ZEE Entertainment stays ahead of the industry in keeping consumers entertained and well-informed

Media & Entertainment Powerhouse, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEE) has yet again outperformed the industry by embracing & optimally utilizing technology solutions amidst lockdown, in order to create and offer fresh content for its consumers. As a pioneer in the realm of entertainment in India, ZEE has yet again demonstrated its ability & potential to stay ahead of the industry, with a sharp focus on keeping its viewers entertained and well informed across key consumer touchpoints. 

The company has leveraged technology and implemented various solutions across its key functions, swiftly and collaboratively, creating the bedrock for creative innovation in the content offering. The teams have enabled innovations through remote production of content over mobile & professional cameras by using video & audio production technologies to support broadcast, digital & social platforms.

On the Television front, we are ready with an array of new shows in multiple languages across its regions. To begin with, ZEE is all set to bring together the entire music industry across 10 states with celebrities, music stalwarts, best of SRGMP singers and judges to deliver the SRGMP 25year – Silver Jubilee Concert for a Golden cause. 

This 25-hour Live Music Marathon, 'Ek Desh Ek Raag' will raise funds for India 'COVID Response Fund' by GiveIndia. As a first of its kind TV + Digital Musical initiative, the show is all set for a 25 hour Digital Live-athon on 23rd May 2020 and the Mega Finale TV Concert on 24th May 2020 on Zee TV and our other leading channels. The popular SRGMP title song is being rendered in 10 languages with the contribution of musical stalwarts like Pandit Jasraj, Ronu Majumdar, Selva Ganesh, Himesh Reshammiya, Shaan, Udit Narayan and more.

Keeping the consumer need at the fore, we will bring exciting new offerings across non-fiction with Zee Kannada launching 'Lockdown Diaries' and 'Coffee with Anu', where the former is a fun-filled game-chat show with its own artists. Zee Marathi is geared up to launch 3 non-fiction shows, titled as 'Vedh Bhavishyacha' - a spiritual chat show, 'Gharchya Ghari Home Minister' - a virtual format of the popular show 'Home Minister' and 'Gharat Basle Saare' - a first-of-its-kind Standup Comedy Puppet show by Ramdas Pandhye. 

Zee Marathi is also set to offer 4 new fiction shows shot locally in Maharashtra under the new social distancing guidelines. Zee Sarthak has been airing 'Lockdown Challenge', a unique non-fiction show, showcasing lives of their leading celebrities during the lockdown. Zee Sarthak is also ready with a 2-hour original movie, titled as 'Mu Tame Lockdown' to be launched this June 2020. Both, the pieces of content have been shot at the homes of the respective celebrities using mobile phones.

Zee Bangla has launched three shows Priyo Tarakar Andarmanal, Abol Tabol – a comedy show and Lockdown Diaries inspired by true human stories. Completely shot on mobile, Lockdown Stories is a tribute to the human spirit of fighting through short stories that aim to portray the human bonding, family strength and positivity this time has allowed us to re-establish. Airing for 6 days, the stories are inspired by real-life and includes frontline health workers, young couples, a kid trying to explore his imagination and middle-class inhabitants in a city landscape represented by renowned artists like Gaurav, Debolina, Arunodoy, Tanima Sen and more. With each story, Zee Bangla and its artists intend to take a pledge to be more respectful, more patient, more empathetic and more humane.

&TV spearheaded innovation through two special initiatives and brought alive the festive spirit with an interactive episode on Hanuman Jayanti, enabling viewers to sing along Hanuman Chalisa on TV. Ek Desh Ek Awaaz was yet another special initiative undertaken on Ambedkar Jayanti. Also as a tribute to front-liners, &TV invited the viewers to pay tribute to all the Corona Warriors with a special show titled as 'Corona Yodhaon Ko Salaam'.

On the digital front, ZEE5, the OTT platform of ZEE continued to provide an uninterrupted and unmatched dosage of entertainment for its audience to binge. The entertainment super app launched 11 new original shows/movies amidst the lockdown and is ready to release 5 shows/movies by the end of May 2020. Some of the key shows which are shot entirely in the safety of the actors' homes are Bhalla Calling Bhalla, Never Kiss Your Best Friend (Lockdown Special), Kaalchakra and more. In addition to this, Ghoomketu (Movie) is all set to be released on 22nd May 2020, Kaali 2 (Thriller) on 29th May 2020 and Kehene Ko Humsafar Hai 3 (Romantic Drama) and The Casino (Thriller) in the month of June 2020.

ZEE's LIVE Entertainment vertical which has always strived to deliver larger than life performances for its audiences embraced the digital platforms to ensure that its consumers continued to remain entertained amidst the lockdown. Transforming its on-ground flagship IP – Supermoon, to Supermoon Live to Home, ZEE LIVE offered a fresh dose of engaging content for its audience. Streaming LIVE on the OTT platform ZEE5, Supermoon Live to Home offers the best of Music and Comedy across the Nation and worldwide. Starting 23rd May 2020, ZEE LIVE is all set to present 12 weeks of original content with engaging acts of over 24 renowned artists and bands including Bickram Ghosh, Palash Sen, Sahil Khattar, Varun Thakur, Mame Khan, Parkirama and more.

ZEE Music Company, the music vertical of the Company is geared up to add over 1000 songs to its catalogue this year despite the lockdown phase. During the lockdown phase itself, the vertical has released over 120 songs, which is by far, the largest output by any label in the Indian Music Industry. ZEE Music entertains over 54.9 Mn subscribers on YouTube.

The vertical is also focusing on creating ZEE Music Originals which are home-shot music videos by renowned artists. Music from albums like Shakuntala Devi and Gulabo Sitabo will also be offered to the consumers.

Speaking on these extraordinary steps undertaken by the Company, Mr Punit Goenka, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ZEE said, “ZEE has always set new trends for the industry, and I am very proud of our teams for making the optimal utilization of technology solutions to ensure that our consumers continued to get a fresh dosage of entertainment content, amidst the lockdown. We will continue to create fresh, rich and engaging content for our viewers, by discovering new means and paths. It is time for the industry to define a new normal, to ensure that our consumers remain well-informed and entertained”.

The Company's facility in Jaipur (Essel Vision) has emerged as a strong hub for post-production and edit support. Using state of the art technology support, the edit and post-production of the films was completed by the editors within the safety of their homes.
The Company's Broadcast Operations & Engineering team developed remote clients through which systems could be operated remotely from home, which is a first of its kind in the industry. A Work from Home edit capability was implemented for key studio activities such as editing, graphics, audio, and online applications by using proxy-based workflows with edit-over-cloud solutions.

As a leading player in the media and entertainment industry, ZEE has yet again outperformed the industry by staying ahead of the curve, with a sharp focus on keeping its consumers well-informed and entertained.