English Entertainment
Star India goes whole hog on mobile
MUMBAI: Even as fierce rival Zee Entertainment continues with its ban on the use of mobiles in its corporate headquarters at Marathon Futurex in Mumbai, Star India has taken steps to make its HQ mobile friendly – a stone’s throw away from the Subhash Chandra promoted firm. 2,500 employees, who work in the 32 floor swanky Urmi Estate in central Mumbai, can enter the Star India premises using their handsets. Last year, the media conglomerate issued mobile IDs to employees and also installed numerous iCLASS SE readers at doors and gates throughout the building (apparently 19 or 20 floors of it are occupied by Star India).
The solution was provided by HID Global, a worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions courtesy its HID Mobile Access solution, powered by Seos, “As India’s largest multimedia company, we have extremely high security standards,” says Star India senior vice-president (administration & facilities) Sumir Yadav. “HID Global, known for being the market leader of access control solutions, was able to fulfill all our requirements. With HID Mobile Access, we can now take advantage of the latest technology in this mobile-first age and achieve better security without being intrusive or compromising the user experience.”
He reveals that the company relied on smart cards for building access in the past. The cards were easily damaged and often misplaced, resulting in costly re-issuance of badges. Another weakness of the card-based access system was its inefficiency. Each new or replacement card had to be provisioned manually, costing Star India time and money as it continued to grow over the years.
With the popularity of smartphones and other smart devices soaring in India in recent years, Yadav started to look for a new solution that could enable Star India to make use of employees’ smart devices for better physical security. “Mobility has always been rated highly in our offices, so from the get-go we knew the new access control solution had to work with smartphones,” adds Yadav.
The deployment, from the initial planning to the solution going online, took Star India only 12 weeks, and has been in operation since January 2016.
Mobile IDs, a core component of HID Mobile Access were provisioned via the solution’s robust online portal, making it possible for Star India’s IT administrators to issue or revoke mobile IDs quickly, easily and efficiently. Whenever a new employee joins the company, the IT administrators can effortlessly enroll them into the system by simply sending the employee an email invitation. The system-generated email contains directions and an activation code for the recipient to download and use the HID Mobile Access App. Upon entering the code and successfully activating the app, the employee can begin using his or her mobile device to unlock doors and gates at Star India.
“HID Mobile Access is very intuitive to use and helping to create a mobile-driven and secure workplace is the goal of our mobile access solution,” says HID Global India & SAARC director of sales, physical access control Vishwanath Kulkarni. “We are pleased that both Star India employees and the company’s IT administrators managing the solution are enjoying the experience.”
Feedback on HID Mobile Access from Star India employees has been positive, and the company is currently exploring options to deploy it to secure its canteen as well as its collaboration spaces. It is also considering expanding the scope of the solution to cover the management of its visitor and enable secure printing in the future.
HR managers are all praise for Star India’s initiative but they question how long Zee is going to continue with its mobile fatwa issued a couple of years ago wherein employees were barred from using their mobile phones at their desks; the devices are kept in custody and calls forwarded to their land lines.
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English Entertainment
ZEE5 UK partners Narrative Entertainment to add UK channels
Six FAST channels added as platform sharpens hybrid play in Britain
LONDON: ZEE5 UK struck a first-of-its-kind deal with Narrative Entertainment, bringing mainstream UK television channels onto an Indian streaming platform as it pushes to deepen its footprint in a crowded, mature market.
The partnership adds six of Narrative’s FAST channels to the service, including Great! Movies, Great! Romance, Great! Mystery and kids brands POP, Tiny Pop and POP UP, widening ZEE5 UK’s appeal across genres and age groups.
The move reflects a clear shift in strategy. ZEE5 UK is betting on a hybrid model that blends on-demand content with curated, always-on channels to drive discovery and increase time spent on the platform.
“This partnership represents a meaningful evolution in how we serve audiences in mature markets like the UK, where viewers are defined by habits, convenience and choice rather than geography or language alone,” said Parul Goel, territory head, Europe, Zee Entertainment. “By bringing trusted mainstream UK channels together with our premium originals, movies and kids’ content, we are building a more consumer-centric platform that simplifies viewing while increasing depth and relevance.”
Fateha Begum, commercial director, Narrative Entertainment, said the tie-up would fuel growth for both sides. “Our portfolio of quality programming, with such wide and enduring appeal, is a perfect complement to ZEE5 UK. This is a strong partnership that will support growth for both parties, and we share Zee Entertainment’s vision of an increasingly partnership-led future for the industry.”
ZEE5’s global library spans over 4,000 films and more than 500 originals, with over 130 new titles added annually. The addition of Narrative’s channels strengthens its kids offering and introduces genre-led linear experiences alongside its on-demand catalogue.
The deal also gives Narrative access to ZEE5 UK’s fast-growing user base, extending reach without diluting brand identity, while reinforcing ZEE5 UK’s network of more than 40 live channels.
As streaming wars intensify, ZEE5 UK is widening its playbook, blending content, convenience and partnerships in a bid to win screen time in one of the world’s toughest markets.
