ZEE5 Global Unveils a Grand Telugu Content Slate With 11 Original Series

Dubai: ZEE5 Global, the world’s largest platform for South Asian content, reaffirmed its commitment to its viewers and content partners from South India by unveiling a compelling slate of 11 Telugu originals at an event in Hyderabad, India.

ZEE5 Global’s Telugu viewers 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. In addition, viewers can watch blockbuster movies along with a line-up of original content and movies from ZEE5 Global’s library that has been specially dubbed in Telugu to cater to the viewers’ preferences. This much-awaited content slate was unveiled in the presence of Harish Shankar, Praveen Sattaru, Kona Venkat, Niharika, and Sushmita Konidela.

Talking about the success of Telugu content in the global market, Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global said, “At ZEE5 Global, we cater to multiple South Asian language-speaking communities by bringing them the most diverse range of content in the language of their choice. In the last few years, the global markets have seen an expanding appetite for Indian regional language content, especially Telugu.

“Furthering our commitment to exploring new genres and content formats across languages, we are thrilled to announce a content line-up of 11+ Telugu Originals and movies to enthrall and entertain our audiences across the globe and especially now, just as we complete a hugely successful year in the U.S., one of our biggest Telugu audience markets” she added.

The platform comprises crime thriller Recce, featuring Shiva Balaji, Sri Ram and Dhanya Balakrishna among others; rom com May Nell Tank, set in a small village and marking actor Sushanth’s OTT debut; heist comedy ATM, starring Subbaraju, Prudhvi and VJ Sunny; and Aha Nee Pellanta, a romance-theme show about man’s failed attempt to find a spouse.

Also featured was Hello World!, which is based on the life and trials of youngsters on the cusp of careers in Hyderabad’s prominent IT sector; Mission Tashaffi, an “adrenaline-pumping” spy drama. The others were Paruvu, Bahishkarana, The Black Coat, Prema Vimanam , and Hunting of the Stars. 

ZEE5, which operates as the ultra-competitive streaming sector, has tapped the Telugu creative sector for its new slate, whose announcement comes soon after S.S. Rajamouli’s RRR was streamed for a cumulative one billion minutes within 10 days of its launch. Several titles have also been acquired, such as movies Karthikeya 2and Hanu-Man.

The platform has been ramping up its regional library with blockbuster acquired titles as well as original content to further consolidate its foothold in regional language content and keep the viewers entertained with quality content.

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 across the globe, who are now sampling and consuming a diverse range of content on OTT platforms. This uptick has been significant for South Indian language content, especially that from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh which are important markets for us.”

Anuradha Gudur, Chief Content Officer – Telugu added, “ZEE has a very strong and rich legacy in the Telugu content market, with a wider audience base. Keeping our viewers at the center 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 have 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.”

ZEE5 Global also showcased previews of upcoming shows such as The Broken News, which is a remake of BBC drama Press featuring Sonali Bendre, and the latest season of Rangbaaz.

Last month, ZEE5 Global launched Gaalivaana, its first Telugu original series.

ZEE5 Global is known for its diversified content and its focus on real, relevant, and resonant storytelling. Today, ZEE5 Global is home to an unparalleled 200,000 hours of content.

With a rich library of over 3,500 films; 1,750 TV shows, and 700 originals, ZEE5 Global offers content across 18 languages: Hindi, English, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Punjabi, including six international languages Malay, Thai, Bahasa, Urdu, Bangla, and Arabic. The platform has an exciting line-up for 2022 that will add to its extensive library of content offering a larger catalog to entertainment seekers.