Zee Entertainment sees vast potential in regional channels

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) will invest heavily in regional markets, where it sees a 70-90 per cent growth potential.

According to Prathyusha Agarwal, CMO, ZEEL, nearly 50 per cent of the company’s viewership comes from its regional portfolio, which includes entertainment and movie channels. With growth coming in such high double digits, “more original content” is being worked-on.

“Nearly, 70-90 per cent growth is coming from regional channels. There is a huge opportunity to grow in regional and rural. Naturally, we will make more active investments in the segment,” she said without sharing investment details.

Apart from advertising, TRAI’s new tariff order has led to other monetisation opportunities, she said. An increase in subscription revenue is a positive impact of the new tariff order, she said, adding that ZEEL’s subscription base grew 46 per cent in the first quarter of this fiscal.

Nationally, TV viewership grew 1.30 per cent year-on-year in Q1 FY20, following the implementation of the tariff order, she observed.

Film production

ZEEL is also planning to get into the production of Bengali films. It already owns a movie production and distribution company, Zee Studios, which has been producing movies under the Zee Bangla Cinema Originals brand. These movies are created every month for TV audiences and are aired on its regional channel.

But the plan now, according to Samrat Ghosh, Cluster Head - East, ZEEL, is to look at releasing some of the ‘originals’ in theatres. “By December, there could be a concrete plan around this,” he said.

He further said the West Bengal government’s rule mandating the screening of Bengali films in theatres and multiplexes for at least 120 days in a year, during prime time (12 noon to 9 pm), should give a fillip to the industry.

The Bengali film industry has been having a rough patch. Apart from mounting losses, poor time slots at multiplexes has been cited as an issue by film producers.