BEING A GLOBAL CONTENT COMPANY, OUR FOCUS HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO PROVIDE RELEVANT AND ENGAGING CONTENT TO OUR VIEWERS; HENCE INNOVATION IN CONTENT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PRIORITY. ZEEL HAS LED THE EMERGENCE OF MANY NEW CONTENT FORMATS, AND HAS INNOVATED IN ANTICIPATION OF CONTENT TRENDS AND VIEWER PREFERENCES.
ZEEL has many industry firsts to its credit. It is the only Company that has innovated on content formats that have subsequently been adapted for international audiences (e.g. Dance India Dance). Many popular genres have been introduced first by ZEEL before being emulated across the larger industry.
During FY 2015-16, we continued on the path of innovating content formats and upgrading quality. We are working on new content formats like live-events and film production.
In FY 2015-16, we created a new entertainment vertical - Zee Theatre. We are the only Content Company and one of the few media and entertainment brands in the world to make unique theatre content across platforms. This gives ZEEL firstmover advantage in this domain.
Zee Theatre has created over 30 unique theatre productions this year which are ready for showcasing. Of this, nearly 12 will be available as live performances while the entire catalogue will be available for screenings and broadcast.
This initiative will introduce theatre to a larger audience, making it accessible to viewers at their convenience and position theatre as a viable career opportunity for talent.
ZEEL has innovated consistently across its international offerings as well. We have addressed the content aspirations of the South Asian diaspora as well as the native audiences through our programming. In doing so, we have established our position as a global content provider. This also allows us to generate higher programming effectiveness and tap newer monetisation sources. We have a presence across 5 continents through 38 different channels.
We have leveraged our IP creation abilities, which enable us to effectively monetise content investments. We have created content keeping in mind viewer preferences. Our leadership on providing globally relevant content across the world is unparalleled with our reach and distribution strength. Together with this, we are now addressing the non-South Asian diaspora as well.
Over the course of FY 2015-16, we have also invested in new distribution deals across the Caribbean, African and APAC markets.
Zee Studios continues to focus on producing high quality movies that appeal to a wide spectrum of audiences. Multiple movies were released across Hindi and Marathi during the year, which met with encouraging response. Our Marathi movies such as Natsamrat, Katyar Kaljat Ghusli, Double Seat, Timepass 2 and Killa broke records and emerged as trendsetters. Sairat became the highest-grossing Marathi film ever with a collection of over ₹ 80 crores in the first 5 weeks of its release.
Zeal for Unity is our unique endeavour that aims to bring people of India and Pakistan together, by creating a cultural bridge on which progress can travel. Representative of ZEE’s thought leadership, it is probably the first-ever such initiative taken by any content company across the world. Launched at the historic Wagah-Atari border, Zeal for Unity brought together 12 accomplished filmmakers from India and Pakistan. Their task: to collaborate and make films that change the way citizens of the two countries think about each other.
The films will participate in global film
festivals and will be screened in pairs (1
Indian and 1 Pakistani) across platforms
under the theme
‘It Takes 2’.
ZEEL also collaborated with several NGOs for diverse activities including the launch of an annual Unity Calendar, featuring art by students from both countries. A Unity Music Concert to bring together artistes from both countries was held in support of this initiative.
REPRESENTATIVE OF ZEEL’S THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, ZEAL FOR UNITY IS PROBABLY THE FIRST-EVER INITIATIVE OF ITS KIND TAKEN BY ANY CONTENT COMPANY ACROSS THE WORLD
WE ARE THE ONLY INDIAN BROADCASTER AND ONE OF THE FEW MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT BRANDS IN THE WORLD TO MAKE UNIQUE THEATRE CONTENT.
