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As the battle for eyeballs intensifies in the highly-competitive Over The Top (OTT) media industry, ZEE5, a new player in the OTT space, said it will launch over 90 original content in the next 18 months aimed at monetising the growing demand for premium content in the country.
“We have so far released 15 originals across six languages and we are planning to launch 90 plus originals in FY 2019 and reach 150+ digital premiers in the next 18 months,” said Manish Aggarwal, Business Head, ZEE5 India.
Launched by Zee Entertainment Enterprise Limited (ZEEL) in February, ZEE5 is a relatively new entrant to the fray that is facing cut-throat competition in the form of slashing subscription prices and strong content offerings by OTT players such as Netflix and Amazon Prime besides homegrown contestants like Hotstar, Voot, Eros Now, and AltBalaji.
OTT segment
According to PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2018-2022, India’s OTT video segment , growing at a CAGR of 22.6 per cent, is poised to enter the top 10 largest markets by 2022. The OTT video revenue, which hit ₹2,019 crore in 2017, is expected to reach ₹5,595 crore by 2022, the report added.
In a marked shift in the content offering, OTT players are investing heavily in creating original contents in local languages focussed on regional audiences and to expand their premium membership base. Original content such as Anurag Kashyap directed Sacred Games on Netflix and Breathe or McMafia on Amazon Prime are some of the popular web series.
On its part, ZEE5 recently launched its second Tamil web series Kallachirippu produced by Kollywood film director Karthick Subbaraj after America Mappillai, released in February. The platform also offers popular Hindi series such as Karenjit Kaur , a web series based on the life of Bollywood star, Sunny Leone; Zero KMS , and Mehmaan .
“The dubbed version of Kallachirippu is attracting viewership from North India and Maharashtra. This only goes on to strengthen our belief that good content appeals to audience universally,” says Aggarwal.
Freemium pricing model
ZEE5 follows a Freemium pricing model that offers both free and premium contents , catering to a mix of audiences. The platform recently premiered latest Bollywood movies such as Padman, Parmanu and Veere Di Wedding on the ‘Theatre ke baad, Pehli baar’ feature, under which the latest movies are screened straight after theatre release and before airing on television.
Aided by a large library of Hindi and regional content across 12 languages available with Zee network of channels, Zee5 is creating originals for digital natives across the country.
According to a Deloitte technology, media and telecommunications report, OTT players are heavily investing in creating and distributing original programmes in Hindi and regional languages.
The report further states that ₹2,500-3,000 crore has been set aside for OTT services in the country especially for original content production.
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