ZEE5, India and Bharat’s largest home-grown video streaming platform, and the OTT arm of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL), completes six glorious years of providing exceptional streaming experiences and quality watch time to billions of people across 190+ countries. Launched in 2018, ZEE5 has over the years become a household name, not just in India but also globally, with a robust digital-first consumer-centric strategy backed by a strong content funnel. Home to 200,000 hours of premium South Asian entertainment in 20 languages, ZEE5 possesses an unrivalled library, featuring more than 6000 titles and 230+ originals. Today, the platform boasts a significant presence in India and is the No. 1 South Asian streaming platform across international markets, as per App Annie data.
On the content front, in the last year, ZEE5 has been home to some of the most prominent titles like ‘RRR’, ‘Gadar 2’, ‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan’ in Hindi; ‘Vidhuthalai – Part I’ in Tamil; Karthikeya 2’ in Telugu; ‘Vedha’ in Kannada; and Shabash Feluda’ in Bangla, amongst others. The platform also launched successful originals across languages like ‘‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hain’, ‘Taj: Divided by Blood’, ‘Mrs. Undercover” in Hindi; ‘Koose Munisamy Veerappan’, ‘Ayali’, ‘Sengalam’, ‘Oru Kodai Murder Mystery’ in Tamil; ‘Vyavastha’, ‘Puli Meka’, ‘Maya Bazaar For Sale’ in Telugu; and ‘Abar Proloy’, ‘Chhotolok’, ‘Swetkali’, ‘Shabash Feluda’, ‘Roktokorobi’ in Bangla, to name a few.
While ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’ stood out with the highest watch-time across ZEE5 movies, ‘Taj: Divided by Blood’ topped the watch-time list among all ZEE5 titles released in the last 6 years. Popular originals like ‘Abhay’, ‘Rangbaaz’, ‘Sunflower’, ‘State of Siege: 26/11’, and ‘Rangbaaz: Darr Ki Rajneeti’ also feature in the top 10 shows on the platform, while ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’, ‘Radhe – Your Most Wanted Bhai’, ‘RRR’, ‘Antim: The Final Truth’, ‘Silence…Can You Hear It?’ and ‘The Kashmir Files’ feature in the top 10 movies list. Going forward, 2024 promises to be yet an exciting year for ZEE5 with multiple power-packed releases, like ‘Sam Bahadur’, ‘Kaatera’, ‘The Kerala Story’, ‘Sunflower S2’, ‘Broken News S2’, Guneet Monga’s ‘Gyarah Gyarah’, and the Telugu spy-thriller series ‘Mission Tashafi’, amongst others.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Amit Goenka, President – Digital Businesses & Platforms, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. said, “Over the last six years, ZEE5 has played a pivotal role in delivering accessibility and affordability to its consumers across the globe. As we cross yet another milestone in our journey, our aim is to further fortify the synergies between content and technology to build a robust consumer experience across connected devices. While we remain committed to offering immersive entertainment experiences to our consumers across our digital platforms, the parallel growth trajectory of the linear and digital ecosystem will enable us to further strengthen our capabilities. As the digital landscape matures steadily, and improved infrastructure further proliferates the ability for transactions on digital platforms, the opportunities remain endless. As pioneers in the industry, we will continue to maintain a strong focus on growth and innovation, simultaneously enabling a conducive environment for the industry at large.”
Mr. Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 India said, “At ZEE5, we envision to be the platform of choice for billions of viewers with real, relatable, and relevant stories in languages that resonate with them. Over the last few years, we have focused on improving user experience and launching multiple blockbuster movies and originals while using technological innovations to improve our platform experience significantly. 2023 has been eventful with many firsts and multiple successful projects strengthening our presence across markets with significant penetration in the tier III and IV cities. Tech adoptions across business touchpoints for increasing efficiency and enhancing in-app experience have been a priority. 2024 has already started on a strong note with the release of ‘Sam Bahadur’ and “The Kerala Story”. As the industry scales newer heights, ZEE5’s unwavering commitment will remain centered around delighting our users with more focus on delivering quality content seamlessly.”
Ms. Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global said, “From the initial idea of taking our South Asian content global, to growing out the business to become the No.1 South Asian streaming platform internationally, it has been a remarkable journey. Today, ZEE5 Global stands as the premier destination for South Asian content, connecting the diaspora across the world with their language content. And as we continue to grow out our massive leadership in the US., our recent pivot to becoming an Aggregator of South Asian streaming platforms with the launch of ZEE5 Add-ons, only further cements our position in the market as the singular largest hub for South Asian content. South Asian stories are finally claiming their well-deserved spotlight on the global arena, and we look to be at the forefront of this conversation, setting the stage for even more disruptive growth.”
Growth and Expansion:
- ZEE5 streamed billions of minutes with a strong library featuring 6000+ titles in 12 languages
- The platform reached 4000+ cities in India and 712+ million devices with over 580 million viewers
- ZEE5 Global is the No.1. South Asian platform across international markets, with a massive lead in the USA (data.ai/App Annie reports)
- ZEE5 Global has also recently launched Add-ons in the USA, successfully pivoting to becoming an aggregator of multiple South Asian streaming platforms within ZEE5 itself, making it the single largest destination for all South Asian content with over 200,000 hours of premium South Asian entertainment content in 20 languages.
- Forayed into esports with IESF Big Bang Asia Open 2023
- The second biggest market provider of AVOD streaming GEC content live sports, devotional content, international content (K-series)
- ZEE5 had over 15 billion streaming minutes on AVOD from May to December 2023
- Strengthened its presence with unique slates in Bangla, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, Marathi, Kannada and Malayalam
Content:
- Focused on providing entertainment with purpose through the introduction of socially relevant titles and creative campaigns in line with the vision of #ZEE5GameChangers
- Prominent titles with social messaging – ‘Tarla’, ‘Duranga’ S2, ‘Lakkadbaggha’, ‘Ayali’, ‘Abor Proloy’, ‘Lost’, ‘Chhatriwali’, ‘Lakadbaggha’
- Partnerships with content powerhouses – Applause Entertainment, BBC Studios, TVF, RSVP, Red Chillies Entertainment and Sikhya Entertainment
- Demonstrated the indomitable ‘Spirit of India’ with titles like ‘URI: The Surgical Strike’, ‘The Kashmir Files’, ‘Commando 2’, ‘Gadar 2’, ‘State of Siege: 26/11’, ‘Jaanbaaz Hindustan Ke’ in Hindi; and ‘Republic’, ‘Naa Peru Surya Na Illu India’ in Telugu, amongst others
- Successful post-theatricals, across languages – ‘Unchaai’, ‘Tejas’ in Hindi, ‘Vidhuthalai – Part I’, ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ in Tamil; ‘Writer Padmabhushan’, ‘Karthikeya 2’ in Telugu; ‘Vedha’ in Kannada; ‘Babe Bhangra Paunde Ne’, ‘Maurh’ in Punjabi; ‘Pranaya Vilasam’ in Malayalam; ‘Vaalvi’, ‘Ghar Banduk Biryani’ in Marathi, and ‘Projapoti’, ‘Shabash Feluda’ in Bangla.
- Brought the best of regional languages through successful titles like ‘Ayali’, ‘Sengalam’, ‘Oru Kodai Murder Mystery’ in Tamil; ‘Vyavastha’, ‘Puli Meka’, ‘Maya Bazaar For Sale’ in Telugu, and ‘Abar Proloy’, ‘Swetkali’, ‘Roktokorobi’ in Bangla; ‘Bhajarangi 2’, ‘Ek Love Ya’, ‘Arjun Gowda’ in Kannada; Thattassery Koottam, Vedikkettu, Prakashan Parakkatte in Malayalam; and ‘Har Har Mahadev’, ‘De Dhakka 2’, ‘Zombivli’ in Marathi
- ‘Abar Proloy’ stood out as the most-watched Bengali content on ZEE5
- Among the Bengali titles, ‘Chhotolok’ received critical acclaim and viewership
- AVOD titles that enjoyed strong audience reception include ‘Country Mafia’ with Ravi Kishan, ‘Am I Next’ with Anushka Sen, Anshuman Jha’s ‘Lakadbaggha’, and Priyamani’s ‘Sarvam Shakti Mayam’
- Multiple brand campaigns like ‘Azadi Ka Jashn, ZEE5 Ke Sang’, ZEE5 Manoranjan Festival, and ZEE5 Kids Festival to increase access to quality content
- On TVOD, ZEE5 released premium English titles like ‘Oppenheimer’, ‘Fast X’, ‘The Pope’s Exorcist’, ‘The Equalizer 3’ to name a few and the response has been positive
Tech and Innovation:
- ZEE’s Technology & Innovation Centre in Bangalore delivered a remarkable development on product enhancement with the vision of an innovation leader in the M&E segment
- Worked closely with technology partners to ensure the adoption of new technology like the launch of the ZEE5 Add-Ons aggregator platform in the USA to enhance the streaming experience, particularly for the Indian and South Asian diaspora in the market.
- In August 2023, ZEE5 was made accessible on foldable devices, offering an immersive viewing experience to thousands of daily active users. Additionally, ZEE5 Music debuted on Android Auto, both being showcased at Google I/O event.
- Adding dimension to content offerings, ZEE5 now features 150 hyper-casual games
- ZEE5 introduced diverse ad formats, driving a remarkable 80% increase in interaction and Click-Through Rates (CTR).
- To expand its distribution channels and attract users across metros and tier I and II markets, ZEE5 has explored innovative bundling propositions through partnerships with players like Jio platforms, Tata Play Binge, Flipkart, Paytm, HT OTTplay and BCN Digital TV
- With a seamless user interface and enhanced user experience, ZEE5 has a 4.5+ app rating on the Android Play Store and iOS App Store
- Elevated the content viewing experience through key product feature enhancements in video player experience, 4K video quality, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Digital Plus audio support
- Leveraged tech advancements like advanced generative AI for personalization of search results, and recommendation search engine, alongside strengthening content security of the app, and customer support chatbot to enhance user engagement and satisfaction
- Revamped the entire connected TV apps interface and worked towards reducing the app size by 10% and the app launch time also improved by 25%
- In June 2023, ZEE5 launched Apple Watch Party on iOS for global content enjoyment, allowing the platform’s subscribers to watch content through FaceTime on iPhones and iPads for an enhanced collective viewing experience
Currently the highest-growing OTT platform in India as per latest industry reports, ZEE5 is known for its diversified content across varied taste clusters and its focus on real, relevant, and meaningful storytelling. Alongside the growth in India, ZEE5 Global has emerged as the foremost South Asian streaming platform across international markets with a decisive lead in major markets like the US, Europe, Middle East and key APAC markets.
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