bollywood movies. 

     

    The channel has been made available on the Parabole Maurice platform on channel 144 from 5 November, 2015 onwards and will be beamed in Indian Ocean Island Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, Reunion Island and Seychelles.

     

    The move is in line with Zeel chairman Dr. Subhash Chandra’s vision to bring authentic and entertaining content to the world stage. “We want you to become a part of our growing family,” he said.

     

    “We are excited to bring Zee Magic to the Indian Ocean Island countries.  This is an indication of the hunger Africa has for Bollywood and Indian content. Our expansion on the continent brings me great joy,” added Zee TV South Africa CEO Harish Goyal.

     

    Zeel first ventured into Africa 19 years ago as the brand’s first international territory. Zee TV has been present on DSTV since 1996 and on Canal Plus since 2006.

  • BARC week 42: Zee Anmol jumps to No. 2 spot; Star Plus remains No. 1

    BARC week 42: Zee Anmol jumps to No. 2 spot; Star Plus remains No. 1

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s (Zeel) free to air channel (FTA) Zee Anmol, which featured in the third spot last week as the The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India all India (U+R) data was rolled out, has climbed to the second spot in week 42.

     

    Even as Star Plus maintained its leadership position in the Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) space with 734802 (000Sums), Zee Anmol featured in the second position with 651861 (000Sums). As a result, Colors fell to the third place with 650667 (000Sums).

     

    Zeel’s flagship Hindi GEC maintained its position at the fourth spot like last week with 595088 (000Sums). DD National with 522667 (000Sums) bagged fifth place in the segment. In the sixth spot was Life OK with 496285 (000Sums), whereas Star Ustav stood in the seventh place with 473973 (000Sums). Incidentally, Star Utsav was amongst the Top 5 Hindi GECs in week 41 at the fifth spot.

     

    Sony Entertainment Television continued to hold the eight position with 348448 (000Sums) followed by Sab with 327100 (000Sums) in the ninth place, while Rishtey featured in the tenth spot with 268695 (000Sums). 

  • Zee Entertainment forays into theatre; plans 100+ productions

    Zee Entertainment forays into theatre; plans 100+ productions

    MUMBAI: In an attempt to be present across all verticals of entertainment content, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) has now forayed into theatre under the Zee Theatre brand name.

     

    Zeel has taken this initiative so as to make theatre content available through various viewing platforms like online, on-air, on-ground, in-transit for global audiences to consume at their convenience as well as archiving the productions for future generations.

     

    Zee Theatre will partner with renowned playwrights and theatre stalwarts to produce over 100 plays over the next three years.

     

    Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka said, “Theatre has been a part of our DNA for centuries. With Zee Theatre our vision is to preserve this heritage and take these timeless stories to audiences across the country and the rest of the world. It is a very proud moment for us to be able to bring theatre to mainstream entertainment and give the industry its due.”   

     

    “After television and cinema, theatre will be the next content vertical for us at Zee. With Zee Theatre, we are opening up a new genre for multiple screen consumption. This is in line with our strategy of offering differentiated content to our discerning audience base,” he added.

     

    Zee Theatre will bring together works of some of the most acknowledged and renowned playwrights like Mohan Rakesh, Jaywant Dalvi, Vijay Tendulkar, Surendra Verma, Mahesh Dattani, Ranjit Kapoor, Shafaat Khan and many others from Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali and English theatre.

     

    Stalwarts such as Ranjit Kapoor, Mahesh Dattani, Usha Ganguli, Vijay Kenkre, Dr. Vijaya Mehta, Atul Kumar, Ishan Trivedi, Suman Mukhopadhyay, Chandrakant Kulkarni, Rajan Tamhane and many more will be bringing alive some of their best stories on this platform with plays such as Rudali, Sandhya Chhaya, Piya Behrupiya, Janpath Kiss, White Lilly Night Rider, 30 Days in September, Doll’s House and Ma Retire Hoti Hai amongst others.

     

    Zeel chief creative – special projects Shailja Kejriwal added, “The beauty of theatre is that it takes you into a fascinating world of stories across genres from drama and suspense to social issues, musicals, classics and satire in a manner not dealt with on any other medium. With Zee Theatre we aim at nurturing this rich content for present and future generations to continue the legacy, which has been cherished by veterans for decades. I would like to thank the entire theatre industry for extending their support for this initiative.”

     

    Zee will leverage its ability to make theatre available across multiple platforms such as the internet, mobile, DTH, television, in-flight, screenings at multiplexes and educational institutes in addition to existing on-ground performances making theatrical content available to the widest possible audience at their convenience.

  • &TV set to unleash four new shows across genres

    &TV set to unleash four new shows across genres

    MUMBAI: The fresh entrant in the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) space – &TV from the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s (Zeel) stable has rolled up its sleeves and is prepping to take competition head on by dishing out a mixed platter of fresh programming content.

    The channel is looking at strengthening its offering with the launch of four new shows across genres namely romantic, fantasy, horror, and socio-mythological, keeping in line with its strategy to keep the content contemporary and different. 

    At the helm is &TV business head Rajesh Iyer, who says that each of the new shows will appeal to a particular part of society and cater to a particular market.

    The channel will kick-start the series of new launches with the romantic show Ye Kahan Aa Gaye Hum on 26 October from Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms. Incidentally, this is Balaji Telefilms’ maiden show for the channel. This friendship and love saga revolves around a successful singer and showcases the success story of a music empire built by his father. The show will be aired from Monday – Friday at 9:30 pm and will replace Razia Sultan. The channel has roped in Ching and Multani Chavanprash as the co-powered by sponsors for the show.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Iyer says, “This the first time that &TV is is working with Balaji Telefilms but Ekta has worked with Zee before, therefore  the experience has been fantastic and our relationship goes much beyond just one particular show.”

    Strengthening the weekend line-up, &TV will be launching its first horror show titled Darr… Sabko Lagta Hai with Bipasha Basu as narrator. Set to go on air from 31 October, the show will air on Saturdays and Sundays at 10 pm. It has been produced by Reel Life Entertainment and will showcase stories about the paranormal, supernatural, spirits, ghosts and the unseen, which have the potential to send shivers down the spine with unsuspecting turns and nail-biting twists.

    With the launch of Darr… Sabko Lagta Hai, the channel will be further firming up its weekend prime time band from 8 pm onwards. It may be recalled that in August, the channel launched two new weekend shows namely the game show Deal or No Deal (8 pm) hosted by Ronit Roy and the crime investigative series Agent Raghav (9 pm).

    Talking about the current weekend programming, Iyer says, “ – Deal or No Deal and Agent Raghav have done reasonably well and we are very happy with the current growth and performance of both the shows. Going forward, we are definitely looking at improving the shows’ performances.”

    The third new show will be in the fantasy genre called Adhuri Kahani Hamari. This saga of reincarnation and love has been produced by Four Lions Films and will launch on 16 November. It will be aired from Monday to Friday at 7:30 pm and will replace the show Badii Devrani.

    Foraying into the socio-mythological genre, &TV will be launching its fourth new show – Santoshi Maa staring Ratan Rajput. The show, which is produced by Rashmi Sharma Productions, will focus on the belief of a devotee in Maa Santoshi and how the goddess helps her overcome obstacles in life. The show is slated to launch in November. However, the date and time slot have not yet been firmed up by the channel.

    Iyer says, “The four new shows are across different genres ranging from romance, to horror to fantasy to socio-mytho and with these, our aim is to up the number of original shows on our channel.”

    Since its launch in March this year, &TV has unleashed shows of varied new concepts and story ideas. Speaking on the channel’s content strategy, Iyer says, “From a brand perspective, we have been very clear from the beginning. Our sole goal is to give differentiated content to the audience and we want to keep doing so. Our strategy is to keep the content contemporary and differentiated, these are the two key things that we look for when chalking out our programming. Our aim is to offer shows that will appeal to a different parts of society across different markets. There is no formula for success, we have to put out our best and take it from there.”

    With as many as four new shows, the expectations are riding high. “There is lot of hard work and effort, which has been put in on the shows from the team and we hope to put up a great show,” Iyer adds.

    The channel is looking at all four new shows as finite stories, which will reach its logical conclusions. Not believing in the concept of yanking non-performing shows off air mid-way, Iyer says that if a story ends, it has to reach its logical end and when it does, they end the story.

    Going full throttle on promotions, mass media campaigns across print, television, outdoor, radio and digital will be unleashed. “We have kick started road shows with lead artists,” informs Iyer.

    With Hindi GECs spurting out new content during the festive season, Zeel’s newest baby &TV is poised to push its way through the clutter with its new programming salvos.

  • Q2-2016: Ad & subscription revenue growth drives Zee net up 9%; income up 24%

    Q2-2016: Ad & subscription revenue growth drives Zee net up 9%; income up 24%

    BENGALURU: Riding on the back of higher advertising and subscription based revenues in the quarter ended 30 September, 2015 (Q2-2016), the Subhash Chandra led content and broadcast player Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited’s (Zeel) net income was up nine per cent at Rs 247.40 crore (17.9 per cent margin) than the Rs 229 (20 per cent margin) in Q2-2015. This was also 1.5 per cent more than Rs 243.76 crore (18.2 per cent of consolidated total revenue or TR) in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    The company’s total revenue in Q2-2016 increased 23.9 per cent to Rs 1384.90 crore from Rs 1117.82 crore in Q2-2015 and was 3.4 per cent more than the Rs 1339.86 crore in Q1-2016.

     

    Advertising revenues saw a 34.7 per cent hike in Q2-2016 to Rs 843.31 crore (60.9 per cent of TR) as compared to the Rs 625.94 crore (56 per cent of TR) and was 8.1 per cent more than the Rs 779.93 crore (58.2 per cent of TR) in Q1-2016.

     

    Subscription revenue in the current quarter also increased 12.9 per cent to Rs 479.14 crore (34.6 per cent of TR) from Rs 424.45 crore (38 per cent of TR) in the corresponding year ago quarter and rose 3.6 per cent as compared to the Rs 462.53 crore (34.5 per cent of TR) in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

     

    Zeel’s total revenue during the half year ended 30 September, 2015 (HY-2016) increased 25.4 per cent to Rs 2724.76 crore from Rs 2172.88 crore in HY-2015.

     

    Advertising revenue increased 30.1 per cent to Rs 1623.24 crore (59.6 per cent of TR) in HY-2016 from Rs 1248.04 crore (57.4 per cent of TR) in the corresponding year ago period. 

     

    Subscription revenue in HY-2016 at Rs 941.67 crore (34.6 per cent of TR) increased 12.6 per cent from Rs 836.58 crore (38.5 per cent of TR) in HY-2015.

     

    PAT for the current half year increased to Rs 491.16 crore (18 per cent margin) from Rs 438.12 crore (20.2 per cent margin) in HY-2015.

     

     

    Other results reported by Zeel for Q2-2016 and HY-2016:

     

    Total Expense (TE) in Q2-2016 at Rs 1050.05 crore (75.8 per cent of TR) increased 29.5 per cent as compared to the Rs 810.75 (72.5 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015 and was 0.4 per cent more than the Rs 1045.47 crore (78 per cent of TR) in Q1-2016.

     

    Zeel’s operating cost increased 28.3 per cent to 603.62 crore (43.6 per cent of TR) as compared to the Rs 470.30 crore (42.1 per cent of TR) in the corresponding year ago quarter, but was 1.2 per cent lower than the Rs 610.76 crore (45.6 per cent of TR) in Q1-2016.

     

    Other expense in Q2-2016 fell 18.3 per cent to Rs 179.05 crore (12.9 per cent of TR) as compared to the Rs 219.11 crore (19.6 per cent of TR) and was 2.3 per cent lower than the Rs 183.24 crore (13.7 per cent of TR) in Q1-2016.

     

    Employee Benefit Expense increased 17.4 per cent to Rs 126.70 crore (9.1 per cent of TR) than the Rs 107.96 crore (9.7 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015, but was 8.2 per cent lower than the Rs 138.01 crore (10.3 per cent of TR) in Q1-2016.

     

    Advertisement and Publicity expense in the current quarter was 64.6 per cent more at Rs 120.90 crore (8.7 per cent of TR) in Q2-2016 as compared to the Rs 73.45 crore (6.6 per cent of TR) and was 25.1 per cent more than the Rs 96.65 crore (7.2 per cent of TR) in Q1-2016.

     

     

    Company speak

     

    Chandra said, “Zee has seen an impressive performance during the second quarter. The improvement in advertisement industry and improved performance of our network has helped us grow ahead of the market. We continue to see the positive results of our investments. We will endeavour to continue on this track going forward and pursue new opportunities that will yield long term growth. Our effort is to entertain audience across the world.”

     

    Zeel managing director and CEO Punit Goenka added, “We are quite pleased with our quarterly performance and it continues to remain on track. We have grown as a network on the back of superior programming on our new and existing products. The improvement in the overall advertisement market has further aided our strong growth. The domestic subscription market has also seen steady growth.”

     

    “Zee is the leading content player in the Indian TV industry offering maximum hours of content for audiences both home and abroad. Going forward, our endeavor would be to further enhance our offerings and be ahead of the market in delivering innovative and high quality entertainment to our viewers across consumption platforms. We believe that in this fast evolving media and  entertainment space delivering excellent content will remain key for monetising revenues, from both advertising and subscription standpoint,” said Goenka.

  • Zee pledges to go green

    Zee pledges to go green

    MUMBAI:   ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) once again leads the way by pledging to go Green with the launch of its ‘ZEE is Green’ initiative today. As a pilot project, ZEE has successfully transformed the set of &TV’s Gangaa as a ‘Green’ set.

     

    Speaking on this initiative,  ZEEL MD& CEO Punit Goenka said, “Every industry has environmental responsibilities and the Media & Entertainment Industry is no exception. Film making and content creation is like any manufacturing activity with high fuel and electricity consumption, raw material and manpower usage, and production of landfill waste. With ‘ZEE Is Green’ we aim to translate our environmental commitment into action by integrating sustainability across our organization, in front of the cameras as well as behind it.”

     

    Elaborating further,  Goenka said, “Since the last three months, we have been working closely with all the stakeholders, from the production houses to the studio owners to our vendors. We have tried to study their problems, their needs, and their work processes. After doing an in-depth analysis, we have devised eco-friendly systems which do not disrupt their normal processes drastically but will still make a significant impact in the reduction of carbon emissions and production cost, over a period of time.”

     

    Discussing the initiative,  ZEEL chief brand officer Roland Landers commented, “In line with our corporate brand philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, ZEE has been embracing the world as One Family. As a caring corporate, we want to touch people’s lives, not just through our entertainment but by building a sustainable enterprise that fosters action towards a better world. Our ‘ZEE is Green’ initiative aims at developing the next generation of production practices that puts people and profits in sync with the planet.”

     

    The mission of ‘ZEE is Green’ is to raise awareness, build capacity and foster the widespread adoption of economically viable, environmentally restorative and socially constructive processes. The pilot project under this initiative was the successful greening of the set of &TV’s popular show ‘Gangaa’. Green measures introduced on the set include the installation of colour-coded bins for waste segregation, an organic waste converter to transform wet waste into manure and a plastic shredder that prevents wrongful reuse of plastic bottles and also saves on the fuel associated with their transportation.

     

    Other measures adopted include the use of eco-fonts to print scripts which will reduce ink consumption by approximately 35%, the installation of water coolers with RO purifier to eliminate the use of 20 liter plastic water jugs, the use of rechargeable batteries in sound recording and the commissioning of solar street lights in the studio complex.

     

    In the next phase, these policies will be extended to other productions with the aim of cutting carbon emissions by 10% in the coming year. Further, ZEE will also be launching Zeeisgreen.com, a portal which will host unique green guides, the green experiences on different sets and useful information which will be easily accessible to all stakeholders. The site will host a unique module which will list vendors who provide environment friendly goods to be used in production.

     

    By creating eco-wealth, ZEE is confident of building a stronger business and a more sustainable world in the process.

  • Zee to extend language subtitles on channels to support educational initiative

    Zee to extend language subtitles on channels to support educational initiative

    MUMBAI: Quality education is the right of every child. Keeping this in mind, Zee Entertainment, in association with USAID, PlanetRead and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) is planning to extend its Same Language Subtitling (SLS) initiative across more of its regional channels. Two years back, the SLS initiative was launched on Zee Talkies and Zee Marathi with the aim to improve the basic functional reading competency of children in Maharashtra. 

     

    The initiative is in line with the Ministry of Human Resource Development’s (MHRD) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) – ‘Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat’.

     

    Speaking on this initiative Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) MD & CEO Punit Goenka said, “Television, being an effective medium of mass communication, is an excellent platform for children to improve their reading skills. We, at Zee, had undertaken this pilot project of Same Language Subtitling on our regional channels, Zee Talkies and Zee Marathi with the objective of improving literacy in children in Maharashtra. Over the span of two years, SLS has been activated for songs in over 250 frequently aired movies in our library. Seeing the successful results of this study, we plan to extend this project to our other channels as well.”

     

    IIM Ahmedabad and co-author of the SLS report Brij Kothari stated, “In the pilot project, for nearly two years, from June 2013 to May 2015, Same Language Subtitling was added on all the songs of 10 weekly Marathi movies telecast in prime time on Zee Talkies. The song-subtitled movies were further repeat-telecast in other slots on Zee Talkies and Zee Marathi. Together, this resulted in an unprecedented scale up of SLS in Maharashtra, far more than the project had even planned for or anticipated. The study has shown tremendous impact on school children’s reading skills, especially in Classes 1-3, with the results showing 10 to 14 per cent more children becoming good readers in each grade.”

     

    Conceived in 1996, SLS is simply the idea of subtitling mainstream TV content in the “same” language as the audio. What you hear is what you read. Several research studies have found that SLS causes automatic and inescapable reading engagement among viewers. Especially on song-based content, regular SLS exposure is known to contribute to reading skill improvement.

  • &pictures packs marketing punch for ‘Badlapur’ TV premiere

    &pictures packs marketing punch for ‘Badlapur’ TV premiere

    MUMBAI: &pictures has packed a big marketing punch for the world television premiere of the Varun Dhawan starrer Badlapur. 

     

    The movie will premiere on 20 September at 8:30 pm and &pictures will be marketing it by launching a first-of-its-kind initiative called ‘The Badlapur Hunt’ for the people of Mumbai on 16 September.

     

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) Hindi movies channel business head Ruchir Tiwari said, “Honoring our commitment of providing the latest and best films, we at &pictures always aim to interact and engage with our audiences through various creative ways. ‘The Badlapur Hunt’ is one such innovative contest, which will be gain maximum traction on our strong digital platforms. We have a more direct relationship with our audiences than we ever did before and a distinctive 360 degree campaign across mediums is also planned.”

     

    The hunt enables five teams of two individuals each to participate, wherein winners stand a chance to win a state of the art tablet. The teams are selected via generic contests conducted on various media platforms including social media, newspapers and radio.

     

    The hunt begins with one person from each team being taken away to an undisclosed location. In order to search for their missing team member, their respective partners, (just like Varun Dhawan in the film) will have to solve clues and perform tasks handed out by &pictures team at strategic locations across the city.

     

    To pump up the participants and make the hunt even more thrilling, the channel is offering tempting gratifications for each task that the participant accomplishes in the hunt.

  • Zindagi forays into Turkish content with ‘Feriha’

    Zindagi forays into Turkish content with ‘Feriha’

    MUMBAI: Known for airing Pakistani series on Indian television, Zee Entertainment Enterprise Limited’s (ZEEL) Hindi channel Zindagi is all set to launch a new Turkish drama for Indian audiences. Titled Feriha – a Turkish Tale of Love, the series will go on air starting 15 September, every Monday to Friday at 7pm.

     

    Based in Istanbul, Feriha – a Turkish Tale of Love, is a story of a young, beautiful and ambitious girl born in a family of humble means. The girl-next-door named Feriha aspires to touch the sky and has a burning desire to succeed in a world that her parents consider as alien. Born to a janitor father and housekeeper mother, Feriha earns a fully paid scholarship in an elite University where the city’s affluent parents send their children. In the struggle for acceptance among her rich peers, she portrays herself as one of them and lies about her background.

     

    Speaking about the launch of the new Turkish show, Zindagi & FTA Cluster business head Priyanka Datta said, “After Pakistani series, we are introducing our first Turkish show Feriha.  The culture they have is closely connected to India and we can easily relate to them. With this Turkish show we are targeting the younger audiences aged between 15 – 30 years. If you see our other shows which are from Pakistan, it attracts people in the age group of 35- 45, but Feriha is entirely a college romance and so it will be more relatable with the younger audiences.”

     

    With dating app Woo as the title sponsor, the show will have 20 – 40 episodes.

     

    While FCB Ulka will handle the creative innovations, the mandate of media agency has been given to MEC.

     

    Talking about the marketing activities, Datta informed, “Apart from television we are also looking at other platforms. We will aggressively promote the show through our network along with other youth and music channels. We will also use radio as a medium to generate awareness. We are running a contest for the audiences and the winner will get a chance to travel all the way to Turkey.”     

     

    The show effortlessly blends in with the channels’ brand philosophy Jodey Dilon Ko as it encapsulates the essence of different relationships.

     

    The channel reached one year landmark recently and commenting on the journey so far Dutta said, “The journey started with Pakistani shows and then eventually we introduced Indian original series Shukriya. Now we are getting into Turkish content. We have received phenomenal response and appreciation. The journey so far has been very good for us. We will keep enhancing our portfolio.”

     

    Talking about the response that Zindagi has received from the advertisers, Datta asserted, “Initially we started with 11-12 clients, within a month we reached to 24 -25 clients and we ended the year with 140- 150 clients on board.”