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<keyword id="6245082" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ZEE5">ZEE5</keyword> has announced its launch in the United States on June 22. The platform is currently under beta testing in the market. The US is the final and largest launch for ZEE5, setting the stage for its rapid growth in a market with a ready 5.4 million diaspora audience that has a deep cultural and language connect to this content. This direct-to-consumer service launch is especially significant at a time when Indians in the US, many of whom remain deeply connected to their roots, are unable to travel home. ZEE5 will officially announce its launch in the US on 22nd June at a virtual event where its platform and content will be unveiled. The company will share key details about its plans for the market and its local partnerships, launch the brand campaign and more. With this launch, the streaming platform will open up access to the largest catalogue of South Asian content ie, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi content to diaspora and even mainstream content consumers in the US. With 130,000 hours of content across 18 languages, ZEE5 will offer a premium, highly accessible, and affordable option for viewers to engage with the best of South Asian stories. ZEE5’s catalogue aggregates classics as well as modern stories across the widest range of categories and genres. · 3,500+ movies – including 120+ World Digital Premieres like Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai, Simmba, Uri: The Surgical Strike, Dream Girl, Operation Java (Malayalam), Ka Pae Rannasingham (Tamil), Switzerland (Bengali) etc. · 1,600+ TV shows including Kundali Bhagya, Mithai (Bangla), Sembaruti (Tamil), Sa Re Ga Ma Pa (various languages) etc. · 200+ Originals - including The Final Call, Kaafir, Mentalhood, Churails, and more. · 600+ music, food and lifestyle videos coming soon. · 100 Hours of fresh content added daily. With “language of your comfort” being a key promise across Content, Navigation and even Voice Search, ZEE5’s content library is tailor-made for the diverse cultures and languages of Indian and South Asian communities in the U.S. The languages include Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Punjabi, as well as Malay, Thai, Bahasa, Arabic, Urdu and Bangla (Bangladeshi). Key titles are also subtitled or dubbed in English. “The United States represents our most significant market and the last bastion in our global journey as we launch an ad-free subscription service. As a Global Media Conglomerate, we have had a very deep connection with our diaspora audiences here, so it is a rather happy moment for me to now be bringing this audience the largest aggregation of South Asian content on a single platform through ZEE5,” said <keyword id="304784" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amit-Goenka">Amit Goenka</keyword>, President, Digital Businesses &amp; Platforms, <keyword id="51166" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zee-Entertainment">ZEE Entertainment</keyword>. “The United States is home to millions of people whose families have strong connects with South Asia, and we are glad to bring them the largest and most diverse catalogue of culturally relevant entertainment across Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi stories. These stories have the power to engage deeply and go well beyond the South Asian audience to entertain and delight even mainstream audiences with their authenticity and allure. I am confident that ZEE5 will become the go to platform for all Americans who love great storytelling,” said <keyword id="3234540" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Archana-Anand">Archana Anand</keyword>, Chief Business Officer, <keyword id="7124509" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ZEE5-Global">ZEE5 Global</keyword>. · ZEE5’s Annual pack, priced at $84 USD will be available across all major devices at a limited launch offer price of $49.99. · ZEE5 subscribers in the US will also be the first to stream Salman Khan’s Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai. · Key initiatives and outreach plans to support the relief efforts for the fight against Covid-19 will also be shared at the launch event.

ZEE5 to foray into the US market, set to launch on June 22

<ul><li>As countries across the world continue to grapple with COVID-19, <keyword id="7124509" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ZEE5-Global">ZEE5 Global</keyword>, which is present in 190 countries, sees a 60% surge in subscriptions and 20% growth in viewership in all markets. </li><li>The platform’s focus this year is going to be on expanding across geographies, localization and strengthening its content strategy.</li><li><keyword id="3234540" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Archana-Anand">Archana Anand</keyword>, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global further shares the growth plan, which are the key markets for ZEE5 global, and its retention strategy once the lockdown is lifted. </li></ul>As most countries across the globe continue being under lockdown, viewers are turning to OTT platforms to stay entertained and escape from the much scarier reality. ZEE5 Global has also seen a 60% uptick in the number of subscribers globally and a 20% growth in viewership in the past month due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Sharing the reasons behind this growth, Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global said, “We have seen a huge uptake in traffic and engagement on the platform especially in markets like the Middle East and Canada and our premium originals are a key driver. The growth in subscriptions is also on the back of a highly attractive offer we have rolled out on our annual pack. Apart from that, since the schools are closed, outdoor activities have been restricted and families are reliant on e-learning and online entertainment platforms to keep their kids busy. We have seen a nearly 80% jump in viewership of kids content over the period.” Anand is hopeful that the platform will continue seeing this growth across the countries it is present in, until the end of June. In addition to a rising demand for originals, ZEE5 has seen a 3X spike in viewership and watch time for movies as compared to early March. “The APAC region is where we have seen the highest traction for movies, especially in Bangladesh where the viewership has gone up almost 5X times over the previous month,” shared Anand. ZEE5 was launched in India back in February 2018 in 12 local languages. Later in October 2018, to cast its net wider, it was subsequently made available in 190 countries and territories—without any additional languages—to cater to the Indian diaspora market. Now, its focus is going to be on localization and making ZEE5 the mainstream player in a few markets, Bangladesh being the first on its list. “Our priority in Phase 1 of our global expansion has been to take our extensive content catalogue to the 40 Million South Asians scattered around the world who love Indian shows and movies, and make ZEE5 a household name for people across the globe. This year we will also focus on taking ZEE5 mainstream in specific markets. We further want to move beyond targeting just the South Asian audiences and create engaging content and storytelling for mainstream audiences. Bangladesh is one key market that we will be rolling out various localization initiatives in. We’ll share more details of this in the coming months,” says Anand. ZEE5 had planned to launch two local Bangladeshi Originals. However, due to the lockdown, it had to postpone the production of the show. Telling us what Anand had planned for Bangladesh before the outbreak of coronavirus, she said, “In Bangladesh, we unfortunately have had to push out one of our key initiatives, our Talent Hunt and postpone the shoot of the local Originals we had announced. We, however, hope to get both back on track soon, once the situation normalizes. We will continue to invest in technology to drive deeper personalization and improvements in the user experience for global markets through user interface changes and more. We also have various business partnerships with telcos and other ecosystem players in the pipeline waiting to be rolled out, and this will be done over the next several weeks.” In the past few weeks due to the nationwide lockdown, ZEE5 has seen a significant increase in viewership of content across multiple categories and genres. TV shows like Guddan - Tumse Na Ho Payega, Tujhse Hai Raabta, Sembaruthi and Kumkum Bhagya are among the most watched content. Apart from this, movies like Uri: The Surgical Strike, Shukranu, Dream Girl, etc are also driving a strong uptake in this category. It is also seeing a strong demand for ZEE5 Originals. However, after we resume normalcy, the challenge for ZEE5 will be to retain its users. And to do that, the platform will continue engaging with people through a constant flow of good content and storytelling across languages. It will also focus on personalization and improving user experience. Anand also said that she hopes to resume the productions and plans for on-ground initiatives once the situation normalizes.

ZEE5 sees a 60% uptick in subscription globally due to the COVID-19 lockdown

<ul><li>In line with its localisation strategy in international markets, Zee5 Global has announced two Bangladeshi Originals.</li><li>The originals, a web series and a movie, are being produced in partnership with local production house Asiatic’s Good Company and will have an all-local star cast. </li><li>Zee5 plans to open a local office in Bangladesh soon. </li></ul>After receiving an impressive reception in countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Zee5 has time and again spoken about its focus on international markets. It was perhaps this reception that encouraged the platform to come up with localisation strategies, to make themselves more appealing to these markets. Keeping in line with its plans of growing its presence in some key international markets, Zee5 Global has announced that it will start production of local content in Bangladesh. Among the multiple announcements made at Dhaka, the platform announced the launch of ZEE5’s first Bangladeshi Originals: a web series and a movie, both to be released within the next few months. Both Originals are being produced in partnership with local production house Asiatic’s Good Company and will have an all-local star cast. Over the past years, ZEE5 has rolled out over 84 Originals. With these shows, the platform now will add on a slate of local Bangladeshi content also, which will take give the local content and talent tremendous exposure in global markets. Bangladesh is in fact the very first market in which ZEE5 is rolling out its local content production, a significant statement of how deeply the platform has prioritized this market. First up for launch is a romantic movie titled Jodi.. Kintu.. Tobuo. Directed by Shihab Shaheen, this movie will take the audiences on a journey of what happens when a groom gets cold feet before his wedding day. Contract, a web series based on a novel written by Mohammad Najim Uddin, is another ZEE5 Original Series in the works. This is a cat and mouse thriller about a contract killer, a police cop and an underworld don. The series is being directed by Krishnendu Chatterjee, Tanim Noor and Parthe Sarkar. ZEE5 also shared details of its upcoming Talent Hunt titled ‘Bangladesh’s Global Superstar’ which will be launched within January. Providing a global stage to the vast local talent in Bangladesh, this talent hunt will give them an opportunity to conquer the OTT entertainment world with a chance to feature in ZEE5 Originals that get viewed across 190 countries. Commenting on the announcements, Amit Goenka, CEO, ZEE International and ZEE5 Global said, ”Localization is a very key part of our agenda this year as we look to establish deeper relationships with markets. Bangladesh has always been a high priority market, and we look to strengthen our ties further through strong local collaborations. Bangladesh will be the very first market in which we will be rolling out local language productions and I’m also very happy to share that we plan to have a local office here soon.” Talking about the initiatives and ZEE5’s strong focus on Bangladesh, <a></a>Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Globald, said, “Bangladesh is a young country poised for massive growth, and the possibilities are tremendous. We’re very excited to be here in Dhaka to share the various initiatives that we will be rolling out over the next few months along with our local partners. Our vision is one of true collaboration in this very exciting market where both of us grow and learn together to scale new heights.”

Zee5 Global kickstarts its localisation journey for international markets, announces locally produced Originals for Bangladesh

<ul><li>Delhi’s air quality index continued to remain in the 'very poor' category.</li><li>A thin layer of smog engulfed several places in the national capital on Tuesday.</li><li>The AQI of Delhi was recorded at 384 at 8 AM on Tuesday.</li></ul>The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi continued to remain in the 'very poor' category on Tuesday, with a thin layer of smog engulfing several places in the national capital. The AQI of Delhi was recorded at 384 at 8 AM on Tuesday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). According to SAFAR India, air quality in several places of Delhi crossed the 400 mark on Tuesday morning, making it reach the 'severe' category. At around 7.00 AM on Monday, Mundka recorded an AQI of 416, Vivek Vihar at 424, Ashok Vihar at 418, New Moti Bagh at 414, Anand Vihar at 457, Rohini at 401 and Dwarka Sector 8 at 404. All these areas reported 'severe' air quality levels, posing significant health risks. The AQI at Pusa was recorded at 364 during the same time, RK Puram at 396, ITO at 343 Lodhi Road at 346 and Narela at 390. An AQI is considered "poor" between '200 and 300', "very poor" at '301 and 400', "severe" at '401-450," and 450 and above is "severe plus." Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Delhi government as to how the ban on bursting firecrackers in the national capital to curb air pollution was flouted during Diwali celebrations. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih asked the Delhi government to file an affidavit on the steps taken to ensure that pollution is tackled and to enforce the firecracker ban in the city. The bench observed that there are widespread reports in newspapers that the ban on firecrackers was not implemented and said it wanted the Delhi government to immediately respond to why the firecracker ban was hardly implemented. It further directed the Delhi government and the Police Commissioner of Delhi to file affidavits highlighting what steps they propose to take so that this thing does not happen next year. During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Archana Pathak Dave also told the bench that there was absolute non-compliance with firecracker restrictions during Diwali this year and added that there is a report suggesting a huge increase in air pollution on the day of Diwali, with the pollution percentage rising from 10% to 27%. With inputs from ANI. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/realme-gt-7-pro-with-snapdragon-8-elite-6500mah-battery-to-launch-in-india-on-november-26/articleshow/114945858.cms">Realme GT 7 Pro with Snapdragon 8 Elite, 6,500mAh battery to launch in India on November 26</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-ipo-indias-biggest-telco-to-go-public-in-2025-retail-ipo-further-away/articleshow/114944496.cms">Reliance Jio IPO – India’s biggest telco to go public in 2025, retail IPO further away</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/october-auto-sales-maruti-suzuki-and-tata-motors-report-a-decline-mahindra-continues-to-grow/articleshow/114931927.cms">October auto sales – Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors report a decline, Mahindra continues to grow</a>

Delhi's AQI remains in the 'very poor' category, smog engulfs the national capital

<ul><li>Indian filmmakers believe that a ‘big’ Indian superhit movie like Oscar-winning Parasite is waiting to happen.</li><li><keyword id="46758" type="General" weightage="70" keywordseo="RRR" source="Orion">RRR</keyword> and Elephant Whisperers’ Oscar win has helped Indian filmmakers cross the bridge, they believe.</li><li>India has the talent and technicians to tell a story-on-screen that the whole world will wake up to, says producer Guneet Mongia.</li><li>A Parasite-like record-breaking success is waiting to happen, says Vishal Bharadwaj. </li></ul> <keyword id="122490" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="film-critic" source="Orion">Film critic</keyword> Anupama Chopra had one thought when she watched the Chinese movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon in 2000, “When will India make a crossover movie like that?” Since the 90s, many Hindi movies have been released in the US and UK, entertaining Indians abroad and bringing in forex. A few even found success at film festivals, but no Indian movie could capture the hearts of people across countries – not the way Ang Lee’s movie did. UK-based Gurinder Chadha too made superhit movies like ‘Bend it like Beckham’ and ‘Bride and Prejudice’ about Indians, but they were told from an immigrant Indian perspective. Even when Mumbai stories like Slumdog Millionaire were told, they were told by US-based directors like Danny Boyle. Desi movies were far from achieving any kind of acclaim or success. Chopra was further disheartened when director Anurag Kashyap told her once that <keyword id="20382" type="General" weightage="90" keywordseo="indian-movies" source="Orion">Indian movies</keyword> were just a comic relief. She never believed that, she shared at Zee5 Global’s panel discussion on ‘Coming of Age of South Asian Entertainment: The Time is Now’ in Mumbai. 2023: The year that changed it all Then Rajamouli’s RRR happened, and its song-and-dance number Natu Natu won an Oscar in 2023. That’s victory for the Indian way of story-telling on-screen that was once made fun of. “RRR changed the way Americans saw <keyword id="35703" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-films" source="Orion">Indian films</keyword>. People in the US were having watch parties for RRR. We were no longer that awkward brown guy with a strange accent. There was a sense of crossover taking place and that got us ambitious,” said Archana Anand, chief business officer of ZEE5 Global. Guneet Monga who also won the Best Documentary Short Film at the Oscars in 2023, believes that the path has been charted, and better things are waiting to happen. “We'll soon have our very own Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. We have the talent and technicians,” she added. The director of Maqbool, Vishal Bharadwaj also chimed in, saying, “At the rate we are going, a Parasite is waiting to happen here. An Indian film that will break all records and make it big all over the world.” Parasite is a South Korean black comedy which created history by becoming the first non-English language movie to win the Best Picture academy award. It swept the awards that year, bagging three more Oscar awards for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film. Movies that went as ‘series’ Before the Oscar wins, Indian movies have been breaking through slowly albeit steadily, reminisced the film-makers. The West started looking at Indian movies differently after the iconic movie-maker Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen which released in 1994. He later went on to make a full-fledged international movie Elizabeth, starring Cate Blanchett. “We’ve had AR Rahman’s success with his music in Slumdog Millionaire. I’ve had my own experience with Maqbool going to Toronto. With humility, I want to say that many people are doing doctorates on my Shakespeare trilogy,” said Bhardwaj. Music composer AR Rahman shared an Oscar for his song ‘Jai Ho’ with song writer Gulzar for the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Distribution is key to taking Indian movies to lands afar, believes Monga, adding that streaming services play a role. “Gangs of Wasseypur was the first Indian five-and-half-hour film that was released as an eight-part miniseries in the US,” she told the audience.

RRR a stepping stone — The great Indian crossover film is still a ‘crouching tiger’

<ul><li>Streaming services grew at 50-60% during the pandemic, now it’s fallen to around 13%.</li><li>Ad supported models and new regional players are disrupting the market.</li><li>Higher acquisition and production costs and churn are troubling players who are seeing effects of slowdown.</li><li>The original content that’s streaming on OTTs is also falling into a rote, say consumers and film-makers. </li></ul>The year 2020 was a watershed year for many industries, as lockdowns put enormous restrictions on people. Ramesh Bharadwaj was stuck at home waiting for the pandemic to end. To pass time and keep his mind off crazy thoughts, the 27-year-old script writer started watching web series. And he subscribed to more and more OTT platforms to keep himself occupied. “Last year (2022), I realized that I had the big three — Prime, <keyword id="128682" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="netflix" source="Orion">Netflix</keyword> and <keyword id="2739840" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hotstar" source="Orion">Hotstar</keyword>, and one more Telugu OTT. I was spending over ₹5,000 a year on these services. When I came to senses, I retained two and cancelled the rest,” he told Business Insider India. Bharadwaj joins the list of many people who are cutting down on the number of OTT subscriptions. Apart from costs, the screen-time has drastically reduced after they started stepping out after the pandemic. Binge watching is no more in vogue — which is taking the shine off the growth rates of OTT players compared to the pandemic. The ‘cool factor’ goes poof The dullness that’s seeped into the OTTs is not just because of screen fatigue and too many options. The ‘alternate’ content that’s made streaming cooler than TV, is also fast waning. Akshay Bardapurkar, CEO and Founder, Planet Marathi too says that people are moving away because there is nothing exciting to watch. “People want to devote their free time to watching OTTs but the quality of content post-Covid is not up to its mark. You don’t subscribe to OTTs for one series or a movie, you need continuity and that’s seen a downfall post-Covid,” he adds. Bharadwaj too tells that he is watching a lot less of streaming services because there’s nothing exciting to watch. “The last time I enjoyed a series was Khakee and Panchayat Season 2,” he sighs. Experts also say that all the web series are sounding and looking the same too. “The thriller genre is overdone on OTT and they’re falling into a rote. In order to make people watch the next episode, they’re having to invent ‘kicks’ in each episode and extend a story that can be told in 1.5 hours to 4-4.5 hours across eight episodes,” Indrani, a documentary filmmaker tells Business Insider India. “They’re nothing more than sophisticated soaps,” she opines. The growth curve has flattened In 2023, the number of people using OTT platforms increased by 13.5%. While it’s still double-digit growth, it’s nowhere close to the 50-60% seen during the pandemic. OTT players call these reduced growth numbers as signs of stabilization and maturity. “The curve has flattened over time. This had to happen. But we at Hoichoi are seeing some pockets of high growth,” Soumya Mukherjee, COO of regional language OTT player Hoichoi tells Business Insider India. The business is moving but at a much slower pace. “Now, the (OTT) growth is more organic, influenced by factors like cheaper data, content variety and the widespread availability of digital platforms. The fervour witnessed during the pandemic-induced surge has mellowed down to a more gradual pace,” said Sameer Jain, managing director of Primus Partners. Bharat binges but on AVOD model All in all, 423.8 million Indians watch content on an OTT platform. An average user holds 2.8 subscriptions each. And India has over 100 million paid subscriptions in India. Most of the new subscribers are coming from non-metroes. “Metropolitan areas and some smaller urban centers are showing signs of saturation, experiencing minimal growth. Notably, smaller towns and rural areas, where only 23% of the population is engaged compared to the national average of 34%, are driving this growth,” Jain tells Business Insider India. This new-growth patch for OTT is coming at a new business model – AVOD or advertising-based Video on Demand. Popularized by Jio Cinema which offered Indian Cricket World Cup for free with ads, the model involves some ‘free content’ and some ‘premium’ offerings behind a paywall. The large OTTs, which disrupted linear TV, are now being disrupted. “A clear structural disruption for the India content/telecom ecosystem may lead to early consolidation signs for India OTT, strain on global OTT giants (behind the paywall), and India OTT shifting to free offerings,” says Karan Taurani, media sector analyst at Elara Capital, says in a note. Mushrooming and churn During its high-growth phase, many new and regional players have mushroomed thanks to low-entry barriers. India now has over 47 OTT platforms across languages like Haryanvi etc in addition to multiple options in South languages. “The acquisition cost of new customers is very high, and their churn is also very high,” Archana Anand, chief business officer of ZEE5 Global said at an event in November. The average cost of customer acquisition for an OTT platform currently ranges from ₹250 to ₹650, as per Jain. “The growth rate of paid subscriptions decreased by about 20% in 2022 from its peak during the pandemic. Moreover, users are now frequently activating and deactivating subscriptions,” he sums up. Mukherjee too says that there would be consolidation in the sector. “A lot of newer and smaller players will survive only on the aggregator model. And large players and established language players will be able to go on independently,” he believes. Even when it’s becoming difficult to acquire customers, OTT players are having to spend heavily on new shows. In 2022, where spending on original shows alone ranged from $600-700 million, which does include the cost of acquiring movies etc. Most OTT players are now stuck between a rock and a hard place — having to keep churning out new and interesting content for viewers who are not swelling as fast. (This is an article in the ‘Boom to Bust’ series which will discuss post-pandemic trends.)

Boom2Bust: Streaming services slip after their pandemic-highs

Narsinghpur (MP), Apr 7 () Seven doctors and threenurses of the district hospital in Narsinghpur in MadhyaPradesh were on Tuesday booked for remaining absent from dutywithout authorisation during the lockdown in place for thenovel coronavirus outbreak, police said.Narsinghpur Superintendent of Police Gurukran Singhidentified the doctors as CS Shiva, VK Garg, PC Anand,Himanshu Pataria, RK Sagaria, Akhilesh Gupta and PushpendraSingh, while the nurses were Morin Gustav, Archana Jayabantand Bindu Kabale."They have booked by Kotwali police station forcriminal negligence following a complaint by the collector.Action has been taken under Maintenance of Essential ServiceAct," he said. COR LAL MASBNM BNM

Coronavirus: 7 doctors, 3 nurses in MP booked for being absent

<ul><li>In an interview with Business Insider <keyword id="6245082" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ZEE5">Zee5</keyword> CEO Tarun Katial reveals its growth plan for 2020. </li><li>Zee5 wants to become an ‘super app’ for entertainment and is planning to release over 80 new originals in 2020. </li><li>Zee5 Global also made its foray into Bangladesh. </li></ul>India is all set to witness a tough battle in the over-crowded <keyword id="1245953" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="OTT">OTT</keyword> space, this year. <keyword id="128682" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Netflix">Netflix</keyword> is all set to invest ₹300 crore on Indian content, while Prime Videos is also expected to double its investments. Hotstar too set aside at least ₹120 crore to make seven originals across languages. India’s homegrown platform Zee5 however is playing the numbers game. “Zee5 has already invested in over 100 originals till date. But we believe that there’s a lot of room for regional content in this country. There are many stories to be told. Zee5 will do about 70-80 originals this coming year,” Zee5 CEO Tarun Katial told Business Insider India in an interview. It has already roped in Bollywood actors l<a href="http://telegraphindia.com/entertainment/karisma-kapoor-makes-her-digital-debut-with-altbalaji-and-zee5s-web-series-mentalhood-about-motherhood/cid/1749151">ike Karisma Kapoor, Dia Mirza, Arjun Rampal, Shruti Seth and TV actor Arjun Bijlani to star in upcoming shows like Mentalhood, Kaafir and Final Call. </a> Zee5 wants to capture millennials and other audiences who don’t watch TV but exclusively depend on streaming services for entertainment. Original shows and exclusive movies In addition to original shows, it is planning <a href="http://financialexpress.com/brandwagon/tarun-katial-on-why-zee5-is-more-than-a-video-streaming-app/1874856/">to produce 30-40 movies</a> across languages which will be exclusively streamed on the platform. Katial says that Zee5 wants to be a ‘super app’ for entertainment. At present, Zee5 has over 1,153 shows with 70 originals and 3,147 movies on its platforms. It also live streams all its 45 channels just like Hotstar. Zee5 expects this strategy to bring in more subscribers. It expects to have 15 million daily active users and 100 million monthly users by March. It had around 8 million daily active users in December, and has been operational for two years. OTT platform is not overcrowded, says Katiyal In spite of the presence of many more platforms like SunNxt, Voot, SonyLiv and many more, Katiyal believes that the Indian OTT market isn’t overcrowded. “While there are a lot of OTT platforms in India, it finally comes down to those OTT players who have enough content to play this out,” he said. A large base of content can be provided by platforms that have been in the television business. “Broadcasters eventually have a meaningful edge in this business because of their ability to reuse their content and their legacy of having built years and years of content is far better than anybody else,” he said. Going Global With strong roots in regional content, Zee5 is all set to take its battle with Netflix, Prime Videos in the international markets as well. In fact, they are using the same success mantra — local content to local audiences. Zee5<a href="https://www.exchange4media.com/digital-news/zee5-global-goes-big-in-bangladesh-sells-all-ad-slots-before-launching-local-productions-102954.html"> already marked its debut in Bangladesh with two shows in their library</a>. “Our brand marketing spend in Bangladesh this quarter is approximately 70% of the overall spend in Asia-Pacific,” said Archana Anand, chief business officer at Zee5 Global. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/netflix-is-losing-to-hotstar-zee5-amazon-prime-video-india-as-the-country-remains-addicted-to-soaps-and-movies/articleshow/74111720.cms">Netflix is losing to homegrown OTT players in India — as the country remains addicted to soaps and movies</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/altbalaji-and-zee5-partner-to-take-on-hotstar-netflix-and-amazon-prime/articleshow/70429024.cms">Indian OTT platforms ALTBalaji and Zee5 team up to take on Hotstar, Netflix and Amazon Prime</a>

Zee5 plans to release 80 original shows this year across Indian languages

Bihar assembly elections 2020: NDA, UPA, and LJP candidate list for first phase of polls

<ul><li>In our latest series, we look at different industries to understand what was 2020 like for them and to crystal gaze into the upcoming year, and identify some of the trends that will set the tone for 2021.</li><li>During the past few months of the global pandemic, people staying at home around the world have turned to various streaming services for entertainment. </li><li>With the coronavirus still around, we speak to OTT players to find out what would 2021 look like for the industry. </li></ul>Better connectivity, cheaper devices and even cheaper data plans have been aiding the growth of India’s over-the-top (OTT) industry over the past few years. However, 2020 became a year when more and more people came onto the digital ecosystem, thanks to being stuck at home during the lockdown. With people barely moving out of their houses, they turned to the digital world for their daily fix of entertainment. Also, people were more open with experimenting with different platforms. If an IBEF report is to be believed, the OTT sector in India saw a 30% rise in the number of paid subscribers, from 22.2 million to 29.0 million between March and July 2020. There was a visible increase in the time people were spending on most platforms. It therefore became important for platforms to come up with differentiated, fresh content that would help them stand apart. Owing to the fact that multiplexes were shut for months, many platforms also started launching movies directly on digital. Consumers have been happy for the most part. As we enter 2021, expectations from the sector are high. With the coronavirus still around, many people will continue staying in. So what will this mean for the OTT sector in 2021? Will more and more people continue coming onto platforms, and prefer to pay for the content that they like? How will OTT platforms be able to ensure consumer stickiness? What are a few trends that will stand out in 2021? We reached out to a few experts from the industry and here’s what they had to say. Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global: <div type="image" title="Archana Anand zee5" msid="79998579" hostid="261"></div> I see two key themes that swung into prominence in 2020 emerging as key drivers of the <keyword id="9056838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ott-industry">OTT industry</keyword>’s skyrocketing growth in 2021. With the lockdown, we’ve seen a trend of people across the globe warming up to the idea of paying for quality content, and also being willing to commit to annual subscription packs where they see value. I see this trend only accelerating in 2021, leading to strong SVOD growth. This has also been a year where international content has gained massive traction across markets. With ZEE5 and other OTT platforms offering dubbed and subtitled content, enabling people in one geography to seamlessly access stories from any other, content is now truly democratized. Storytelling is increasingly blurring boundaries and storytellers are finding newer audiences beyond their own borders. I think 2021 is going to be the year that international content comes into even greater prominence as online audiences literally discover a world of new content via their OTT platforms. Hiren Gada, CEO, Shemaroo Entertainment Limited: <div type="image" title="Hiren Gada, CEO, Shemaroo Entertainment Limited" msid="79995505" hostid="261"></div> 2021 is going to be an exciting year as OTT is already riding the wave of increased data consumption and internet penetration in the small towns and rural India. The year gone by also saw some great innovations and developments in the OTT space. From direct-to-digital releases to the increasing growth in the regional content, this year has bolstered the growing popularity of OTT to an all-time high. One trend that is expected to take centre stage is highly localised and regional content. The key to ace the trend is to have an in-depth understanding of the traditions and culture of the viewers. Understanding the deep-rooted connections our viewers have with their mother tongue, we have developed a strong regional strategy for Shemaroo across all our platforms. We have a huge content bank that ranges from Bollywood, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Kids, Devotional, and various specialised trays. Content companies saw a huge change and spike in the content viewing pattern of the audiences during the lockdown. Our regional offerings saw an impressive surge in viewership especially in the Gujarati category with viewership as high as 102% in the peak months of the lockdown. While Bollywood is our mainstay, our teams have been constantly acquiring and upgrading our regional offerings, so our audiences have something new every time they tune in. We aim to make it a more robust and comprehensive pick for any consumer who wishes to enjoy varied regional content. Ferzad Palia, Head, Voot Select, Youth, Music and English Entertainment, Viacom18: <div type="image" title="Ferzad Palia." msid="79995514" hostid="261"></div> Year 2020 saw the OTT category driven by groundbreaking storytelling and macro factors resulting in significant growth for SVOD services. Viewers’ willingness to pay for quality content is now well established. However, around 65% of subscribers are still from Top 10 metros. 2021 will buck this trend and see the Premium OTT Category in India expand its footprint outside of the top 10 metros, heralding the next phase of growth for the category. Karan Bedi, CEO - MX Player: <div type="image" title="Karan Bedia Mx player" msid="79998628" hostid="261"></div> Video streaming has become the primary mode of entertainment for most digital consumers across India this year. With this backdrop, India is set to become a key market for growth in OTT video in 2021. This will lead to an avalanche of new unique original content for these audiences as they have very little to watch on TV. In this situation, marketers are also increasingly aware of where their money works best, and would like to focus on those mediums, namely digital and OTT. Divya Dixit, SVP, Marketing, Analytics and Direct Revenue, ALTBalaji <div type="image" title="Divya, altbalaji" msid="79995519" hostid="261"></div> Digital is an ever-evolving medium and when it comes to OTT players, competition across the industry is soaring high with everyone at their toes trying to secure their places in the minds of consumers. While the pandemic of 2020 redefined content consumption, the year 2021 will chart new business alliances and revenue models for platforms to acquire direct subscriptions. The report from FICCI and E&amp;Y predicted 30-35 million paying subscribers on OTT platforms alone in the year 2021, and we are excited about carving a substantial pie out of the same. Our objective has always been content massification and with the next billion internet users set to hail from the Hindi heartlands, India’s digital industry promises a host of fresh avenues to explore and expand. The soon-to-arrive 5G networks will only work as an important factor for OTT platforms to scale further heights. Prime Video India spokesperson: “2020 has been a very exciting year for us at Prime Video India – at a time when a large section of customers, looking for high quality entertainment, are turning to streaming video - we launched 18 direct-to-digital movies (across 5 Indian languages) and 8 Indian Amazon Original Series, in addition to several Global Originals and hundreds of licensed and exclusive titles. One of the most consistent trends we observed in 2020 is that great content transcends geographical barriers. Indian stories are traveling across the globe - 1 out of 5 viewers of Indian Originals are from outside India. Both Four More Shots Please! and Made in Heaven were nominated for the International Emmy Awards, a testimony to local, authentic stories finding a global audience. Our first slate of DTS movies received close to 50% (and sometimes more) viewership for titles in Indian languages from customers outside the home states. Our Bollywood direct-to-service movies were block-buster hits - Gulabo Sitabo and Shakuntala Devi have been our most-watched movies on Prime Video in India as well as the most-watched Hindi/ Bollywood Movie outside India. Localized content not only helps us remain relevant, relatable but eventually also helps in widening audience reach - we also see global shows going deeper in India. We released Parasite with Hindi subs in India and that opened viewership to a whole new audience. We also dubbed some of our popular Global Amazon Originals like Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and more recently, the second season of the The Boys in Indian languages, leading to more people discovering and watching these titles. This gives us an insight that customers are ready to watch content that has originated from any part of the world, if the story and the characters resonate with them.”

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