ZEE5 completes five illustrious years!

 ZEE5, India and Bharat’s largest homegrown video streaming platform, the leading platform globally for South Asian content and the OTT arm of ZEEL, completes five illustrious years of providing extraordinary streaming experiences and quality watch-time to billions of people across the globe. Launched in 2018, ZEE5 has played an integral role in transforming the OTT landscape in India and globally with a robust digital-first strategy, backed by a strong content funnel.

Sharing his views on the milestone, Mr. Amit Goenka, President – Digital Businesses & Platforms, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) said, “ZEE5 was launched five years back with a vision to take Zee into its next phase of growth through leveraging the rapidly growing digital ecosystem to bring audiences extensive content choices and enhanced viewing experiences across screens. Today, I am happy to see ZEE5 emerge as India’s largest homegrown multilingual platform and the leading global platform for South Asian content representing the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of the region to the world. The journey has been enthralling with many learnings as we strengthened our presence across international and local markets in the last few years, and our teams have a lot to be proud of. The appetite for digital content with advancements in emerging technologies has catapulted the demand for OTT content, paving the way for us to step into our next phase of growth with a robust content-led digital-first strategy.”

On the occasion of the fifth anniversary, Mr. Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 India said, “As a leading player in India’s OTT industry, we at ZEE5 have helped in expanding the contours of entertainment business over the last 5 years owing to the large appetite of Indians for quality content across languages. We, as a customer focused platform, believe in delivering high quality content for consumers, as well as engage with creators that could propel sector’s growth and address the demands of the culturally diverse and discerning audiences. With innovative storytelling, evolved character arcs, compelling narratives and content that transcends all barriers of languages and geographies we have grown remarkably over last 5 years across SVOD and AVOD. Our investments on content development increased significantly as well, as we strengthened our regional presence making inroads into the smaller pockets of India. Charting the next course for ZEE5, we will focus on producing good-quality stories, enhanced viewing experiences, creative collaborations, and increased choices for our viewers.”

Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global said, “There really couldn’t be a better way to celebrate our 5th anniversary than on the back of the global leadership we have achieved this past year. We are the No.1 South Asian platform across all international markets including key markets like US, UAE, Australia and Canada, and leading in others like UK. We’ve been trailblazers on multiple fronts in the US, shooting ahead to category leadership in the shortest time. And the biggest testimony of our success is the love we get from our diaspora audiences on the back of our content offering and tech innovations. South Asia is shining today in all spheres, and we look to be at the forefront of this conversation, setting the tone for even more disruptive growth in the next phase.”

In a bid to celebrate the five years milestone with the consumers, ZEE5’s 5X Thank You campaign started from the 13^th of February and will run till 19^th February in India. During the campaign, audiences will enjoy access to 15+ premium SVOD content across languages – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bangla, Punjabi, and Marathi for free. Exciting titles like Vikram Vedha, Aparajito, Uri: The Surgical Strike, Vikrant Rona, Bimbisara, Sohreyan Da Pind Aa Gaya, Prakashan Parakkatte, and many more will be made available at zero cost along with 30 new additions to ZEE5’s World Hits library.

ZEE5 audiences will also be able to exclusively enjoy The Last Coffee starring Ankita Lokhande, along with a fun episodic release featuring popular TV stars like Shraddha Arya, Krishna Kaul, Rohit Suchanti, Shagun Pandey, Mugdha Chaphekar and Ashi Singh. Hosted by RJ Abhinav, this show titled ZEE5 5X Thank You Special will show fans their favourite stars in a never-seen-before avatar with them reacting to some of their over-the-top scenes, engaging in fun team games and dares, sharing their journey and life stories with ZEE5 and more. During the campaign, audiences can avail a special discount on mobile only offer at INR 399/-.

Success Story:

With a total of over 4,000+ titles across 12 languages, 3,400+ movies, 1750+ TV shows, 170+ originals- Series & Short movies, ZEE5 has served a varied set of audience base in the last 5 years. Last year alone, the platform reached more than 300 million people (globally), and has seen 100 billion+ minutes streamed, with an average of 275 million minutes being streamed every day.

Global Leadership:

• Largest platform for South Asian diaspora audiences globally.
• The world’s leading platform today for South Asian content across international markets as per App Annie reports including in key diaspora markets like UAE, UK, Australia and Canada
• No.1, streaming platform for South Asian content in the US market within just eight months of launch in June 2021 
• As a special initiative to build connects with younger diaspora audiences moving away from Indian TV content, launched a key initiative to reach out to Indian and Indian-origin students across the U.S. through events that went across 50+ campuses in 15 states.
• Key market level partnerships including with the Lulu Group in the Middle East region, Patel Bros in the US and others.

Growth:

• In Q3FY23, ZEE5 clocked an impressing 11.5 million daily active users (DAUs). The monthly active users (MAUs) stood at 119.5 million, globally
• The average watch time per user on the platform was 169 minutes
• Strengthened its presence with unique slates in Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Bangla

Content:

• Introducing the industry-first initiative of hybrid releases with Salman Khan’s Radhe
• Strategic partnerships with content powerhouses – TVF, Applause Entertainment, BBC Studios
• Streaming mega-blockbuster and global phenomenon RRR in all South Indian languages
• First of its kind move with releasing The Kashmir Files in Indian Sign Language
• Successful Original content across languages- Rangbaaz, TVF Picthers, Broken News, Vilangu, Paper Rocket, Shikarpur, Mukhbir, Recce
• Content with social messaging - Helmet On, Chhatriwali, Janhit Mein Jaari, Ayali
• Content featuring female protagonists – Saas Bahu Achaar, Kaun Banegi Shikharwati, Mithya, Fingertip
• Demonstrating the indomitable ‘Spirit of India’ with titles like Uri, State of Siege: Mumbai Attack, State of Siege: Akshardham, Jeet Ki Zid, Code M, Mukhbir, Jaanbaaz Hindustan Ke
• Bringing the best of language content in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bangla, Punjabi and Marathi with titles like Karthikeya 2, Bimbisara, Vikrant Rona, Uunchai, and the recent Tamil original drama ‘Ayali’
• Exclusive titles for AVOD users alongside brand campaigns like like Saathi Saath Chal Tu,  Dekhtey Reh Jaogey, Any Time Manoranjan (ATM), ZEE5 World Hits to increase access to quality content
• Foraying into international cricket with streaming International League T20 also aired across Zee channel network 
• In addition to this, ZEE5 is also home to over 100+ international hit titles, available for free for audiences; this catalogue has amassed a total of 12 million video views till date

Product:

• Launched the ZEE Tech and Innovation Centre in Bengaluru to develop a strong cohort of design, technology, data, and talent
• With seamless user interface and enhanced user experience, ZEE5 has emerged as the top OTT platform in app ratings. The platform is now rated 4.5/5 on Android Play Store and 4.7/5 on the iOS App Store

Partnerships:

• The last 5 years have seen ZEE5 grow multi-fold with its extensive pan-India network
• 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, Vi Movies & TV, Flipkart, Paytm, Amazon, YuppTV, Alliance, and ACT Fibernet
• Forged partnerships with OTT video players like OTTPlay (HT Group) and Watcho to democratize entertainment access and deepen the subscription reach of ZEE5, providing users with convenience
• Lastly, the platform also has tactical campaign-led partnerships with brands in the FMCG & BFSI sector to boost top of mind brand recall

Currently the highest growing OTT platform in India as per latest industry reports, ZEE5 is known for its diversified content across 100+ taste clusters and its focus on real, relevant, and resonant storytelling. Today, ZEE5 is home to 5 lakhs+ hours of on-demand content and 160+ live TV channels. With a rich library of over 3,400+ films; 200+ TV shows, 170+ originals, ZEE5 offers content in 12 Indian languages: English, Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, and Punjabi, and 6 international languages. The platform has an exciting line-up for 2023 that will add to its extensive library of content offering a wider array of catalogue to entertainment seekers.