ZEE5 forays into esports with streaming IESF Big Bang Asia Open 2023

• Marks strategic partnership with Big Bang Media
• With ZEE5 as the exclusive streaming partner of IESF Big Bang Asia Open 2023, the tournament is free for all on the OTT platform
• HiPi is the official short video app partner of IESF Big Bang Asia Open 2023

ZEE5, the video streaming platform from the Zee Group, is all set to foray into the esports streaming with the IESF Big Bang Asia Open 2023. The tournament will be streamed on the platform from 4th March to 2nd April 2023. Following the success of ILT20, and expanding the catalogue of sports offerings, ZEE5 partners with Big Bang Media to bring one of the biggest esports tournaments for the viewers free of cost. 

The IESF Big Bang Asia Open 2023 has over 80,000 participants from across 40 countries in Asia and the Middle East. With qualifiers already underway on passport.gg, ZEE5 is the exclusive streaming partner for the play-offs and the finals of the 4 featured games, Clash of Clans, Real Cricket, Dota 2 and EFootball. 

Talking about the series, Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 India, said, “We are delighted to announce the streaming of the leading esports championship, IESF Big Bang Asia Open 2023 on ZEE5. Being a customer first brand, we are committed to catering to consumers widespread demands. Esports is a popular genre amongst youth with a remarkable potential to grow in future, with advancements in technology and gaming infrastructure. Post the encouraging response on ILT20, we are happy to partner with IESF and Big Bang Media for the Big Bang Asia 2023 tournament. We are excited and hopeful audiences will enjoy watching the games.” 

Commenting on the partnership, Asia’s #1 YouTuber and leading gaming influencer, Ajey Nagar, aka CarryMinati, one of the owners of Big Bang Media, shared, “We are very proud to have ZEE5 as our streaming partner for the IESF Big Bang Asia Open.  ZEE5's quality of content, distribution muscle and creative leadership makes it a dominant media house across geographies and will help establish the IESF Asia Open as the leading esports championship in the region and provide gamers, creators and audiences with an unmatched immersive experience.” 

Commenting on the partnership, GBS Bindra, Chief Business Officer, Hipi, said, “Big Bang Asia Open is more than just a tournament, it’s an electrifying experience that brings together the best online gamers from across Asia. We are thrilled to bring the finest moments from this exhilarating event to millions of fans, as the official short video partner for Big Bang Asia Open. Gaming enthusiasts on Hipi will have exclusive access to the exciting highlights and moments from the tournament.” 

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 lakh+ 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 catalog to entertainment seekers.