ZEE5 UNVEILS A GRAND TELUGU CONTENT SLATE WITH 11 ORIGINAL SERIES

~ Zee5 says CHOOSTUNE UNDIPOTAARU (Dekhtey Reh Jaogey) as it reveals a power-packed line-up of 11 originals across a gamut of genres in the presence of industry stalwarts such as Harish Shankar, Praveen Sattaru, Kona Venkat, Niharika and Sushmita Konidela.

~ The star-studded event –‘Hooked’, showcased the platform’s expansive line-up for Telugu audiences creating excitement with some highly anticipated original series, blockbuster movies and the best of dubbed content  ~ 

India, 15th June, 2022: Zee5, India and Bharat’s largest home-grown video streaming platform and multilingual storyteller for millions of entertainment seekers, reaffirmed its commitment towards its viewers and content partners in the South by unveiling a compelling slate of 11 Telugu originals in a star-studded event today in Hyderabad. With its strong consumer proposition, Zee5 has been winning the hearts of audiences across the region. The platform’s content portfolio builds a high level of excitement as it brings the world of entertainment to our consumers’ screens in multiple languages, with diverse emotions and endless experiences to get hooked on to.

Zee5 viewers in the Telugu market will have an extensive slate to watch ranging from thrillers to comedy, drama, romance, and many more which are deeply rooted in the rich culture and legacy of the region. In addition, viewers can watch blockbuster movies along with a line-up of original content and movies from Zee5’s library that have been specially dubbed in Telugu to cater to the viewers’ consumption preferences. This much awaited content slate was unveiled in the presence of Harish Shankar, Praveen Sattaru, Kona Venkat, Niharika and Sushmita Konidela.

One could also catch a glimpse of the highly anticipated upcoming titles such as ‘Recce’, which is a multi-starrer thriller featuring Shiva Balaji, Sri Ram, Dhanya Balakrishna, Rajeshwari Nair, Aadukalam Nareyn, Sharanya Pradeep, Sammeta Gandhi, Ester Noronha and  ‘Maa Neella Tank’ - a romantic comedy based in a small village that marks heartthrob Sushanth’s OTT debut. The event also saw noted filmmaker Harish Shankar revealing the first look of ‘ATM’- a heist comedy featuring Subbaraju, Prudhvi and VJ Sunny. . Further to this, popular actor Raj Tarun unveiled the lyrical video of a song from the upcoming ‘Aha Nee Pellanta’- a fun romantic show of a man’s failed attempt at finding a spouse.

The audiences were hooked to the line-up which boasts of shows like Hello World! – based on the life and trials of a group of youngsters on the cusp of their careers in the prominent IT sector of Hyderabad and Mission Tashaffi -an adrenaline-pumping spy drama. Other shows which we can look forward to are Paruvu, Bahishkarana, The Black Coat, Prema Vimanam and Hunting of the Stars.

The evening also raised a toast to the talented teams of Oka Chinna Family Story, Net, the Loser franchise and Gaalivaana for their remarkable storytelling which has had the Telugu audience hooked. 

Upping the ante in content offerings for its Telugu-speaking audiences by announcing this specially curated slate of 11 originals, Zee5 brings to the fore the best of talent from Telugu’s creative ecosystem, reiterating its focus on entertainment inclusion and meaningful quality content across languages and genres. Zee5 recently premiered superstar Ajith’s Valimai on the platform, fetching the fastest 500-million streaming minutes on Zee5 worldwide. The platform in its latest offering released the magnum opus ‘RRR’ for their multilingual audiences which received 1000 million streaming minutes within 10 days and has been trending at #1 in all 4 languages, including Telugu on Zee5. The platform has been ramping up their regional library with blockbuster acquired as well as original content to further consolidate their foothold in regional markets and keep the viewers entertained with quality content.

Talking about the focus on the Telugu market, Mr. Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer, Zee5 India said, “South is an important market for us at Zee5 and we have been consistent in expanding our presence in this market across languages from the very outset. The response from the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana region has been encouraging and we did foresee a growing appetite for Telugu content worldwide. We are excited to work with the Telugu entertainment industry's talented creative ecosystem and are convinced that we will embark on an exciting and enriching journey together. We have significantly boosted our investments in this market and stand open to collaborate with the creators in delivering extraordinary entertainment to Zee5 audiences.”   

Highlighting Zee5’s content strategy, Mr. Punit Misra, President – Content & International Markets, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. said, “In recent years, we have seen a significant transition in the viewing patterns of Indian audiences, who are now sampling and consuming a diverse range of content on OTT platforms. This uptick has been significant in South India, especially Telangana and Andhra Pradesh which are important markets for us. As we continue to chart the next phase of growth for Zee5, our focus is to continuously innovate on content and deliver compelling and extraordinary stories, driven by consumer and culture centric design thinking . At ZEE, our #SoulToScreen approach is at the heart of this relentless and disruptive pursuit towards presenting premium content to our audiences. Our content slate in Telugu reaffirms our commitment towards exploring new genres and constantly innovating to keep audiences entertained.”

Ms. Anuradha Gudur, Chief Content Officer – Telugu added, “ZEE has a very strong and rich legacy in the Telugu market, with a widespread audience base. Keeping our viewers at the centre of our content strategy, we have time and again delivered authentic and relatable stories through our extensive offerings on television. With shows like Oka Chinna Family Story, we have managed to tap into the innately inclusive Telugu cultural mindset, and we look forward to some of our offerings to tap into the facet further. We aspire to continue entertaining our audiences across platforms, by leveraging our expertise and understanding of viewers that has been garnered over a decade of our presence in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Our mission is to replicate this success on Zee5, and we are excited to collaborate with some of the most popular creators and prolific talent to narrate 11 new original stories and iconic movies as part of our fresh content slate.”

The soiree saw some of the most noteworthy who’s who of the Telugu entertainment industry including Harish Shankar, Praveen Sattaru, Sharrath Marar, Kona Venkat, Niharika and Sushmita Konidela, Sushanth, Aadi Sai Kumar, Raj Tharun, amongst others.

Addressing the region’s appetite for quality content regardless of language corridors, Zee5 also showcased previews of select shows that open the horizon of entertainment to new worlds like the epic Mughal tale Taj featuring Naseeruddin Shah & Aditi Rao Hydari, the world of news and sensation in The Broken News featuring Sonali Bendre and the political milieu of Bihar in the explosive latest season of Rangbaaz. In a bid to appeal to the sensibilities of every Telugu viewer, Zee5 has also acquired movies like Karthikeya-2 and Hanu-Man.

The fascinating lineup follows the recently released thriller 'Gaalivaana,' Zee5's first Telugu original series, which debuted on the platform around a month ago and engrossed the audiences, receiving a resounding positive response from viewers and critics alike. In addition to that, there is a vast library of content titles available on the platform for our AVOD viewers, including catch-up Telugu shows and movies.

Currently the highest-growing OTT platform in India as per latest industry reports, Zee5 is known for its diversified content across 100+ taste clusters and its focus on real, relevant, and resonant storytelling. Today, Zee5 is home to over 5 lakhs+ hours of on-demand content and 160+ live TV channels. With a rich library of over 3500 films, 1750 TV shows, 700 originals, Zee5 offers content in 12 Indian languages: English, Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, and Punjabi. The platform has an exciting line-up for 2022 that will add to its extensive library of content, offering a wider array of catalogue to entertainment seekers.