Zee Spotlight Debuts with Hyundai: A Game-Changer in Omnichannel Brand Engagement

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), India’s leading Content and Technology powerhouse, has unveiled its latest high-visibility advertising innovation – Zee Spotlight under the ‘Z’ RISE Initiative. Designed to deliver unmatched brand salience across the network, Zee Spotlight offers advertisers a clutter-breaking mix of premium brand touchpoints across both General Entertainment Channels (GECs) and Movie channels.

As part of this new offering, Zee Spotlight brings together a powerful combination of Stings, Branded Windows, In-show Funnel Placements, QR-code Astons, and Tags on GECs, along with Branded Carousels, L-bands, Astons, Stings, and Tags on Movie channels. True to its name, each of these element puts a spotlight on every stage of the AIDA Model (Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action). This holistic suite which will also activate multiple impact elements on OTT platform ZEE5, will enable brands to maximize impact, strengthen recall, and seamlessly integrate into viewers’ content journey through an omnichannel approach.

Hyundai Motor India Limited, a brand synonymous with innovation and leadership in the Indian automotive industry, has come onboard as the exclusive inaugural partner for Zee Spotlight. With this association, Hyundai will leverage the network’s unparalleled reach and visibility to further connect with millions of consumers across the country.

Speaking on this initiative, Laxmi Shetty, Head- Advertisement Revenue, Broadcast & Digital, Zee Entertainment Enterprises said: “With Zee Spotlight, we are reimagining how brands engage with audiences in a highly fragmented media ecosystem through an omnichannel approach. This offering provides advertisers with high-frequency, high-visibility brand presence across our most watched entertainment destinations. We are delighted to have Hyundai, a brand that resonates strongly with innovation and excellence, as our very first partner for this journey.”

Mr. Virat Khullar, AVP & Vertical Head - Marketing, Hyundai Motor India Limited added: “At Hyundai, we are constantly seeking innovative avenues to connect with our customers. Zee Spotlight initiative is a cutting-edge platform that redefines brand story telling through an omni-channel lens. The partnership will allow Hyundai to seamlessly integrate with Zee Entertainment’s diverse ecosystem across general entertainment channels (GECs) and movie channels, offering an unique opportunity to engage with viewers in a more dynamic and immersive way. As a brand driven by innovation, we see this partnership as a powerful step forward in building deeper connection with consumers across India’s vibrant landscape.”

With this collaboration, ‘Z’ continues to set new benchmarks in advertiser-led innovations, ensuring brands receive maximum resonance while enhancing the viewing experience for millions of households. 

ZEE Conducts Its 1st-Ever Metaverse Induction Program for Tech Talent at its Technology and Innovation Centre in Bengaluru

Announces the launch of its Metaverse Onboarding Program

Welcomes 100+ campus graduates from IIT, IIIT, PESIT, UVCE, MIT among others

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL), a leading media & entertainment powerhouse today conducted its first-ever induction in a Metaverse environment by welcoming 100+ campus graduates from top tech institutes across the Nation; at its Technology and Innovation Centre in Bengaluru. The Company’s Technology & Innovation Centre is focused on building the metaverse platform by leveraging Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and relevant data models for its digital platforms.

The initiative was led by Mr. Amit Goenka, President – Digital Businesses and Platforms, ZEE and Mr. Nitin Mittal, President – Technology & Data, ZEE, addressing the fresh batch of recruits. The Metaverse Induction was conducted by leveraging the Technology and Innovation Centre’s state of the art infrastructure and cutting-edge technology solutions: thereby offering an immersive mixed reality experience to the fresh recruits.

Speaking about the initiative, Mr. Amit Goenka, President – Digital Businesses & Platforms, ZEE said, “At ZEE’s Technology and Innovation Centre, we are imbibing a sharp strategic focus on enhancing our tech capabilities through a confluence of technology, data and talent. As we break new grounds and redefine entertainment by providing robust experiences across platforms, we are delighted to converge ZEE’s collaborative and entrepreneurial culture in the physical and digital realms through an immersive environment such as the metaverse. We aim to provide intuitive experiences across all aspects of an individual’s consumption, creation and transactional journey, and the first-ever metaverse induction program at ZEE, will not only help enhance our employee experience by boosting innovation and productivity, but also our consumer experience by several notches.”

Mr. Nitin Mittal, President – Technology & Data, ZEE said, “For over three decades, we have been a pioneer in breaking the norms of the industry and creating path-breaking content for more than 1.3 billion viewers across the globe. Our focus now remains on building capability for ZEE by leveraging technology to provide our consumers with extraordinary entertainment experiences. Our quest is to shape the next chapter of India’s Media & Entertainment Industry and the Metaverse Induction Program is yet another major step in that direction. Inducting, nurturing and retaining the right talent is key to any organization’s success and we are committed to giving a world class experience to our tech enthusiasts right from day one.”

Commenting on the induction program, Mr. Animesh Kumar, President – HR and Transformation, ZEE said, “As digital transformation continues to accelerate globally, the Technology and Innovation Centre at ZEE will play the lead role in driving the next era of innovation in content consumption. ZEEverse, is another major stride in a string of initiatives launched by the company in recent times towards our internal digital transformation that will enable the organization to become future-ready and win in the emerging digitalized economy. Our focus is on building a collaborative, high-capability driven environment for our tech enthusiasts, who are the innovators of tomorrow. As we reimagine the future of our workplace, we are also elevating our employee experience by adopting a new induction module that will deliver an immersive and unique on-boarding experience to our fresh batch of recruits.”

ZEE is focused on offering a holistic environment to its talent workforce through the adoption of innovative and path-breaking technology. The Company aims to enhance and widen its digital footprint, as it continues to cater to the global community and redefine the future of entertainment by leveraging a technology and innovation led strategy.

ZEE Unveils Its Technology and Innovation Centre in Bengaluru

(L-R): Mr. Nitin Mittal, President – Technology & Data – ZEE, Hon’ble Governor of Karnataka, Mr. Thawar Chand Gehlot and Mr. Amit Goenka, President – Digital Businesses & Platforms, ZEE at the ZEE Technology and Innovation Centre, Bengaluru

The State-of-the-Art Tech Centre will strengthen the Company’s technology, innovation and data capabilities

Onboards 700+ tech experts to build cutting-edge, world-class products

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEE), a leading media & entertainment powerhouse today announced the launch of its Technology and Innovation Centre in India’s tech capital – Bengaluru. The state-of-the-art facility was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr. Basavaraj Bommai, in the presence of Mr. Amit Goenka, President – Digital Businesses & Platforms, ZEE and Mr. Nitin Mittal, President – Technology & Data, ZEE. The sprawling 80,000 feet centre will be the Company’s epicentre to build a strong cohort of tech, data and talent.

Hon’ble Governor of Karnataka, Mr. Thawar Chand Gehlot also paid a visit to the Tech-centre and interacted with the tech experts, blessing the Company’s initiative, that will create employment opportunities for the young professionals in the state.

With a sharp focus on delivering world-class entertainment, ZEE has constantly upgraded its technology capabilities to disrupt the norm of the industry and deliver unmatched experiences to its consumers globally. Through the capabilities being built at this centre, the Company intends to leverage behavioural and derived data to personalize content and delivery, thereby increasing its reach across platforms. The centre will build the metaverse network for the Company with the help of AR, VR and NFT led delivery models and will focus on a futuristic tech stack which will enable omnipresent delivery of entertainment across platforms.

(L-R) Mr. Amit Goenka, President – Digital Businesses & Platforms, ZEE felicitates Hon’ble Governor of Karnataka, Mr. Thawar Chand Gehlot at the launch of ZEE Technology and Innovation Centre

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr. Basavaraj Bommai said, "For decades, the state of Karnataka has maintained its position as the technology capital of the country and Bengaluru, its capital city, has now become the Silicon Valley of the nation. The ecosystem that Bengaluru has created, is difficult to replicate and has been created by none other than the citizens of the city. The government of Karnataka is extremely delighted to be a part of ZEE’s initiative and I am confident that the Technology & Innovation Centre set up by ZEE will help to accelerate the growth prospects of the state. Public – private partnership is essential for the growth and long term success of any state and we will ensure that we walk shoulder to shoulder with ZEE in this journey."

Mr. Basavaraj Bommai – Chief Minister of Karnataka (center) inaugurates the ZEE Technology and Innovation Centre in presence of Mr. Nitin Mittal, President – Technology & Data, ZEE (Left) and Mr. Amit Goenka, President – Digital Businesses & Platforms, ZEE (Right)

Hon’ble Governor of Karnataka, Mr. Thawar Chand Gehlot said, "The coming years promise fast paced growth & development for the state of Karnataka, mainly due to the evolution of the IT and start-up ecosystem in Bengaluru. The capital city has been consistently ranked among the Top 30 Global Start-up Ecosystems and we are glad that Corporates like ZEE are focusing their investments on India’s Silicon Valley. I congratulate ZEE on launching the tech centre and firmly believe that it will assist in propelling the state to a global stage and uplift the lives of professionals in the tech industry."

Nitin Mittal, President – Technology & Data, ZEE, said "At the Tech & Innovation Centre, we are building ability for ZEE to leverage digital technologies to improve our reach and engage our customers anytime, anywhere across all devices. We have been a frontrunner in creating engaging content for more than 1.3 billion viewers and are currently focused on building Web 3.0 entertainment platforms. This Centre will build the metaverse future of ZEE including AR, VR, NFTs and relevant data models to our digital platforms."

Animesh Kumar, President – HR and Transformation, ZEE said, “Our newly inaugurated Technology & Innovation Centre is an amalgam of a cross functional talent pool of likeminded individuals ready to challenge the status quo and create innovative solutions in the digital ecosystem. The vibrant workspace is designed with a unique employee value proposition focused on culture, collaboration & innovation is bound to spark ideas and disrupt the ConTech space. We have onboarded some of the brightest tech talent in India that will create the next level of frictionless, highly personalised delivery platforms for content consumption, thereby setting new standards in the country. This is the Centre that will drive our ambition to dominate content consumption in India and for South Asians globally"

ZEE’s people-focussed approach has been an integral part of its evolution into a Global Content Company with presence in 190+ countries offering quality content across multiple platforms and languages reaching over 1.3 billion viewers. As part of the ZEE 4.0 strategy, the Company aims to enhance and widen its digital footprint, as it continues to cater to the global community and redefine the future of entertainment by leveraging an innovation-led, technology-centric strategy.

Zee Digital is Striding towards the Top Position Amongst Internet Websites

Ranks 6th among top biggies, reaches 244 million unique visitors exhibiting excellence in digital content space grabbing 2nd position in (news/information category) ComScore

New Delhi, September 2, 2021: Zee Digital has started inching towards the top position amongst top internet websites like Amazon, google and Facebook by coming in the sixth position ahead of its several other Indian competitors. In the month of July 2021, India’s most diversified digital publishing group- Zee Digital achieved another milestone by reaching 244 million unique visitors maintaining its second position in the news and information category, as per Comscore.

Mr. Abhishek Nigam, Chief Operating Officer- Digital, Zee Media Corporation Limited said that the achievement is an affirmation of the quality content and the hard work put by the team at Zee Digital. “Every month we’re aiming for a new milestone. This would motivate our team further to keep pushing ourselves to achieve excellence. We would strive to better ourselves with content with widespread appeal and will continue to grow in the same manner,” He said.

Mr Nigam stated that overall the group has registered growth of 1.5 times between the months of January and July 2021. “The other digital assets of Zee Media, also have achieved extensive growth. India.com reported a Y-o-Y growth of 2.3 x, DNAIndia.com grew by 3.6x, Wionews.com grew by 3.7x and BollywoodLife.com grew by 2.9x contributing to Zee Digital’s growth,” he pointed out.

Further, in absolute terms, Zee News Hindi reached 75.8 million unique visitors, Zee News English reached 55.2 million, India.com reached 100.2 million and BollywwoodLife.com reached 27.1million mark.

Zee Digital comprises of 31 websites, 20 brands across 12 languages with viewers across digital replicas of the Zee Media’s 14 linear news channels along with websites such as India.com, BGR.in, BollywoodLife.com, TheHealthsite.com and CricketCountry.com

US-based Invesco Buys 11% Stake in ZEE for ₹4,224 Crore

The US-based fund Invesco Oppenheimer Wednesday agreed to pick up an additional 11 percent in the fund-starved Zee Group flagship Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zee) for Rs 4,224 crore ( ~ US$ 613.5 million). The equity will be picked up by the Atlanta-based
global fund house's Developing Markets Fund, which already owns 7.74 percent in the company, a company statement said.

Invesco Oppenheimer has been a financial investor in Zee since 2002.

"Invesco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund has agreed to make an additional investment in Zee. It has agreed to buy up to an 11 percent stake more in Zee from the promoters, for Rs 4,224 crore," it said in a statement.

The promoters, who have been since last November trying pare their stake by even half, own 35.79 percent in Zee as of June 2019, of which 63.98 percent has been pledged with mutual funds and other financial institutions. Following this
deal, promoter stake will come down to around 23 percent.

As per media reports, the promoters' stake is estimated to be around Rs 13,000 crore at current market price
with market capitalization of Rs 34,717.3 crore at a closing price of Rs 361.45 Wednesday.

From last year, the Essel Group was trying to divest its key assets, with an aim to repay all the lenders by
September 2019.

The group claimed that during the divestment process, it received positive response from multiple partners
expressing interest to buy the stake in Zee and the other key non-media assets.

"I am glad to share that Invesco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund as a financial investor has further reposed its faith in Zee, showing their strong belief and trust in the intrinsic value of our assets," Zee managing director and chief executive Punit Goenka said.

Last November, Subhash Chandra-led Essel Group had decided to sell up to 50 percent of their equity in Zee to a
strategic partner. In January, Chandra had admitted that his company was in a financial mess, and blamed it on aggressive bets on infra, which has gone out of control since the IL&FS crisis, and acquisition of Videocon's D2H business.

In a open letter late January, Chandra had said the promoters would repay the debt to the bankers, NBFCs and
mutual funds.

A month later, the company sealed a formal standstill agreement with its lenders to keep it afloat, under which it
gets time till September to deleverage or pare its debt.

The Essel Group termed the stake sale in Zee to Invesco Oppenheimer is a strong step in the overall divestment process, giving the promoters the required financial fillip to initiate the repayment process. Along with Zee, the group is also in the process of divesting some of its non-media assets.

"We are confident to complete the overall process of repayment, well within the agreed timeline of September," the
statement said.

Ahead of the deal announcement in the evening, the Zee counter was the top loser in the Nifty shedding 5.2 percent to
close at Rs 361.45 against the index closing with a marginal 0.27 percent gains after a week of heavy losses. PTI DS
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