India - ZEE5 - Global Internet TV Consortium

3/22/2021 India - ZEE5 - Global Internet TV Consortium
GLOBAL INTERNET TV
CONSORTIUM
A network for research on Net ix and other internet-distributed TV services
India – ZEE5
Contributed by Darshana Sreedhar Mini
Key Takeaways
ZEE5’s presence in the internet televisual landscape showcases its parent

company Zee TV’s hold on the linear television market and the continuities
between its broadcast logics and those of ZEE5, as for instance the combination
of AVOD (Advertisement Video on Demand) with SVOD (Subscription Video on
Demand).
With more local players such as SonyLIV, Voot and ErosNow vying for
subscribers, ZEE5 has initiated content alliance and collaboration with
platforms such as ALTBalaji (owned by Balaji Tele lms) for co-creation of
original content as well as mutual sharing of content to SVOD subscribers of
both platforms.
As opposed to the global focus of Disney+/Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video and

Net ix, ZEE5 relies on a localization strategy rooted in their strength in regional
language content that accommodates audiences based on tiers of geographical
location and expendable income.
https://global-internet-tv.com/india-zee5/ 1/14
ZEE5 supports 18 languages and is available in 193 countries as ZEE5 Global

and has partnered with several local telecom groups as well as smart TV
providers to expand its global operations.
Figure 1: Content speci cation from ZEE5 promotional material
Market
Launched in 2018, ZEE5 is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL),

one of the leading television and media entertainment companies based in India and is
part of the Essel Group headed by Subhash Chandra. As opposed to the global focus of
Disney+/Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video and Net ix, ZEE5 relies on a localization
strategy rooted in their strengths in regional language content to audiences
differentiated by tiers of geographic location and expendable income. Moreover, as
opposed to internet television as a form distinct from linear television, ZEE5’s growth
and digital expansion is integrally connected to its parent company Zee TV in the way it
utilizes the affordances offered by digital media culture.
The streaming platform is available via web as well as a mobile app on Android and iOS
platforms. In its expansion drive, ZEE5 is targeting audiences who may not be fully
familiar with or have limited knowledge of digital media formats. The underlying logic
is to make the platform emulate the logics of broadcast television and use that as a
hook to make users transition from broadcast to digital television. ZEE5 caters to a
clientele that moves between browsing regional language Indian television and lm,
Zee originals, live TV, news channels, music, kid’s content, games, and lifestyle content.
Market reports indicate that ZEE5 is aiming to cultivate this demographic as a
dedicated viewer base. ZEE5 has an advantage over other platforms in having content
procured by the various Zee subsidiaries. The full spread of this pre-existing
infrastructure includes 46 television channels that cover 11 languages, as well as
movie-speci c channels with a dedicated regional viewership base. Access to this
content library gives ZEE5 an edge in catering to the South Asian diaspora as well as
marking its international presence, as ZEE5 Global is available outside the country
with 35 channels and content available in 8 non-Indian languages. Research indicates
that ZEE5’s success in the Indian market owes a lot to such marketing possibilities and
the strategies they use to promote regional language content. While data on their
global subscription is not publicly available, in December 2020, ZEE5 announced that
it had 65.9 million monthly active users and 5.4 million daily active users.
ZEE5’s upsurge in subscription is boosted by its pre-existing connection with the Zee
media conglomerate and its reach in regional markets. The focus on regional content
can be seen in the programming logics as well as the promotion strategies to showcase
ZEE5 as a localized network providing transnational content. For example, ZEE5 and
Big Synergy Media struck a deal with NENT UK to produce the Indian remake of two
seasons of Black Widows. ZEE5’s commitment towards culturally rooted storytelling
techniques was promoted as an extension of their interests in “stories with culture
sparks”—accounting for cultural nuances and local avors in both narratives and
regional focus.[1] This localization can be seen in a music video released in 2018
conceptualized by the creative agency BBH India for ZEE5’s launch. Titled
#ApniBhashaMeinFeelhai (Feel in one’s own language) the video foregrounds the diverse
fabric of “many Indias” and re ects the possibility of watching/feeling in one’s own
language thanks to ZEE5’s multi-language options. The music video captures the
zestful energy of the young and spirited crowd who represents the prospective
viewership, as they break into a dance, while speaking dialogues in their respective
languages. The publicity tag for the Twitter campaign runs “Hello, namaste, Kem Chho,
Vanakkam! The feel of your language is your entertainment too. Now watch what you
like, in a language of your choice” (the latter three words being the variants of “hello” in
Hindi, Gujarati and Tamil languages).
Figure 2: Content speci cation from ZEE5 promotional material
Figure 3: ZEE5 in Malayalam Language showcasing content categorized as comedy, thrillers, and all-time
favorites
Regulation
There have been public demands to censor video-on-demand content in India. In

September 2020, fteen video streaming services including Net ix, Amazon, and ZEE5
signed up for a self-regulation code under the aegis of Internet and Mobile Association
of India (IAMAI) for platforms hosting curated content. This was in lieu of direct
government censorship. The self-regulation code includes age classi cation,
appropriate content description, access control and grievance redressal. Prohibited
material includes content that disrespects the national ag and national emblem, child
pornography, content supporting terrorism, and any banned media content. The Indian
government has introduced regulatory mechanisms that brings online content
providers under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and foreign direct
investment (FDI) has been capped at 26 percent. According to the Information
Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code), 2021, internet
television comes under the category of intermediaries. The intermediaries have to
publish the privacy policy and user agreement, alongside agreeing to a grievance
redressal mechanism that has both self-regulatory mechanisms in place, as well as
oversight mechanisms developed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
ministry.
Even before the new regulation came into force in June 2020, ALT Balaji and ZEE5 had
to censor an episode of XXX Uncensored, a web series that they co-produced, owing to
cyberbullying and public backlash. The scene in question involved a woman married to
a soldier making her lover wear her husband’s army uniform. They also had to suspend
a Tamil web series The Godman after complaints were led alleging that it is demeaning
to Brahmins. In August 2020, ZEE5 was criticized for using a sketch of the martyred
freedom ghter Khudiram Bose in a picture gallery for wanted criminals in an episode
of the television show Abhay 2. In response to the protests, ZEE5 apologized and
blurred the image.
ZEE5’s launch also coincides with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI)
NTO 2.0 (New Tariff Order) that put an end to bundling of television channels as a
package that forced consumers to buy all of the broadcasters’ channels. While NTO 2.0
allows exibility for consumers to choose and pay for the content they watch, it also
remapped the existing relationships between broadcast media, consumers and
distributors. Coming in the midst of such developments, ZEE5 was able to bene t from
the changed market considerations as well as their prior experience with digital
streaming platforms such as Ditto and OZEE that were launched in 2016. In 2016, Zee
slotted some material from Zee’s own Zindagi channel (which carried Pakistani,
Turkish and Korean television content) for streaming on OZEE. This reallocation was
done partly because the Pakistani content had to be taken down from broadcast
television during Indo-Pakistan tensions in 2016. In hindsight, it also helped Zee gauge
the digital television scene before launching ZEE5. When ZEE5 was launched Ditto
and OZEE was integrated to ZEE5.
ZEE5’s market in Pakistan suffered a jolt when The State Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan’s
central bank issued a statement in November 2020 prohibiting customers from paying
for ZEE5 and other Indian streaming video on demand platforms. The irony of the
situation is that ZEE5 had original Pakistani content including Asim Abbasi’s Churail
and Mehreen Jabbar’s Ek Jhooti Love Story, alongside older Pakistani serials, that are
showcased as Zindagi shows. Banks were asked to stop all modes of payment that
involved subscribing to Indian content and the order speci cally mentions ZEE5. While
the prohibition came as a result of the Cabinet decision to regulate the Indian content
in Pakistan, the timing of it a week after Pakistan banned the television show Churail
raised questions about what this could mean in the climate of censorship emerging in
different parts of South Asia. Following the ban, ZEE5 was asked to take down the
content for Pakistani viewers. This decision was later revoked, but this was only short-
lived as all VOD platforms were soon banned in Pakistan (still in effect).
Figure 4: Screenshot of a Tweet about the Bank of Pakistan noti cation regarding blocking payment for ZEE5
Viewing Habits
Affordability is a crucial parameter in the Indian digital television landscape and

moderately priced smart phones are one of the major sources of digital media
consumption. Uneven internet availability pushes viewers to come up with make-do
arrangements like reducing video resolution quality to save on mobile data or for
multiple viewers piggy-backing on a single subscription.
In an effort to attract broadcast television viewers to digital television, ZEE5 launched

an annual plan called ZEE5 Club as an alternative to the Premium subscription plans.
This offers Zee Zindagi shows, movies and more than nine live channels for an annual
payment of ₹ 365, instead of a Premium annual subscription for ₹999. The Club
package allows viewers to watch television content before it is shown on television
and offers the possibility of streaming on two devices simultaneously. ZEE5 is keen to
accommodate viewers who have moved to digital television from broadcast television
and program their content around “taste clusters” as opposed to catering to
geographic distinctions such as the rural-urban divide or different tiers of the city. This
has become crucial in capturing a loyal customer base. The release of weekly television
shows and lms is informally publicized by enthusiastic patrons who come up with
Excel sheets to compile the shows and keep abreast of the latest offerings.
Content
To expand the subscriber base, alongside live TV, ZEE5 produces original content as
well as shares content produced by ALT-Balaji as a part of the tie-up they have in
offering an SVOD option on both platforms. To be clear, ZEE5 is not available as a
television channel. ZEE5 makes original content that is available only for SVOD. There
is freemium content available as well, but only SVOD subscribers have access to this
exclusive content. Further, ZEE5 SVOD users can access Alt-Balaji content and vice
versa. ZEE5’s Pakistani television content is quite popular and has played a crucial role
for the audience in identifying it as an extension of the broadcast television. Many
viewers consider this an opportunity to catch up on shows and episodes that they
might have missed during broadcast and offers binge-watching possibilities. The fact
that regional language content is available on ZEE5 allows viewers to distinguish
between local and transnational content. ZEE5 caters to the global/local dimensions of
content by emphasizing Pakistani and Bangladeshi originals, as well as the regional
language productions featuring personnel who are identi ed as faces associated with
the region. In terms of genre, thrillers (Poison series, Abhay 2, Dark 7 White, State of
Siege: 26/11, Lalbazaar, Biccho Ka Khel), family dramas (Kumkum Bhagya, Kundali
Bhagya), horror (Parchhayee: Ghost stories by Ruskin Bond, Bhram, Bhaagamathie) and
reality television (Dilli Darlings, Lockdown) seem to be popular and are featured as part
of the most watched content. Popular ZEE5 original series include Karenjit Kaur: The
Untold Story of Sunny Leone and Rangbaaz Phirze. Karenjit Kaur is based on the life of
adult lm actor turned Bollywood actress Sunny Leone, while Rangbaaz is based on the
life of gangster Shri Prakash Shukla.
Figure 5: Screenshots from ZEE5 homepage showcasing the media content
Alongside this, ZEE5 has also taken the initiative to expand into more inter-medial
terrain by releasing in-app interactive activities like games that users can engage with
alongside video content. ZEE5 developed an ampli cation tool Ampli5 to reach out to
their customers by associating their brand with credible in uencers. Using short video
formats, Ampli5 offers digital advertising options for brands to reach their target
audience. They have also launched HiPi, a short-form video platform that allows users
to upload videos ranging from fteen to ninety seconds with accompanying sound
effects, music and visual lters. With a ban on Tik Tok in India, HiPi’s entry into the
short-form video space emerges in a media ecology suffused with new players like
Helo and Mitron. HiPi has been used for online auditions for reality shows such as
Jamai 2.0 and Sun ower. Designated hashtags and number of likes determined the
eligibility to be part of the HiPi’s digital auditions. Incorporated as a part of the
platform, HiPi offers a chance for veri ed users to access the metrics and interact with
the advertisers. By making itself open to user generated content, Zee5 is attempting to
replicate the model used by YouTube as well as capitalizing on its “indigenous” status
(as opposed to the Chinese tag associated with TikTok). Coming days after the TiKTok
ban in India, it was touted as “made for Atmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India)
—“platform truly made in India, made for India”.
In December 2021, ZEE5 also hosted the Zee Rishtey Awards, a agship television
awards show instituted by the Zee group—normally aired by its broadcast television
channels. ZEE5 has also come up with a Global OTT Content Festival which
encourages entries for feature lms, documentaries and short lms from independent
lmmakers, lm students and young content creators to showcase their work on ZEE5.
While the content can be created in any language, it is open for TV shows, lms, music
videos, short lms and documentaries. The selected entries are premiered on ZEE5. By
launching “High5,” an award for the “Most Viewed Content” on the platform in 2019,
ZEE5 gives a glimpse of the data collected on consumer viewership, engagement rate
and completion rate. ZEE5 has also signed up for a partnership with Eduauraa, a digital
learning platform to disseminate educational content at affordable prices.
Figure 6: Publicity poster of Global OTT Content Festival organized by ZEE5
Internet Pricing and Availability
The popularity of the platform is also conditioned by its varied, exible subscription
plans, as what is often affordable is premised on the purchasing power of the users.
While ZEE5’s premium yearly plan is priced at ₹999, they also have a 30-day plan for
₹99, a 90-day plan for ₹299 and a 180-day plan for ₹599. Premium users can watch
videos on ve different devices at one time. ZEE5 is available as a mobile app on
Android and iOS platforms and accessible via web and smart TV brands that support
ZEE app out of box. It currently has a subscriber-base of 76.4 million. The monthly
price of ₹ 99 for ZEE5 is less than the India-speci c pricing for Net ix at ₹199, Amazon
Prime at ₹ 129 and Disney+ Hotstar at ₹ 299.
ZEE5 has managed to work out a mutually bene cial relationship with other
telecommunication providers. JioFiber, Reliance Jio’s high-speed internet service
offers ZEE5 bundled subscription to its customers. Similarly, ZEE5 also partnered with
Tata Sky, an app-based platform to offer its Premium content to Tata Sky users.
Vodafone, another mobile service provider launched a postpaid plan, RedX that offers
one-year complimentary Net ix, Amazon Prime and ZEE5 subscription. In a tie-up
with Vodaphone Idea (VI), ZEE5 premium subscription is offered to customers of ve
pre-paid Vodaphone plans (₹ 355, ₹405, ₹ 595, ₹ 795 and ₹ 2595) that make them
eligible for ZEE5 premium subscription at no extra cost. For Bharti Airtel customers,
ZEE5 is accessible free of cost if they recharge their accounts for ₹ 289; further a 2-
month premium subscription is made available if they install the Airtel Thanks app and
unlimited ZEE5 access is offered for Airtel Platinum tier costumers. These bundle
schemes are often launched as limited special offers, thereby offering customers the
choice of continuing the service through payment once the offer expires.
Currently, ZEE5 is available in 190 countries, except in the United States. It has a broad
library of content across 18 languages including Hindi, English, Kannada, Tamil,
Malayalam, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, and Odia among others. Its entry into
the United States is restricted by the non-compete clause that it has with Dish
Network that prevents it from launching a direct-to-customer service. But despite the
unavailability of ZEE5, customers have improvised by using VPN services to navigate
geo-restrictions as one can see from Reddit pages and advice columns offering tips to
patrons. On the global front, ZEE5 has decided to opt for tie-ups with telecom
operators and other partnerships to expand its presence and has revenue sharing
arrangements that include minimum guarantees depending on partner’s marketing
efforts. This strategy is similar to the technique used in India in the distribution-
exhibition network for commercial lms where tie-ups between exhibitor and
distributor is premised on sharing deals that can avoid risk for both parties concerned.
The telecommunication companies ZEE5 is in partnership with include Robi Axiata in
Bangladesh, Celcom in Malaysia, Dialog in Sri Lanka, Zeasn and Netrange in Asia and
MENA. ZEE5 Global has also managed to forge some partnerships in the last few years.
Zee5 has also partnered with retailers such as Lulu Group, Eurostar and Emax
Electronics in the UAE to offer employees special Global subscription schemes.
Canadian content provider and distributor QYOU Media has also launched its agship
network “The Q India” on ZEE5.
In the global market, ZEE5 has a freemium model in which news and some content is
available for free and consumers have to pay for premium content which is behind the
paywall. ZEE5 has come up with a campaign called “Share the Love” targeting patrons
based in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The campaign foregrounds the cultural similarities
shared by these countries with India and posits South Asian culture as something that
transcends geopolitical borders (despite the problems of South Asian geopolitics seen
in the India/Pakistan responses to Zee5). Another global campaign was titled “Dil Se
Desi” that launched ZEE5’s presence in APAC, and MENA regions. Such campaigns
posit the essence of diasporic identity as something strongly connected to the roots of
the home country despite geopolitical distance.
While the multi-media platform that comprises of news, entertainment, game and
educational content makes ZEE5 distinct from other internet television in India, it has
also come with an additional responsibility in terms of ensuring customer privacy.
While Ampli5 and other targeted and personalized advertising opportunities are
leveraged by ZEE5, at the time of writing, there are reports that also point to data leak
of ZEE5 users. An anonymous hacker uploaded a sample of the full leaked dataset in
March 2021 with details of one million users on an AnonFiles link.
Suggested Reading
“Sharpening Consumer Focus, Creating Extraordinary Experience,” ZEE Annual Report

2019-20
“Lights, Camera Action…The Show Goes On,” Boston Consulting Group-Confederation

of Indian Industry Report 2020.
Notes
[1] “Sharpening Consumer Focus, Creating Extraordinary Experience,” ZEE Annual

Report 2019-20, 12
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3/22/2021 India - ZEE5 - Global Internet TV Consortium

ZEE5’s presence in the internet televisual landscape showcases its parent

As opposed to the global focus of Disney+/Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video and

ZEE5 supports 18 languages and is available in 193 countries as ZEE5 Global

Figure 1: Content speci cation from ZEE5 promotional material

Launched in 2018, ZEE5 is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL),

Figure 2: Content speci cation from ZEE5 promotional material

There have been public demands to censor video-on-demand content in India. In

Affordability is a crucial parameter in the Indian digital television landscape and

In an effort to attract broadcast television viewers to digital television, ZEE5 launched

Figure 5: Screenshots from ZEE5 homepage showcasing the media content

Figure 6: Publicity poster of Global OTT Content Festival organized by ZEE5

Internet Pricing and Availability

“Sharpening Consumer Focus, Creating Extraordinary Experience,” ZEE Annual Report

“Lights, Camera Action…The Show Goes On,” Boston Consulting Group-Confederation

[1] “Sharpening Consumer Focus, Creating Extraordinary Experience,” ZEE Annual

© 2021 GLOBAL INTERNET TV CONSORTIUM — UP ↑

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