GECs
Smile TV gears for cable debut in September
JAIPUR: Zee Telefilms, India’s largest vertically integrated media and entertainment conglomerate, has decided to launch a comedy channel, Smile TV, as part of its cable service from September.
Till recently, Smile TV was available only on the ASC Enterprise and Zee Tele-promoted Dish TV, the country’s first Ku-band direct-to-home television service. The comedy channel has been positioned as a 24-hour fun and entertainment channel with a slew of new programming previously not seen on the Dish TV service.
According to Ashish Kaul, vice-president, corporate brand development, Essel Group (the umbrella entity for all businesses of Subhash Chandra), “The Zee Network has been at the forefront of offering new and varied entertainment to its viewers. Smile TV has the potential to provide novel entertainment to audiences of all age groups as the programming mix of the channel has been developed with a prime objective to bring wholesome fun and entertainment.”
Smile TV is being made available on a free to air mode, which means that the cable operators cannot charge an additional subscription fee from consumers.
Since the channel is digital, it would need a decoder box at the cable operators’ end to be accessed. According to company executives, the boxes are being seeded in the market at the moment.
At a pre-launch press conference here, Zee Telefilms executives said that Smile TV has lined up five new shows of multi-genre entertainment, which include YO YO, Hasya Kavi Sammelan, Ek Minute, Kahaani Mein Twist, and Hasne Bhi Do Yaaro
Though Smile TV aims to garner viewership through fun programming to cater to all age groups, there may be a segment that can cater to adults during late night.
GECs
EPIC Company unifies all brands under single EPIC identity
IN10 Media rebrand aligns TV, digital and films into one ecosystem
MUMBAI: The EPIC Company, formerly known as IN10 Media Network, has announced a sweeping brand consolidation, bringing its television channels, digital platforms and content IPs under a single identity, EPIC.
The move is aimed at simplifying the company’s structure while creating a more connected content ecosystem spanning television, digital and films. By aligning multiple verticals under one umbrella, the company is looking to present a sharper, more cohesive face to both audiences and partners.
As part of the transition, several channels have been rebranded to align with the EPIC identity. EPIC will now operate as EPIC TV, while Nazara becomes EPIC Bharat, Filamchi is now EPIC Bhojpuri, Gubbare transitions to EPIC Kids, and ShowBox is reintroduced as EPIC Music. Ishara will continue under the identity EPIC Parivaar, maintaining its core positioning.
The company has also refreshed EPICON, its streaming platform, to reflect a more unified and modern brand experience. The overhaul is designed to improve content discovery and create a seamless experience across platforms.
This consolidation follows the recent launch of EPIC Studio, a unified production arm that brings together Juggernaut Productions and MovieVerse Studio, as the company expands its footprint across films, OTT and television.
The EPIC Company managing director Aditya Pittie said, “As our scale has grown, it has become important to simplify how we operate and how we present ourselves to the ecosystem. This consolidation gives us a clearer, more future-ready structure to partner, invest, and build at scale, while ensuring that for viewers, the experience is more seamless and intuitive.”
With the rebrand, The EPIC Company is positioning itself as a platform-agnostic content network, focused on scale, simplicity and integrated storytelling. By bringing everything under one banner, it is aiming to make its content universe easier to navigate and harder to ignore.
