R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, MAR 17
Zee5 the home-grown video streaming platform (OTT) clocked 54 per cent increase in viewer base and a 63 per cent increase in active user base in the Tamil region over the last 12 months. The watch time for Tamil content per day increased by 23 per cent, said Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 India here on Thursday.
Addressing reporters Mr Kalra claimed that Zee5’s recent Tamil web series, including ‘Ayali’ and ‘Vilangu,’ have entered the 100 million streaming club.
“Last year, we produced 28 original contents in Tamil and this year we will do 16-20 Tamil contents, which includes movies, originals and web series,” Kalra said.
The response has been encouraging for Paper Rocket, Valimai, Yaanai, Coffee with Kadhal and Veetle Vishesham.
He also added that while the industry is growing at 19 per cent CAGR on subscriptions, Zee5 is seeing three times that growth in the South.
Reply to a query, Mr Kalra claimed that the ZEE5 is positioned at the top among the OTT platforms streaming original content in regional languages.
- ZEE5 consolidates its prominence in south, celebrates the success of its Tamil content.
- There has been a significant increase in watch-time of Tamil SVOD viewers watching Tamil content per day on the back of power packed content releases such as Ayali, Vilangu and Paper Rocket
Mr. Manish Kalra, said, “We, at ZEE5, are happy to receive an encouraging response at the very onset of our journey in this region. The advantages of following a consumer-first approach in curating the Tamil slate has worked successfully for us, taking us closer to the hearts of the Tamil audiences. Our growth is a testament to our market understanding in identifying and catering to audiences’ entertainment needs with increased choices like exclusive originals, blockbuster movies, international sports, TV+ content at different price points allowing them to explore and engage. Going forward, our focus will remain on sustaining the growth trend and scaling up our investments in the Tamil entertainment industry. We appreciate the support from the creative ecosystem and look forward to more collaborations as we bolster our Tamil content line-up with real, relatable and quality storytelling.”
Reply to another query, Mr Kalra said, “As of now there is no standard metric of measurement available. But we do internally evaluate on search metrics. There are some research agencies like Ormax that focus on Hindi shows but not for regional content. As an all-digital platform, we get a lot of insights from social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Google and YouTube and the inputs keep us happy that we are nothing less than any of the leading platforms. If a transparent and unbiased measurement tool is agreed upon by all platforms and comes to light, then we definitely welcome it. Instead of keeping one bar, it can have multiple tools to evaluate the performance of the platform and content separately.” he adds.
Mr. Siju Prabhakaran, Chief Cluster Officer – South, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. said,”We have sojourned in the OTT space with a very confident outlook and understanding of the market. Our creative experimentation this year has had us pushing the envelope and presenting unconventional narratives that transcended traditional barriers of what people expect on OTT. Ayali, for instance, with its poignant take on girl child education, may not have ticked every box for an OTT show but the way it has caught on with audiences is heartening and opens up interesting new spaces for us to build characters and content in. On the other hand, Paper Rocket spoke to the young, millennial audiences, taking them on a joyride of emotions, entertainment and excitement. We are proud to have built a library of content that caters to the diverse tastes of our viewers. Going forward, the idea is to continue innovating, experimenting and produce compelling stories that are true to the land, have a strong moral and cultural compass, help our viewers navigate change by offering a fresh perspective and above everything else, bring people together.”
Siju Prabhakaran further added that for 2023, the platform has a strong pipeline of Tamil content such as SR Prabhakaran’s political thriller ‘Sengalam’ and web series ‘Indham Vedham’ besides a host of post-theatrical releases including director Vetrimaaran’s Viduthalai (Part 1 & 2).
