MxMIndia

Tag: Punit Misra

  • The collaboration to build robust original content for Zee5 in Hindi

    Zee5 inks partnership with Applause

    By Our Staff

     

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by ZEE5 (@zee5)

    Zee Entertainment’s OTT platfom Zee5 has entered into a strategic partnership with content and IP studio Applause Entertainment, a venture of Aditya Birla Group, for a multi-show association.

     

    Commenting on the partnership, Punit Misra, President – Content & International Markets, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, said, “Zee5’s content design principles centre around intimately knowing our viewers and building a bouquet of engaging and entertaining offerings for our multiple consumer cohorts. While Consumer Intimacy is at the heart of our content creation philosophy, our Content Creator Partners are the other crucial pillar in our approach. We are excited about our partnership with one of the leading content creators of our country – Sameer Nair & Applause Entertainment. With our shared belief in consumer obsession, coupled with their unique content creation capabilities, I am confident that we will win the hearts of millions.”

     

    Added Sameer Nair, CEO, Applause Entertainment: “Over the past four years, Applause has created a diverse slate of content and explored stories across genres, languages and geographies. We are thrilled that our first outing with Zee5 is with Kaun Banegi Shikarwati, a light-hearted, heart-warming dramedy that is both quirky and delightful, and boasts a stellar cast of actors. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with Zee5 and help contribute in a small way to their global ambition.”

     

  • Zee5 will exclusively stream new TVF originals and subsequent seasons of iconic shows like Pitchers, Tripling, Humorously Yours, amongst others

    Zee5 partners TVF

    By Our Staff

     

    OTT platform Zee5 has inked a content partnership with leading content creator TVF (The Viral Fever). The partnership includes the launch of originals and subsequently, new seasons of iconic TVF shows on its SVOD platform, along with popular cult favourites that will be accessible to all, on its AVOD platform.

     

    With this, Zee5 will have shows such as Pitchers Season 2, Tripling Season 3, Humorously Yours Season 3, and other titles like Engineering Girls Season 2 and The Aam Aadmi Family Season 4. In addition to the existing seasons of the said shows above, older titles like Permanent Roommates, Tech Conversations with Dad, Awkward Conversations, PA-Gals, Inmates, Weekends, The Insiders, Zeroes will also be accessible on Zee5.

     

    Said Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer, Zee5 India: “Our focus for this year is ‘Entertainment Inclusion’, to ensure everybody, irrespective of the demographic and language preference, has access to purposeful entertainment on Zee5. The first step to this has been to further bolster our content offering followed by ensuring we are able to take that content to the right user. Our association with TVF is in that direction. Over 60% of our audience comes from Hindi-speaking markets and TVF caters perfectly to that group. Being a customer-obsessed platform, we are delighted to bring these much-loved and iconic TVF shows to our platform to further enhance our extensive library of purposeful, multilingual, and diverse titles. Going forward, we will continue to satiate viewer’s appetite for entertainment by offering them a robust slate of differentiated stories in the language of their choice and at their fingertips, reinforcing our positing as the Multilingual Storyteller for millions of entertainment seekers.”

     

    Commenting on this, Punit Misra, President, Content & International Markets, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, said, “Consumer obsession is the cornerstone of our content design thinking on Zee5. Our partnership with TVF is driven by that same obsession, as we seek the love and advocacy of both the OTT native youth audience as well as family audiences. Bringing in a mix of iconic shows and characters on one hand, and heart-warming new shows on the other, we hope to truly delight our viewers. We see a convergence of thinking about content design when working with TVF, driven as it is with our belief of the power of the cycle of observation to insight to finally, the creation of great characters and stories that touch our hearts and truly inspire. Our true reward is to have our viewers move from just being consumers of our high-quality content, to becoming cheerleaders and champions for the Zee5 platform.”

     

    Added Arunabh Kumar, Founder, TVF:  “It gives us immense pleasure to join hands with the team at Zee led by Mr Punit Misra. We are always trying to push the boundaries with our characters and stories, and we are confident that with the power of the Zee5 platform, our teams and stories will win the hearts of millions of new viewers across the country and the world over. With this collaboration, we are looking forward to creating real magic, not just bringing the best of TVF on the platform but also creating memorable new seasons and shows that our viewers and fans can thoroughly enjoy.”

     

    And this is what Nimisha Pandey, Head Hindi Originals, Zee5 India, said in a statement: “We are excited to team up with TVF, the creators who put streaming content on the map in this country. Their stories inspire an instant connect as their slice-of-life shows closely mirror the viewers’ lives, with charming ensemble of characters having relatable quirks brought alive by some very talented actors. The iconic TVF shows finding a home on Zee5 is just the beginning, and together we will be bringing our viewers shows that will surely win their hearts and put a smile on their faces. With new seasons of all-time favourites such as ‘Pitchers S2’, ‘Tripling S3’, ‘Humorously Yours S3’, ‘Aam Aadmi Family S4’, and ‘Engineering Girls S2’ along with some new shows for viewers to look forward to through the year!”

     

  • Agarwal will continue to report into Punit Misra, CEO, Domestic Broadcast Business, ZEEL

    Prathyusha Agarwal appointed Chief Consumer Officer at ZEEL

    By A Correspondent

     

    Prathyusha Agarwal

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd has announced that Prathyusha Agarwal will take on the mantle of the Chief Consumer Officer for the domestic broadcast business. In this new role, Agarwal will continue to report into Punit Misra, CEO, Domestic Broadcast Business, ZEEL and, as a communique notes, she will be responsible for embedding a customer first culture and thinking in all aspects of the broadcast business.

     

    Speaking about the new role, Misra said: “The needs of our consumers are dynamic and ever-evolving. Over the last few years, across all functions and teams in the Domestic Broadcast Business, we have embarked on a journey towards making consumer/ customer centricity a key strategic priority for us. While this structural change may be seen as a simple merging of the marketing and the strategy and insights functions, our vision is much larger than that. We endeavour to create this new function as an epicentre for driving consumer/ customer centricity across the organisation.”

     

    Added Agarwal: “Our viewers are evolving at a pace never seen before, and the only way to win their hearts is to be fully tuned in and translate this understanding into compelling offerings. We need to break the wall and all the layers between viewers and creators to build a seamless soul to screen storytelling and connecting conversations with our consumers and customers. I am honoured and thrilled to take on this new role and build our customer centric ZNA that is factful in decision making and mindful of the viewer’s perspective in everything we do.”

     

     

  • Zee Biskope (Bhojpuri), Zee Thirai (Tamil) and Zee Picchar (Kannada) are the three channels announced

    Zee announces 3 regional movie channels

    By A Correspondent

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) has announced today that it will further strengthen its regional portfolio to serve the many Bharats within our country with four new channels – Punjabi GEC Channel – Zee Punjabi (which we wrote about earlier) and three movie channels – Zee Biskope (Bhojpuri), Zee Thirai (Tamil) & Zee Picchar (Kannada)

    Said Punit Misra, CEO – Domestic Broadcast Business, ZEEL” “ZEEL has completed 27 illustrious years, now entertaining over 800mn people across India, 650mn of which comes through our non-Hindi offerings. We at ZEEL have always believed that deep understanding of cultures across the many Bharats, and then serving people entertainment rooted in each culture is what wins hearts, be it through original shows, or through curation of content like movies. As India’s leading broadcaster with successful channel offerings across states, we have consistently showcased our capability to understand the cultural pulse of our extraordinary country. This is at the core of our differentiated strategy at ZEEL. Our newest offerings are designed to add to our growth trajectory, further cementing our belief in winning hearts across many Bharats.”

    Added Prathyusha Agarwal, Chief Marketing Officer, ZEEL: “At Zee, we have always believed that at the heart of storytelling lies culture, and for successful and endearing stories, one needs to obsess about getting deep inside this cultural core of each of our regions. This “soul to screen” approach is what helps us bring alive the spirit of that region through unique stories, relatable charming characters and boli that drives love for our brands and helps us belong to our audiences. From a highly TV penetrated but hugely under consumed latent Punjabi GEC opportunity to insatiable, thriving demand for movies in the Bhojpuri, Tamil and Kannada markets, the regional need gaps present the perfect opening to further deepen these bonds. We crafted and curated these four new offerings powered by deep viewer understanding, loads of passion and hoping that our viewers enjoy them as much as we did creating them!”,

     

     

  • With less than 10 days to go for the new TRAI-decreed distribution regime to kick in, the Zee group too has unveiled a slew of packages for viewing

    Zee unveils packs for life from Dec 29

    By A Correspondent

     

    With less than 10 days to go for the new TRAI-decreed distribution regime to kick in, the Zee group too has unveiled a slew of packages for viewing.

     

    Punit Misra

    Speaking on the unveiling, Punit Misra, CEO, Domestic Broadcast Business, ZEEL said: “The new pricing regime by TRAI is a transformational structural reform that will go a long way in strengthening the sector with the creation of a uniform pricing model. It puts the power of choice with the consumer, giving him the flexibility to opt for channels and bouquets he loves and pay only for those.  For over 26 years, it has been our commitment at ZEE to bring families together through the power of television. Our research on subscriber choice modelling and path-to-purchase understanding pointed towards consumers treating television as a family asset. The monthly purchase is optimized for everyday entertainment needs of all the family members.  Hence our approach towards pack configuration has been ‘family first’ – offering the top genres that contribute up to 85% of family viewing needs of our viewers on a daily basis.”

     

    Championing the “Freedom of Choice”, Zee has launched “Channels Ka Chunaav 2019” , a multimedia multi-stakeholder communication initiative, urging viewers to fulfil demands of all family members through Family Ki Suno, Zee Ko Chuno! Keeping with the topicality of elections and the power of choice that has the ability to change status quo, Zee, with this campaign, aims to be the catalyst for the transformational change expected across the TV ecosystem.

     

     

  • The channel launch was announced in the presence of Punit Misra, CEO, ZEEL, in Kochi

    Zee Keralam to launch in Nov

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has announced its entry into Kerala with the launch of its fifth channel in the southern region, Zee Keralam. The channel was unveiled by the ZEEL leadership team comprising Punit Misra, CEO, ZEEL, Siju Prabhakaran, South Cluster Head, ZEEL and Deepti Sivan Pillay, Business Head, Zee Keralam in Kochi, in the presence of artists from the Zee Keralam family. Zee Keralam will go on air in November 2018.

     

    Commenting on the launch, Siju Prabhakaran, South Cluster Head, ZEEL said: “The South Cluster has been growing exponentially for Zee as a network in the last few years and with the launch of Zee Keralam, we are certain that the region will continue to perform at a high growth rate. We set foot in the South with our first GEC – Zee Telugu in 2005, followed by Zee Kannada, Zee Tamil and Zee Cinemalu.”

     

    Added Deepti Sivan Pillay, Business Head of the new channel: “Zee Keralam aspires to reflect the beliefs, ideas and attitudes of every middle-class Malayali today. With a well-balanced programming mix based on consumer insights, the aim is to ignite a sense of self-transformation among our audiences to achieve the extraordinary. With inspiring stories of a girl whose nakshatram and physical appearance doesn’t limit her from taking charge of her life in Swathi Nakshatram Chothi to Zee’s most popular dance format Dance Kerala Dance where we blur the lines between aspiration and stardom, we believe that Zee Keralam will be a platform for every Malayali to be inspired to weave wonders in their lives.”

     

     

  • In addition to the recently launched Perfect Pati, the channel has unveiled reality show Love Me India and Vikram Betaal Ki Rahasya Gaatha

    &TV undertakes channel refresh campaign with ‘Hai KhaasHarAndaaz’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zee Entertainment Television’s Hindi general entertainment channel &TV has undertaken a refresh.

     

    Said Punit Misra, CEO, ZEEL – India Broadcast Business: “As India’s No.1 entertainment network, it is our endeavour to fulfill the entertainment needs of every viewer segment. We believe &TV, the youngest GEC in the ZEEL portfolio is best suited to cater to ‘&dians’ – the multifaceted, progressive, young urban viewers who want to be more. With our unique brand point-of-view led content creation approach, the &TV team has crafted stories and characters that ‘&dians’ will fall in love with.”

     

    Added Prathyusha Agarwal, CMO, ZEEL:“The & Brand in our portfolio aims to disrupt the entertainment space with content that caters to the nonconformist ‘&dian’ mindset. Our new brand campaign ‘Hai KhaasHarAndaaz’ is pegged on a simple premise – today’s Indian is multi-dimensional in their thoughts, actions and aspirations and seamlessly traverse between their many roles in life and excel in each. It’s truly an & and not an OR world for them as theyadd meaning to and fulfil every relationship, value themselves and their work, go beyond what society expects them to and actualize all their &s along the way. Through this campaign we celebrate this ability of an &dian toexpand the canvas to accomplish their desires and the multiplicity idea captures their diverse hues in full glory.”

     

    Depicting this core proposition to the viewers, is the new channel refresh campaign created by Lowe Lintas.Bringing alive the essence of the new channel thought of ‘Hai KhaasHarAndaaz’, &TV will presentsa new line-up of shows in the coming months, starting off with the recently launched Perfect Pati, two upcoming big-ticket properties and more in the offing.

     

    Added Vishnu Shankar, Head, &TV:“As society develops and people’s ethos progress, we capture the change and reflect this sentiment in the entertainment we provide to our audience. Ever since its inception, we at &TV believe in psychographics, not demographics – targeting a contemporary blooming mindset. Our new brand campaign pays tribute to today’s ‘&dian’. As we move forward, we will present Khaas stories and engage our viewers in our unique Andaaz, in line with the brand motto.

     

     

  • The appointment is with immediate effect

    Aparna Bhosle appointed Business Head of Zee TV

    By A Correspondent

     

    Aparna Bhosle will lead Zee TV as its Business Head. Bhosle will continue to lead the FTA GECs and will report to Punit Misra, CEO, Domestic Broadcast Business, ZEEL.

     

    The premium cluster will now be led by Shaurya Mehta, in addition to his current role as Chief Operating Officer, Living Entertainment. He will also report to Punit Misra, CEO, Domestic Broadcast Business, ZEEL

     

     

  • The Aaj Likhenge Kal philosophy signifies the aspiration of the great Indian middle class

    Zee TV unveils new identify, credo & brand films

    By A Correspondent

     

    Twenty-five years after launch, Zee TV unveils an all-new ideology, encapsulated in the line – Aaj Likhenge Kal. The fresh reiteration of its brand purpose urges the audiences to curate their own extraordinary future. Two films have been created by Zee’s new creative agency, Publicis India.

     

    Said Punit Misra, CEO – Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, Domestic Broadcast Business: “As a pioneer of the satellite broadcast space, Zee TV’s content has always highlighted values that are deeply ingrained in the middle-class audiences around the world. As we look forward to the next leg of our journey, it is important for us to continuously reflect the aspirations of the evolving viewer, and inspire them to be their extraordinary self. Aaj Likhenge Kal is a brand and content mantra which will translate into a stronger bond with viewers. We wish to walk along the life journeys of our viewers and nudge and support them to proactively take control of their destinies. Zee TV’s evolution of its brand proposition is a part of a larger brand refresh exercise for our organization.”

     

    The Aaj Likhenge Kal philosophy is brought alive with a brand new visual identity, where each element signifies the aspiration of the great Indian middle class, note a communique, adding:  “The circular logo denotes the universal appeal of Zee TV’s all-inclusive content. The orange colour represents the inner glow or radiance that emanates from within – a symbol of positivity and confidence that the brand echoes. The brand packaging will be brought alive through elements of nature such as fire, earth, water, air – the diya which represents light and hope, the blooming of an orange flower that stands for the beauty of life and evolution, gold that denotes eternal richness and mosaic which enunciates the power of synergy that stems from several fragmented pieces coming together to form a beautiful whole.”

     

    Added Deepak Rajadhyaksha, Deputy Business Head – Zee TV: “With Aaj Likhenge Kal, we are cementing the building blocks of our relationship with viewers. As we move forward, we hope to unlock the India of our dreams by serving as catalysts in transforming the middle-class into self-motivated go-getters, reaching out for the extraordinary. Our shows, be it the existing line-up or the new launches, will be in reflective of our core proposition. With them, we wish to ignite a spark amongst our viewers to fight both intrinsic and societal battles, and proactively transform their destinies to shape a beautiful tomorrow.”

     

    Said Prathyusha Agarwal, CMO, ZEEL: :As we bring alive our brand philosophy through our shows and characters, a robust marketing strategy will establish and amplify the brand POV through multiple brand assets. Our brand anthem, composed by Vishal Bharadwaj, sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Arijit Singh hums the extraordinary journeys our audiences are making and hopes to be the voice of this unwavering spirit. Our brand film captures the essence of the great Indian middle class rising and aims to spark many more to take the leap. To truly touch people’s lives with the essence of Aaj Likhenge Kal this Diwali, Zee TV will bring light to the nation’s budding future through mobile vans with LED lit installations of the new logo. These vans, strategically placed, will provide light for those who would otherwise study under street lamps.”

  • Channel to go live on September 24

    Zee to launch &Prive HD wef Sep 24

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) is all set to strengthen its position in the English cinema cluster with the launch of its premium HD offering - &Privé HD. The channel will go live across HD DTH platforms on September 24.

     

    Speaking about the launch, Punit Misra, CEO, ZEEL said:”We are proud to present &Privé HD to our viewers who feel the other side of cinema; audiences who have a mind of their own, who chart their own path and take the road untaken. Like the name suggests, through &Privé we wish to become your personal space for quality cinema. In the last two years, there has been a remarkable growth in the viewership of premium English movies on the HD platform. With the launch of &Privé, we wish to further accelerate this and delight our consumers. The & brand talks to the contemporary Indian who has a progressive outlook and is experimental with his/her choices. We are confident that the &Privé brand extension, with its brilliantly curated content, will find a place in the hearts of the non-conformist, discerning viewer.”

     

    Added Aparna Bhosle, Business Cluster Head – Premium and FTA GEC Channels, ZEEL: “The curated list of movies that will be aired on the channel have multiple layers and a certain depth – something that we have realized appeals to a section of non-conformist cinema enthusiasts in India. &Privé HD will boast of a line-up of movies that will cut across genres and will hopefully remain etched in the minds of our consumers, making them truly experience ‘The Other Side’ of cinema.”

     

    Speaking on the marketing strategy, Prathyusha Agarwal, CMO, ZEEL said: “For our free-thinking audience who have a fierce aversion to follow, &Privé HD will fuel the drive to think and feel different. Keeping in line with their evolved design sensibilities, the Brand & Broadcast Design delivers a signature luxury visual experience that is inspired by international magazine style and semiotics. Our communication campaign is an ode to our TG who venture beyond the obvious, celebrating those who feel the other side.”

     

  • Lowe Lintas will handle the Zee Corporate brand amongst others, Publicis has on its plate the flagship Zee TV in its kitty

    Zee exits FCB Ulka, appoints Lowe Lintas & Publicis India for creative. Appoints Genesis BM for PR

    By A Correspondent

     

    The winds of change are blowing at Zee Entertainment. The network has appointed two agencies – Publicis India and Lowe Lintas – to spearhead its creative duties.

     

    So while Lowe Lintas will handle the Zee Corporate brand amongst others, Publicis has on its plate the flagship Zee TV in its kitty along with a slew of others channels. Meanwhile, although the channel has not made any official announcements, the WPP-owned Genesis Burson-Marsteller will be handling its public relations mandate.

     

    Announcing the move on the creative agencies, Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEEL said: “As we embark on this journey, we would like to thank FCB Ulka for the long and fruitful association in building some of the most loved channels that have become a part of our viewers’ lives. To build our equity further on this solid foundation, we welcome Lowe Lintas and Publicis on-board as partners who will help establish the organisation’s presence across all the entertainment verticals. By consolidating the entire business with two strong agency partners, the organisation is committed to building significantly higher capability in brand building, consumer centricity and strategic marketing thinking. Both agencies bring with them a strong consumer centric DNA and a deep knowledge of brands and business, which is core to our philosophy of driving future growth for the organisation. We look forward to Publicis and Lowe partnering with us to grow & develop our strong and evolving portfolio of brands.”

     

    Speaking on the development, Punit Misra, CEO – Domestic Broadcast, ZEEL said, “We are excited to have Lowe Lintas and Publicis on-board as our creative partners. The appointment follows an extensive pitch process which was evaluated by the key leadership team involving an in-depth assessment of creative, planning & servicing capabilities of the agencies, to cater to a large & diverse bouquet of channels & business needs. The move is to ensure that the channels build stronger consumer preference and loyalty for each of the individual brands and businesses. Together, we aspire to create the best in class brand andmarketing ecosystem for every channel and the overall organisation.”

     

    Other than planning and executing a 360-degree creative mandate for the ‘Zee’ Corporate Brand, Lowe Lintas will also work on the bouquet of cinema channels- including Zee Cinema, Zee Classic and Zee Action, the ‘&’Brand – &TV and &Pictures, and Zee’s South Cluster regional channels.

     

    And for Publicis India, other than Zee TV, there’s Zee Anmol, Zee Café & Zee Studio, the youth andmusic channels- Zing and ZETC and the regional channels in Marathi, Bengali and Odia – Zee Marathi, Zee Yuva, Zee Talkies, Zee Bangla, Zee Bangla Cinema and Sarthak.

     

    Interestingly, the Zee Entertainment communique on the announcement carries a statement from Nitin Karkare, CEO, FCB Ulka: “We are proud of our partnership with the Zee Group.  It’s been a wonderful relationship and we have together had many successes across channels and programmes. We wish them the best and many more successes in the years to come.” It may be noted that the &TV creative mandate was with Infectious, the boutique agency set up by Ramanuj Shastry and Nisha Singhania.

     

    Highlighting his agency’s mandate on the new business win, Raj Gupta, CEO-Lowe Lintas said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to partner ZEEL, who pioneered a series of revolutionary television watching experiences and much more for India in the last 25 years. At a time where content networks are competing to get attention with serials/shows, multi-crore blockbuster movies, digital content and millions of shares on digital - we’re excited about the possibilities of imagining and reimagining purpose-led strategic and creative ideas for all the ZEEL offerings, that will inspire Indians to dream more, do more and become more.”

     

    Elaborating further on the partnership, Srija Chatterjee, Managing Director, Publicis Worldwide India said: “Zee is an iconic brand that has been in the minds and hearts of millions of Indians over almost 25 years. We are delighted that we were able to demonstrate our strong strategic approach through the use of proprietary tools that enable brands to grow at the speed of culture and creative capabilities across the different consumer segments that the brand appeals to, that enabled the ZEEL team to choose us for this very exciting challenge. We are truly excited and looking forward to this partnership to create iconic work that takes the brand and its offerings forward in the minds of the consumers.”

     

    On PR, Genesis B-M has been appointed for the corporate mandate, but there are rumours that this could extend to the various or at least some Zee brands.

     

  • His appointment is with effect from October 1s, 2016

    Former HUL ED Punit Mishra to helm broadcast at ZEEL

    By A Correspondent

     

    Punit Misra, former Executive Director – Sales and Customer Development at Hindustan Unilever (HUL) will be take charge as CEO - Domestic Broadcast Business at Zee Entertainment. Misra will report to Punit Goenka, MD and CEO, ZEEL for his role. His appointment is with effect from October 1, 2016.