MUMBAI: Celebrating its silver jubilee at a grand event here on Saturday, India’s first private satellite TV channel, Zee TV, unveiled a new logo aimed at representing its journey for the next 25 years, while its parent Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) used the occasion to also showcase the logo of its new digital platform Zee5, which is to be launched over the next few weeks.
Speaking during the Zee Rishtey Award, organised on Saturday and telecast on Sunday that was attended by the company bigwigs, television stars and a “3,400-strong Zee family”, ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka said that not only Zee was the world’s “biggest joint family”, but is committed to keep entertaining and innovating over the next 25 years also, which is reflected in the new channel logo (tagline being `aaj likhenge kal’ or ‘we’ll write our future today’).
The stage was perfect to unveil a teaser of Zee group’s soon-to-be-launched new digital platform in the form of its logo. The OTT service, to be called Zee5, is a completely refreshed version of the group’s existing digital services and will ultimately subsume with itself the likes of dittoTv and Ozee. Incidentally, the digital platform logo was dedicated to Zee group chairman- founder-promoter and media baron-turned-Member of Parliament Subhash Chandra.
“The new identity (of Zee TV) is not an evolution, but a revolution of the belief of being stronger as one family. The new colour of the logo is a sign of transformation,” Goenka was quoted by Zee sibling and newspaper DNA as saying, adding, “Over the next few weeks, we will see the rollout of Zee5 across India and other global markets.”
ZEEL is a worldwide media brand offering entertainment and news content to diverse audiences. With a presence in over 172 countries and a reach of more than a billion people around the globe connecting in 19 languages, it is among the largest global content companies across genres, languages, and platforms, spanning presence across broadcasting, movies, music, live entertainment, digital and talent businesses.
Holding forth further on Zee5, DNA quotes Goenka (Chandra’s eldest son) as saying, “Zee5 is poised to be the largest digital platform for Indian entertainment in the world, bringing the best of live television, Indian and international TV shows, movies and videos to viewers in the language of their choice and across all internet connected devices.”
According to ZEEL CEO, international broadcast business Amit Goenka, “I see excitement in the air. We are progressing towards a new global destination. Zee5 is a digital platform that is born out of passion to create something new for the industry, and we are going to create a new history in the coming 25 years.”
Meanwhile, Chandra tweeted two photos on Saturday from the 25th birthday bash of Zee with the message: “Then: Interacting with my colleagues when we completed 150 days. And Now: Interacting with colleagues tonight while we celebrate 25 years.” Incidentally, Chandra is one of those few businesspeople in the world who, as a local partner, managed to buyout Rupert Murdoch in three joint ventures in a cash and stock deal.
Speaking on the occasion, Chandra, in what could be a direction to colleagues now managing the affairs of ZEEL, said, “We have to keep going, as it is not written in our fate to stop.”
“I remember when we celebrated the first anniversary of Zee TV back in 1993. I had only 50 people (around) those days, and today, in 2017, we have more than 3,000 individuals who are a part of Zee. I believe that human resource is the biggest infrastructure that one has, and that is one of the biggest plus points for our nation,” he reminisced.
Over the last 18 months, ZEE has been restructuring its business portfolio shedding unattractive properties like the sports channels, which was sold to Sony Pictures Networks India, and buying GEC channels of Reliance Broadcast as also FM radio channels to expand reach and business that add value to its core value as a corporate entity.
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