GECs
Orange TV goes on air
KOLKATA: Viewers in West Bengal will get to see one more Bengali satellite entertainment channel starting today.
Named Orange TV, the new channel will be launched today at 7pm by Kolkata-based production house, T Sarkar Productions. With tie-ups with distributors like SitiCable, KCBPL-GTPL, Manthan, Digicable, AMBC and DEN Networks already in place, Orange TV aims to have a national presence soon and a team of nearly 70 to 75 professionals in the next one year.
“People in West Bengal can see Orange TV from today. We plan to have a national presence sooner,” Orange TV channel coordinator Subhajit Manna told indiantelevision.com. “We started the test signal from 4 March,” he added.
While T Sarkar Productions operates out of Lenin Sarani, the Orange TV studio is located at Tollygunge, better known as Kolkata’s entertainment hub. The channel will cater to the youth by airing a mix of Bengali movies and music and shows related to the Bengali and Hindi film industry. For the next few months, it will air shows at different time slots between 7pm and 10pm.
An anchor-hosted music show titled ‘Orange Ishq’ will be aired at 7pm, followed by ‘Orange Retro’ featuring retro music. For ‘Orange Studio’, the channel has already started getting feeds about the whereabouts of Bollywood from Mumbai-based sources. “The shows will be anchored in Bengali but the music will be in the respective languages,” said Manna. Also in the pipeline are ‘Orange Dhaba’ (cookery show), ‘Orange Blockbuster’ and ‘Orange World Premiere’. The company has produced shows for leading networks including ‘Ei Ghar Ei Sansar’ and ‘Spandan’ for Zee Bangla, ‘Joto Haasi Toto Ranna’ for STAR Jalsha, the ‘Feluda’ series and ‘Arjun’ among others.
According to Manna, Orange TV would be a reflection of contemporary lifestyle and entertainment choices and enjoy a universal appeal among the audience. “The identity of Orange itself is entertainment. Like any other channel that dabbles with fiction, non-fiction, movies and reality shows, we will do that too, with the difference being that we are youth-skewed and more ‘filmi’,” he concluded.
GECs
Zee tops fiction charts across six languages with strong show lineup
Broadcaster secures nearly half of top 10 spots as fiction strategy pays off
MUMBAI: Fiction is proving to be Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s winning script. The broadcaster has emerged as the dominant force in television fiction, occupying an average of five spots in the top 10 charts across six major language markets.
Across Hindi (Pay), Marathi, Bangla, Odia, Kannada and Telugu general entertainment channels, the company commands a 48 per cent share of the top 10 fiction rankings, according to BARC data for weeks four to seven of 2026 among urban audiences aged 15 and above.
The strong showing reflects the company’s renewed focus on storytelling driven by cultural insight and local relevance. With family viewing still centred around prime time, Zee continues to attract more than 20 per cent viewership share across genres in this high engagement window, outperforming competitors.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, chief content officer Raghavendra Hunsur, said the results underline the effectiveness of the company’s sharply defined multilingual content strategy.
“The achievement is a firm testament to our content strategy across languages, which is clearly resonating with viewers,” Hunsur said. “Fiction shows remain the heart of entertainment. We will continue building both fiction and non fiction offerings that are authentic, engaging and rooted in local storytelling.”
The company’s Hindi flagship channel Zee TV has placed four relatively new launches among the top 10 shows in the Hindi Pay GEC category. These include Tumm Se Tumm Tak, Ganga Mai Ki Betiyan, Vasudha and Lakshmi Nivas, all introduced within the past 18 months.
Regional markets are delivering equally strong performances. Zee Marathi has recorded a 470 basis point rise in market share to 34.7 per cent in January 2026 compared with January 2025. Four of its shows, Kamli, Taarini, Veen Doghatli Hi Tutena and Lakshmi Nivas, feature among the top 10 in the Marathi GEC genre.
In eastern India, Zee Bangla has reclaimed leadership in the Bangla GEC segment in week seven of 2026, driven by five shows in the top 10 including Parineeta, Taare Dhori Dhori Mone Kori, Jowar Bhata, Amader Dadamoni and Chirodini Tumi Je Amar. The top ranked show Parineeta draws inspiration from Gen Z insights, reflecting changing audience sensibilities.
Zee Sarthak continues its five year leadership streak in the Odia GEC space with shows such as Sathi Sata Janmara, Suna Jhia, Tu Khara Mu Chhai, Tuma Bina and Bhagya Rekha occupying the top positions.
In the south, Zee Kannada maintains its long standing dominance, leading the Kannada GEC market for seven consecutive years. Seven fiction titles including Karna, Lakshmi Nivasa, Annayya, Amruthadhaare, Naa Ninna Bidalaare, Adi Lakshmi Purana and Brahmagantu form the top 7 shows in the category.
Zee Telugu is also gaining ground, emerging as the biggest channel across genres in Hyderabad while strengthening its position in the Telugu GEC segment across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Shows such as Jagadhatri, Meghasandesam, Jayam and Chamanthi occupy four of the top 10 spots.
With its regional channels gaining traction, Zee says it will continue sharpening its content playbook, focusing on stories that reflect everyday lives while tapping into evolving viewer preferences across markets.
