Zee to launch Tamil Nadu and Kerala channels early in 2007

Early in May 2006, Zee Telefilms launched Zee Kannada in the South Indian market. Over the months, the channel has been consolidating its programming and strengthening its presence in that marketplace. Now, it plans to explore other South Indian markets such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the next five-six months.

Ajay Kumar, senior V-P and business head, Zee South, says that as of now, they are in the process of understanding and analysing the Kerala market, while work has not yet begun on the Tamil Nadu venture.

Kumar says that Kerala is a crucial market for them. “The market already has quite a few big players and other emerging channels as well. We will need to figure out what measures to take to fill the gap from the viewer’s perspective,” he explains.

Though Kumar agrees that it would be difficult to launch a channel in a market where there are such strong players as Asianet and Surya, he believes that competition is bound to exist and that they will focus on creating clutter-breaking content.

There have also been new appointments in the Zee South market. Rasool Ali, earlier vice-president, Analytics, Zee South, has been appointed business head, Zee Telugu. Malavika Avinash, a popular actress in the South, has been roped in to head programming for Zee Kannada.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!