iWorld
Telugu Zee5 brings Sankranthi home with Manchu Manoj
MUMBAI:Sankranthi comes home before the sweets this year, riding in on a bus and settling down in the manduva. Telugu Zee5 has rolled out its festive brand film featuring Manchu Manoj, tapping into nostalgia, family banter and rural warmth to underline a simple message: when it comes to festival viewing, homegrown stories still rule the screen.
Built around the line ‘Mana Pandaga, Mana Entertainment, Mana Telugu Zee5’, the film unfolds in a traditional village household during Sankranthi. From Manoj’s cheerful bus ride back home to teasing relatives, noisy laughter and a full-throttle festive gathering, the narrative leans into recognisable Telugu family moments. The tone stays light, humorous and rooted, positioning Telugu Zee5 as the default entertainment companion not just for the festival week, but for the year ahead.
Directed by Sai Marthand with cinematography by Suriya Balaji, the duo behind the series Little Hearts, the film blends old-school festive nostalgia with contemporary pacing. It also cleverly mirrors the platform’s broader content strategy, spotlighting a diverse slate that already includes popular titles such as Beauty, Nayanam, Bhairavam, Sankrantiki Vasthunam, Kishkindapuri and Hanuman, each catering to different viewing moods and age groups.
The campaign also sets the stage for what’s next. Telugu Zee5 is lining up major releases featuring Chiranjeevi, Nayanthara and Ravi Teja, signalling a steady pipeline of star-driven and mass-appeal content. Telugu Zee5 business head Anuradha Guru said the focus remains on culturally rooted storytelling that reflects Telugu tastes, while Manoj noted that the campaign brought him back to the light-hearted, family-centric space that audiences continue to enjoy.
As OTT platforms jostle for attention, Telugu Zee5’s Sankranthi pitch is refreshingly straightforward. Celebrate your festival, watch your stories, in your language. Sometimes, the simplest ideas travel the farthest.
iWorld
JioStar revenue hits Rs 9,784 crore as cricket fuels 22 per cent growth
A surge in digital viewership and sports dominance fuels a blockbuster quarter for the media giant
MUMBAI: JioStar is batting on a flat pitch. The media titan’s fourth-quarter results for the financial year 2026 reveal a business scaling new heights, propelled by an unprecedented appetite for premium sports and digital-first storytelling.
Gross revenue for the quarter soared by 22.15 per cent to Rs 9,784 crore, up from Rs 8,010 crore in the third quarter. Operationally, the momentum was equally strong; revenue from operations climbed 21 per cent to Rs 8,372 crore. These figures underscore the firm’s successful integration following the Reliance and Disney merger, creating a dominant force in the Indian market.
The annual performance has been nothing short of a spectacle. Full-year gross revenue reached a massive Rs 36,248 crore, while annual profit after tax hit Rs 3,210 crore. This rapid expansion reflects JioStar’s ability to capture and monetise the massive growth in India’s media consumption.
Cricket proved to be the ultimate growth engine. The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 and TATA IPL 2026 delivered “record-breaking viewership” across both television and digital screens. The World Cup final alone drew a global peak concurrency of 72.5 million on JioHotstar, cementing its status as the nation’s premier streaming destination. On television, JioStar maintained a commanding 34.2 per cent viewership share, reaching a staggering 810 million viewers nationwide.
The digital numbers were just as impressive. JioHotstar averaged 500 million monthly active users, driven by consistent subscriber growth and innovative AI-led content discovery tools. These advancements are ensuring that JioStar remains at the cutting edge of the global “Race for Attention.”
With a firm grip on the country’s most valuable sporting rights and a rapidly growing digital footprint, JioStar is perfectly positioned for the future. It has built the ultimate content powerhouse—one that is ready to dominate the Indian living room for years to come.
