Regional content and SME-friendly ad plans are Zee Entertainment's new hooks for India

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) launched two new initiatives last week: ‘Z R.I.S.E.’ and ‘Z: What’s Next?’, which transform its partnerships with emerging brands and enhance its engagement with a diverse audience, respectively.

ZEEL, established in 1982, stands as one of India’s largest media and entertainment companies. The portfolio is diverse, comprising 41 television channels and an online streaming platform named Z5. Z Studios also produces films, while music is created under the Z Music Company banner. It has a presence in about 190 countries worldwide.

According to the company’s annual report, ZEEL reported a revenue of Rs 8,632.7 crore for the fiscal year ending in March 2024, reflecting a 5.6% growth from the previous year’s Rs 8,173.4 crore.

All you need to know about Z R.I.S.E.

Z R.I.S.E. is a multi-city summit for advertisers organised by Z, which stands for Results, Integration, Strategy, and Engagement. It was inaugurated in Mumbai on July 11, 2025, as a platform to connect consumer brands, marketers, investors, and agencies through the Z ecosystem. 

Addressing the misconception that only brands with 'deep pockets' can advertise with Z, Ashish Sehgal, chief growth officer, ZEEL, explained, “We recognised a gap in our outreach to small and medium enterprises or new-age customers eager to advertise.” Hence, Z R.I.S.E. was launched. 

Z is taking a 360-degree approach with R.I.S.E., packaging its advertising opportunities into a "full-spectrum advertising ecosystem" that includes Z’s 41 broadcast channels, Z5 (OTT), its YouTube network, social platforms, regional IPs (local content assets), and a nationwide influencer network.

This comprehensive approach addresses the misconception that Z is solely a television network for advertising. The initiative invites small and medium-sized brands to engage with Z’s offerings, with ad packages ranging from a modest Rs 3 lakh to a substantial Rs 5 crores.

Sehgal asserts that Z is no longer just an advertising platform for the brands: “We want to be consultants to them and not just vendors or sellers.”

The Z R.I.S.E. summit held in Mumbai, along with other events in five other metro cities across India, will serve the dual purpose of guiding brands on advertising while also supporting their growth journeys through Z’s varied communication platforms.

Sehgal elaborates, “Here in this session, we are actually counselling the brands on how it can help them to curate a communication package with us or an advertising package with us, which will help them in their growth.”

Since measurement and ROI are central to new-age brands, “we're going to go hand in hand with them, create a campaign, do a post-eval for him or her and showcase what they gain out of that”, adds Sehgal.

What's next with ‘Z: What’s Next?’

In accordance with the evolving viewership landscape in India, Zee has rebranded itself as simply ‘Z’. “The Z rebranding was done to reshape our offerings to the consumer because today's consumer is very different from what they used to be,” says Sehgal. 

He describes Z’s new content strategy as a fusion: “It's not that old Indian restaurant where only kebab, dal and paneer used to be made, now there is fusion food too. We may remain Indian, but we are also catering to the newer taste.”

When asked how Zee balances retaining its older loyal viewers while drawing younger audiences, Sehgal explains, “We are creating more inclusive scripts which include today's youth as well. The way you tell the story of a household is changing.”

While the media giant's content offerings may appear significantly different now, Z asserts that providing family-safe content across its TV channels, OTT platforms, and micro-drama series continues to be a top priority. “Regardless of any screen, we will ensure that we are a family brand that will bring all the people together.”

After Z’s OTT platform, Z5 made a regional pivot with its Apni Bhasha, Apni Kahaniyan initiative, allowing customers to pay for content exclusively in their preferred language, the TV channels under Z are also expanding regionally. 

At the ‘Z: What’s Next?’ event last week, two new channels were announced: Z Power (Kannada) and Z Bangla Sonar (Bengali). Although Z Kannada (2006) and Z Bangla (1999) are already part of the brand’s portfolio, the new additions signify Z’s expanding content library and increasing popularity in Karnataka and West Bengal.

“We are already language-based; these two new channels are for reaching out to the new customers with new storytelling, creating more limited stories, and creating more nonfiction,” adds Sehgal.

2025 has proven to be an eventful year for Z, marked by the rebranding in June, the launch of Z5’s seven-language subscription pack in the same month, the debut of Z R.I.S.E. in July, and the introduction of two new channels later in August. It remains to be seen how these developments will impact viewership and business opportunities for the enterprise.