ZEE5
Type of businessSubsidiary
Type of site
OTT platform
Available in
  • Bengali
  • Bhojpuri
  • English
  • Gujarati
  • Hindi
  • Kannada
  • Malayalam
  • Marathi
  • Odia
  • Punjabi
  • Tamil
  • Telugu
Headquarters
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Area served190+ countries
OwnerZee Entertainment Enterprises
IndustryEntertainment, mass media
Products
Services
  • Film production
  • Film distribution
  • Television production
URLzee5.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
UsersIncrease 48.11 million (paid) 119.5 million monthly active users[1]
Launched14 February 2018; 5 years ago (2018-02-14) (India)
22 June 2021; 2 years ago (2021-06-22) (USA)
Current statusActive

ZEE5 is an Indian subscription video on demand and over-the-top streaming service, run by Zee Entertainment Enterprises.[2] It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages.[3] The ZEE5 mobile app is available on Web, Android, iOS, Smart TVs, among other devices.[4] ZEE5 claimed 56 million monthly active users in December 2019.[5]

History

Ozee was an Indian digital online platform that was launched in February 2016[6] by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. As of 14 February 2018, the service has been integrated into ZEE5.[7] It aired shows from all of the Zee channel bouquets such as Zee TV, & TV, Zee Café. It aired Zindagi shows exclusively since Zindagi went Ozee-exclusive. The platform was ad-supported and also free of cost no matter what device used. It was shutdown due to ZEE5.

ZEE5 integration

ZEE5 has subsumed Zee's existing video streaming platforms: Ozee (advertising-based) and DittoTV (subscription-based), comes with 1 lakh (1 hundred thousand) hours of content including exclusive originals, Indian and international movies and TV shows, music, live television, health and lifestyle videos in 12 regional languages.

Programming

The platform started streaming web series in 2018 with Nanna Koochi (Telugu),[8][9] America Mappillai (Tamil)[10][11] and Dhatt Tere Ki (Hindi).[9] In the same year, the platform also introduced another web series titled, Kallachirippu which was produced by popular filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj,[12][13] and Karenjit Kaur – The Untold Story of Sunny Leone, a biographical web series on Sunny Leone.

In 2018, ZEE5 was launched with original shows such as Nanna Koochi, America Mappillai, Life Sahi Hai and Karenjit Kaur – The Untold Story of Sunny Leone.[9]

In July 2019, ZEE5 and ALTBalaji announce content alliance – ZEE5 subscribers will get seamless access to ALTBalaji's originals in addition to existing ZEE5 content.[14] It has collaborated with The Blunt for an exclusive deal of five web series starting with Faltu Engineers.[15]

Exclusive dubbed programming

OZEE aired these exclusive shows until getting integrated into Zee5.

Live TV

All the shows owned by Zee TV were telecast on ZEE5. Music videos were in a separate section of the site; and it offered a wide collection of movies. Channels on-air on ZEE5 before integration with Zee included those broadcast as: Zee TV (outside of India for Regionalized Version), & TV (Hindi), Zee Keralam (Malayalam), Zee Marathi (Marathi), Zee Sarthak (Odia), Zee Kannada (Kannada), Zee Telugu (Telugu), Zee Bangla (Bengali), Zee Punjabi (Punjabi), Zee Tamil (Tamil, also Available International/Asia Pacific Feed), Zee Ganga (Bhojpuri) and Zee Café (English). Entertainment Channels not on ZEE5 included: Zee Anmol (old series taken from Zee TV), Zee Yuva (old series taken from Zee Marathi and Zee Yuva).

Also Channels on air as News and Current Affairs from Zee Media Corporation, such as Zee News, Zee Business (Hindi), WION (English) and 15 Regional Language News and Current Affairs Channels.

Original programming

For ZEE5 original films, see List of ZEE5 original films.

Original series

For List of ZEE5 original web series, see List of ZEE5 original programming.

Sports

In January 2023, ZEE5 became the official streaming partner for International League T20 marking the platform's entry into major sports streaming.[16]

HiPi

HiPi is a video sharing social platform[17] for Indian audiences where users can record and upload their own videos and can also view and engage with the videos shared by other people. Users can access the platform on the ZEE5 App for free.[18]

HiPi logo

Availability

The service has been launched in every country, lastly in the United States on June 22, 2021.[19] ZEE5 has launched Ad Suite which has Ad Vault, Ampli5, Play5 and Wishbox. ZEE5 is also available for free on Vi Movies and TV (a streaming service of Vodafone Idea) and Airtel Xstream (a streaming service of Bharti Airtel). Vodafone Idea joined ZEE5 and formed a new channel known as ZEE5 Theater which airs original movies and shows of ZEE5 exclusively available on Vi Movies and TV app.

Mobile app

The platform also offers a mobile app on all platforms, and it has partnered with global tech giants like Applicaster,[20][21] Lotame, Talamoos and A.I. video enhancement startup Minute.ly to provide enhanced UI/UX and improved application performance.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Earnings Update for Q3 FY23" (PDF). ZEE. 13 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Netflix vs Amazon Prime Video vs Disney+Hotstar vs ZEE5 vs Alt Balaji vs Voot others: Subscription plans detailed". The Indian Express. 7 May 2020.
  3. ^ "With Ditto TV, Zee eyes a game-changer". DNA India. 1 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Flashed Yesterday: Zee enters 'Over The Top TV' segment with Ditto TV". exchange4media.com. 1 March 2012. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014.
  5. ^ "ZEE5 maintains momentum with 56.3 mn MAU in third quarter". Indian Television. 15 January 2019.
  6. ^ Pai, Vivek (26 February 2016). "Zee Digital launches online streaming platform ZEE5 – MediaNama". www.medianama.com. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  7. ^ "Zee Entertainment launches new video streaming platform Zee5". Livemint.com. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Upcoming Telugu Movies on Zee5 - Cinebuds". 18 January 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  9. ^ a b c "ZEE5". comingsoon.zee5.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  10. ^ "America Mappillai: A ZEE5 Originals Tamil Web Series". www.desiblitz.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  11. ^ "ZEE5 launches its first Tamil original series 'America Mappillai'". www.desiblitz.com. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  12. ^ "ZEE5 to launch Tamil web series 'Kallachirippu'". BizAsia | Media, Entertainment, Showbiz, Events and Music. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  13. ^ "Karthik Subbaraj is thrilled about web series Kallachirippu". The Indian Express. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  14. ^ Jha, Lata (29 July 2019). "ZEE5 and ALTBalaji announce content alliance". mint.
  15. ^ "Indore: Local actors have a chance to make it big on world stage". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  16. ^ "UAE T20 media rights. Zee bags media rights for UAE T20 league globally". TheHinduBusinessLine. 24 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Zee5 to launch HiPi, an indigenous TikTok rival in India". techradar.com.
  18. ^ "Zee5 to launch a made-in-India rival to take on TikTok". tech.hindustantimes.com.
  19. ^ "ZEE5 launches in the U.S. as world's largest streaming platform for South Asian content: Mega launch event with Priyanka Chopra Jonas". The Times of India. Mediawire. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  20. ^ "Zee5 partners with Israeli firm Applicaster to improve viewer experience". The Hindu.
  21. ^ "ZEE5 partners with Israeli tech company Applicaster". Business Standard.
  22. ^ "ZEE5 chooses Applicaster to enhance app experience". Rapid TV news.

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