Movie Channels
ETC engages audience to spread anti-piracy measures through short films
MUMBAI: ETC the most credible Bollywood trade channel in association with India’s leading creative crowd sourcing company Talenthouse India, have jointly undertaken the initiative to say ‘Thank You’ along with the Bollywood industry to loyal cinema goers for choosing theatres over other pirated medium to bring about awareness and thereby an end to piracy.
The initiative, ‘Bollywood Thanks You’ has developed from a simple thought to appreciate people who consume films the way they are supposed to be – in theaters. The objective of the initiative was to represent the entertainment industry for a cause in a country like India where the film and TV industry lose money and livelihood due to piracy. ETC extended this idea to the audience to directly involve them in the initiative by inviting budding filmmakers who are all a part of the entertainment industry to bring forth a strong message.
Talenthouse India, hosted this exciting opportunity on their platform www.talenthouse.co.in. The participants were required to create an ad film of maximum 30 seconds duration based on the theme ‘anti-piracy’. The crowd sourcing route to this campaign not only resulted in 50 creative thoughts on the theme from across India, but also generated engagement and a challenge to young filmmakers to convey the message in 30 seconds.
The entries were monitored by the ETC team. 10 winners have been selected by the channel for a career defining opportunities. The films created by these young budding filmmakers will now be showcased at leading multiplexes and aired on ETC for the next one year.
Zee Entertainment’s Anurag Bedi, said, “We, at ETC, represent the entertainment industry where the audience is the stakeholder and if they stop supporting the industry then the industry can’t make more products for them. Through ‘Bollywood Thanks You’ initiative, we hope to educate and encourage audience to watch films in theaters. Talenthouse India who had the access to the right kind of talent to generate the films gave us an opportunity to be relevant to the younger audience and enabled us to connect to and inspire young film professionals to bring out a strong message through the crowd sourcing activity.”
From a marketing point of view, ETC has taken anti-piracy to a whole new level. Focusing on a positive and educative route, the aim for them is to develop user generated content that resonate with their brand identity and the initiative undertaken to shape future industry leaders.
The winning films created by film students and enthusiast would be showcased soon.
To view the films Log on to http://www.talenthouse.com/zee-2013
Movie Channels
Zee5 launches five free FAST channels on Samsung TV Plus India
New genre-led channels bring comedy, drama, horror, classics and South films to Smart TVs.
MUMBAI: Zee5 just turned Samsung Smart TVs into a free entertainment buffet because when premium content costs nothing, even the remote control starts smiling. Zee5 has launched five curated free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus India, making high-quality, genre-specific entertainment available subscription-free to millions of Samsung Smart TV owners across the country.
The five channels now live are:
Zee Comedy Nation – Popular comedy shows and movies
Zee Dil Se – Compelling drama series
ZEE Horror Nights – Horror and supernatural content
ZEE Cine Classic – Timeless Indian films
ZEE South Flix – High-energy South Indian films dubbed in Hindi
All content is drawn from Zee5’s extensive library and programmed in a lean-back, always-on format ideal for large-screen viewing. This launch strengthens Zee5’s Connected TV strategy at a time when 64 per cent of its premium content watch time already comes from connected devices.
Zee5 chief business officer Siju Prabhakaran said, “At Zee5, we believe accessibility and scale will define the next phase of digital entertainment growth in India. Our presence on Samsung TV Plus strengthens our Connected TV strategy, enabling viewers to discover curated, genre-led content in a seamless, free, and premium environment.”
Samsung TV Plus India head of partnerships Kunal Mehta added, “Local partnerships are at the heart of how we grow Samsung TV Plus in India. Zee Entertainment is one of India’s most iconic media brands, and bringing their channels to our service means millions more Samsung Smart TV owners can enjoy premium local content, subscription-free.”
The channels are available directly through the pre-installed Samsung TV Plus app with no login or subscription required. This marks another milestone in Zee5’s CTV expansion and builds on its growing international presence, with Zee channels already available on Samsung TV Plus across Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
In a streaming world where paywalls often block the fun, Zee5 and Samsung have quietly opened the gates, proving that sometimes the best things in life (and on your TV) really are free especially when they come with a side of comedy, drama, horror, classics and South Indian blockbuster energy.
