Zee To Launch Another GEC “Zindagi”, Earmarks 100 Cr Marketing Budget For The Same

If you thought that you had seen all that was to be seen in the General Entertainment (GEC) space, then you are in for a surprise. Zee is planning to launch a new channel – Zindagi , which will start airing from June 23, 2014.

It kicks off with the collection of shows from across the border. At the onset, it will have six to seven shows that have relatable stories and are set in Pakistan. Zee is also emphasizing on the fact that these shows have not been shot in high-profiles sets, but at the real locations.

Currently, the channel has content only from Pakistan but the channel plans to add serials from Latin America and Egypt to this kitty really soon.

Zee Entertainment Enterprise Limited (ZEEL) is spending Rs 80 to 100 Crores in the marketing of this channel alone. Speaking with Business Insider India, Akash Chawla, Marketing Head Nation Channel, Zeel shared, “We will be adopting a dual revenue model for this channel, which will entail premium subscription and premium advertising”. However, at the on start the channel will be available as a part of the basic pack, so that the audience gets to sample the content.

In addition, Zee Zindagi is the first Hindi language channel to get a national launch and the company plans to take it to international markets as well.

The channel is looking at targeting the progressive audience that is looking for relatable content.

Bharat Ranga, Chief Content and Creative officer, ZEEL, said, “Backed by our dual revenue model, we should be able to break even in three years, but going forward, we would like to make more original content”.

Zee already has three channels in the GEC space, Zee TV, Zee Anmol and Zee Smile. So with the launch of yet another GEC, will they not cannibalise their own market share? Ranga does not feel that will be the case. He points out, “We had given this concept a due thought. As we go forward, fragmentation on the space is bound to happen, so we thought of being the leader in the space of fragmentation”.

To this, Chawla adds, “Before the launch of Zee Anmol, the market share of Zee TV was 12.8%, now it is at 14.5% while Zee Anmol has a market share of 4.5 to 5%. Similarly, Zee Cinema enjoyed a market share of 27.5% before the launch of &Pictures and now both of them combined have a market share of 36.5%”.

Overall, with Zee Zindagi, we feel that Zee is taking a brave move but only time can tell whether it will be able to get another slice from the GEC pie or whether it will fall flat of its face.