iWorld
ZEE5 to beam through next-gen Smart TVs
MUMBAI: ZEE5, India’s fastest growing OTT platform, will now be available on 2015-16 LG Smart TVs owing to successful backward compatibility on Web OS version 3.0 to 3.5. ZEE5 will be available on all existing LG Smart TVs as well as soon-to-be-launched models. With the addition of this, ZEE5 will be available across large spectrum of connected devices widening its penetration across the country.
Rajneel Kumar, Business Head Expansion Projects & Head of Products, ZEE5 India said, “TV-connected devices are creating an immersive viewing experience on large screens and Smart TVs. At ZEE5, we are at the forefront of fuelling this change and backward compatibility on LG Smart TVs is a testament to our efforts. With 100,000+ hours of content in 12 languages, we want all consumers to enjoy the best of content on a large screen further enhancing their viewing experience.”
In addition to LG, backward compatibility is underway for all the Samsung Smart TVs. ZEE5 shows and movies will be available for download from the LG content store. Users can utilise existing free surfing mode and premium subscriptions to enjoy a large screen experience at their home. Users using ZEE5 TV app on Samsung and LG Web OS 3.0+ can also enjoy features such as easy payment using Paytm QR code and before TV where premium users get early access to their favourite episodes.
iWorld
Arafta Season 2 greenlit as YouTube hit crosses 850 million views
GoQuest, Rains double down on global Turkish drama success story
MUMBAI: GoQuest Media and Rains Pictures have greenlit Season 2 of Arafta, riding on the runaway success of its debut season that has clocked over 850 million views on YouTube and secured licensing deals across 19 territories.
The upcoming season, already in production, will span 100 episodes and continue with a YouTube-first release strategy, a model that has proved to be a quiet disruptor in global content distribution. Season 1, which premiered in November 2025, built a strong digital following before translating that traction into international deals.
The series is currently licensed to platforms including Amazon MX Player in India, Kanal 7 in Turkey, and Vidio, along with several markets across Europe such as Romania, Hungary and Latvia. Across five language channels, the show has amassed more than 2.5 million subscribers, signalling growing global appetite for Turkish storytelling.
Notably, many of these licensing deals were struck after the show had already aired on YouTube, flipping the traditional distribution model on its head. Instead of competing with broadcasters, the digital-first strategy appears to be doing the heavy lifting in building awareness and audience demand.
GoQuest Media managing director Vivek Lath said, “Arafta is proving out what we believed about the make-to-sell model. A YouTube-first release does not compete with licensing. It builds the asset that licensees are buying.”
Season 1 wrapped on April 17 with a globally streamed finale that drew over 102,000 concurrent viewers, setting the stage for the next chapter. Lead actors İlsu Demirci and Emin Günenç will return, with the narrative continuing to explore themes of love, vengeance, sacrifice and fate.
Rains Pictures executive Sevda Kaygısız said the decision to move quickly into Season 2 was driven not just by success, but by the depth of the story still to be told. “Arafta is not just a successful project for us; it reflects our belief in powerful storytelling and building a genuine emotional connection with audiences,” she noted.
As Turkish dramas continue to travel beyond borders, Arafta’s success underscores a larger shift in how global hits are made and sold. In this case, the small screen found its big moment online first, and the world followed.
