Zee Tamizh to focus on women-centric original content

Tamil general entertainment channel Zee Tamizh is undergoing a brand refresh to be relevant to changing consumer preferences and attract a larger audience with original content. It will be launched on Monday.

In an interaction with BusinessLine, Siju Prabhakaran, Cluster Head – South Business, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, said the revamp will see content with more women-centric characters, reality shows that run for a shorter duration and better movie offerings. The channel recently acquired rights for Vijay-starrer Mersal and Rajinikanth’s 2.0.

The transformation, says Prabhakaran, is a result of a major shift the Tamil entertainment channels witnessed in the past two years.

The Tamil entertainment industry accounts for about ₹2,000 crore and is one of the largest regional players in the country. It is also a priority market for advertising for many retailers. But the kind of prime-time shows that were popular few years have undergone a change in the last two years, says Prabhakaran .

No more stereotyped ones

A decade ago most of the serials tended to take a conservative approach and stereotyped women. There were not many choices available for audience as well. But in the last two years, original content offered by the channels increased with strong women characters, who resonate with the current generation, says Prabhakaran.

In a market study the company carried out recently, it was found that women-centric serials and series that do not drag on for years tend to attract viewership. It also found that viewers look for variety more often as they lose interest on reality shows that run for months together. Movie offerings, too, play a significant role in attracting viewers as it garners significant viewership during weekends.

Spike in market share

The channel has been experimenting with new shows and serials in the past year and has seen its market share increase from less than 5 per cent to 15 per cent. “We want to increase our audience base further,” says Prabhakaran.

“To do that the brand refresh will take into account changing consumer needs and shows are designed-based on that,” he added.

To attract Tamil audiences overseas, the company also plans to strengthen its OTT (over-the-top) platform. The company is working on bringing more original content to the OTT-platform by the year-end. According to Prabhakaran, Tamil OTT platforms have a strong market in the US, Canada and Asia-Pacific region, where there is a significant Tamil population. “Going forward, those are the markets we want to strengthen,” he added.