ZEEL to launch ‘Premium Mass Hindi GEC’ Zindagi on 23 June

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has announced that it will launch a new channel in India, christened Zindagi, on 23 June.

 

The channel will air sh0ws produced overseas. A ZEEL statement said it would pick shows ‘from across the border that embrace universal emotions’. The content will target the entire family.

 

The channel has chosen the proposition ‘Jodey Dilon Ko’, based on the fact that even if people across the globe are culturally different, the stories of their lives are universal.

 

Punit Goenka, MD and CEO, ZEEL, said, “The launch of Zindagi is significant in many ways. It is a step forward to further expand the ZEEL Network in India and overseas. This channel is a first in its category of GECs and another first that Zee is trying to bring to its viewers. It will offer alternative fiction content suitable for Indian sensibilities and produced by content creators from around the world. We believe that culture and talent should not be bound by any barriers.”

 

“The market share of GECs has increased from 34 percent in 2008 to 40 percent in 2013. Last year, when we launched Zee Anmol in the FTA (free-to-air) space, it expanded the FTA share within Hindi GECs from 6 percent to 8 percent, with other networks following its success. Extensive research conducted across cities in India for Zindagi has revealed that audiences  are ready for alternative content, as has already been demonstrated in film viewing, and we aim to bring this fresh alternative to our viewers on television.”

 

A ZEEL statement said the new channel will engage its audience through diverse shows written by award-winning novelists and literary stalwarts, and that many of these shows are adapted from famous novels and books.