ZEE Supports COAI’s Initiative

Media & Entertainment powerhouse, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEE), supported the initiative of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) by temporarily disabling the streaming of LIVE TV GEC channels on its digital entertainment platform – ZEE5. In order to optimize the bandwidth, the Company has also ensured that all the High Definition (HD) content offered on ZEE5 will be switched to Standard Definition (SD). In line with the Company’s advice, ZEE5 as a responsible video streaming player, has committed itself to undertake preventive measures which would collectively help Government of India and the entire ecosystem overcome this unprecedented situation caused due to COVID-19 outbreak.

ZEE5 as a brand is obsessed with serving millions of Indians with quality entertainment 24x7, across devices. It has been ZEE5’s endeavor to deliver seamless content to its users, especially during the lockdown period where the platform has witnessed a significant surge in traffic as people are confined to their homes. Keeping this unique situation into consideration, and in order to support COAI’s massive efforts in ensuring that the existing bandwidth is not overstretched, ZEE5 has unequivocally decided to temporarily disable the streaming of LIVE TV GEC channels on its platform except for news channels. The platform will also be only serving Standard Definition (SD) content to its viewers instead of High Definition (HD) content. ZEE5 strongly believes that in order to optimize the bandwidth consumption, audiences should switch to video-on-demand content rather than streaming LIVE TV channels. Sharing his views on this initiative Mr. Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.said, “We appreciate this step taken by COAI and have extended our complete support.

Apart from serving lower bitrate content, we also believe that disabling the streaming of LIVE TV Channels on digital platforms for a temporary time frame will save a substantial amount of internet bandwidth. Infact, we also believe that streaming of objectionable obscene content or pornographic content consumes enough bandwidth and should be curbed during such challenging times across the digital ecosystem. Strict action should be taken by the authorities against platforms which are streaming such content which is leading to bandwidth constraints.” ZEE5 promises to continue to serve the best of quality entertainment for its audiences across India and to achieve the same, it has optimized the bandwidth without hindering the overall content viewing experience across devices. As a leading player in the media and entertainment ecosystem, ZEE has a deep understanding about India’s data consumption patterns and has accordingly initiated all the required measures to optimize the content streams being delivered on ZEE5, ensuring that the existing bandwidth is not overstretched