GECs
Star Ananda readies for 11 May launch
MUMBAI: The name has been fixed, and so has the launch date (at least targeted). The Bengali news channel from the ABP Group-Rupert Murdoch stable, Star Ananda, has zeroed in on 11 May as its date for debut.
This has been confirmed to indiantelevision.com by a sources close to the developments.
Uplinking clearance for the channel came through on Tuesday (26 April) so barring unforeseen technical problems, Star Ananda should start beaming from 11 May. As was reported by indiantelevision.com earlier this month, the 24-hour Bengali news channel will be co-branded and hence it carries the Star brand name.
Media Content & Communications Services India Pvt. Ltd (MCCS), a 74:26 per cent joint venture between the Aveek Sarkar-controlled ABP Group and Murdoch-promoted Star Group, manages the Star News channel.
Suman Chattopadhyay will be the executive editor for the proposed free-to-air Bengali channel.
BBC’s design arm BBC Broadcast Design, which was instrumental in providing a new look for Star News in February, will also be responsible for the graphics and on-air look of the Bengali channel.
On the programming front, the proposed channel will have a blend of programming that is aimed at attracting Bengali speaking audiences nationally. However, due focus on local (West Bengal-specific) news would also be given as MCCS would like to capitialise on the ABP Group’s strong presence in eastern India.
The Kolkata-based company publishes The Telegraph in English and the widely circulated Bengali newspaper Ananda Bazar Patrika, both of whom have the ambition to be national dailies.
GECs
Zee scales syndication with global tie-ups, 350 plus channel MCN
Vertical, dubbed and audio formats boost digital reach
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. is giving its content library a fresh passport. The company has stepped up its syndication push, signing global partnerships, experimenting with new-age formats and building a multi-channel network that now spans more than 350 channels.
With the newly secured MCN licence, Zee can manage, distribute and monetise content across leading digital platforms at scale, strengthening its presence in the fast-growing creator and short-form ecosystem.
To keep pace with changing viewing habits, the company is also reshaping its content into formats built for the small screen in your hand. In a tie-up with micro-drama platform Story TV, select titles are being reworked into vertical, short-duration episodes tailored for mobile-first audiences.
Beyond India, the syndication team is widening its global footprint with foreign-language dubbing and regional partnerships across Europe, Africa and Latin America, opening up fresh markets for Indian stories.
Zee is also tapping into the audio boom. It has begun licensing audio remake rights for legacy properties such as Zee Horror Show, with several more titles lined up for audio-first adaptations.
On the digital front, the company has made progress in monetising non-exclusive rights for library films, while converting select shows and movies from horizontal to vertical formats to improve discoverability on short-form platforms.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. business head syndication Vinod Johri, said syndication has emerged as a strong growth lever for the company. He noted that the combination of a large MCN network, global partnerships and new formats such as vertical video and audio is helping build a future-ready engine that extracts more value from the content library.
Together, these moves signal a platform-agnostic approach to storytelling, as Zee repackages, localises and redistributes its IP across geographies, formats and screens, ensuring its catalogue keeps working long after the first broadcast.
