MAM
Zee sports new look in changing media landscape
MUMBAI: India’s biggest television media company, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel), is turning “cool”, in a major rebranding exercise that aims to reflect the progressive outlook of its channels.
The need for change has come after a gap of six years, a period in which the television landscape has changed dramatically and the reach has exploded.
Zeel has coined the tagline ‘Umeed Se Saje Zindagi‘’ for all its channels (barring the sports channels) and sported a new corporate brand identity.
Behind the new look is the company’s objective to take forward a progressive outlook.
Unveiling the new brand identity for flagship Hindi general entertainment channel Zee TV, Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka said he believes that the time is right to “infuse renewed freshness into the brand and reflect an identity that truly articulates our spirit.”
The essence is captured in the new tagline. “The new positioning is about a celebration and vindication of a woman’s emerging beliefs and a reflection of her changing hopes, dreams and optimism,” said Goenka.
The new logo is designed by the in-hose team at Zeel, based on the creative inputs from its agency Draft FCB-Ulka.
The aqua blue colour new logo features a stylish font. Zeel said that the new age design with its upward flourish signifies the upward movement of desires and wishes.
The abstract form of the ‘Z’ and vibrancy of aqua blue bring in modernity and freshness to the brand.
“The unshackling of the ‘Z’ from the box symbolises today’s woman’s zest for life and confidence to go out in the world beyond her home. The overall design has a progressive feel and reflects the idea of looking into the future with hope and depicts a more dynamic and spirited outlook. The rainbow of hope is a very important element of the new packaging. It is colourful, ethereal and symbolically emphasizes the promise of ‘Umeed Se Saje Zindagi’… celebrating hope and life,” said Goenka.
Draft FCB-Ulka has also developed the new corporate brand TVC. Produced by Equinox, the TVC captures “the sky” in “our canvas”. This was brought through by the protagonist in the TVC—the girl-child—and her desire to succeed. It’s a metaphor for the woman, echoing the emerging paradigms with fresh beliefs and a zest for life.
The film is directed by ad film-maker Ram Madhvani while the music is composed by Rajat Dholakia.
The new logo, packaging and positioning was unveiled in the event ‘Umeed ka Naya Chehra’ on 19 June at 9 pm.
Zeel is also kicking off a 360 degree advertising campaign to promote the new brand identity.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
