iWorld
The Q India launches on ZEE5
MUMBAI: QYOU Media (TSXV:QYOU; OTCQB: QYOUF) announced it has launched its flagship network The Q India on ZEE5, India’s fastest growing OTT platform. ZEE5 marks the sixth major platform launch for The Q India and the second distribution agreement in India’s fast-growing OTT marketplace.
The Q India is among the fastest growing youth focused networks in Asia and its library includes over 5,000 hours of content featuring everything from eSports, fitness, cooking and comedy which will be made available to all the ZEE5 consumers globally. The Q India becomes the latest addition to the list of entertainment channels part of the LIVE TV segment on the ZEE5 platform.
Aparna Acharekar, Programming Head, ZEE5 India commented, “ZEE5 is quickly becoming the most talked about OTT service in India and with our growing offering of live channels, originals and regional content across 12 languages unlocking the best of Indian entertainment. The Q India, with its focus on the best digital content for Young India represents exactly the kind of content partnerships we are focused on bringing to our subscribers. Content that is fresh, unique and speaks to a new and fast-growing audience of OTT consumers.”
Curt Marvis, CEO and co-founder of QYOU Media and The Q India remarked, “In a short time, ZEE5 has established itself as a company to watch in the growing OTT marketplace. Their unique approach to content that is relevant and authentic is right in line with our goal of developing a leading global content brand for Young India. We are thrilled to be a new partner for their service and as we continue to develop our own offering of vernacular leading digital series we expect to experience great success with this new partnership.”
iWorld
Arafta Season 2 greenlit as YouTube hit crosses 850 million views
GoQuest, Rains double down on global Turkish drama success story
MUMBAI: GoQuest Media and Rains Pictures have greenlit Season 2 of Arafta, riding on the runaway success of its debut season that has clocked over 850 million views on YouTube and secured licensing deals across 19 territories.
The upcoming season, already in production, will span 100 episodes and continue with a YouTube-first release strategy, a model that has proved to be a quiet disruptor in global content distribution. Season 1, which premiered in November 2025, built a strong digital following before translating that traction into international deals.
The series is currently licensed to platforms including Amazon MX Player in India, Kanal 7 in Turkey, and Vidio, along with several markets across Europe such as Romania, Hungary and Latvia. Across five language channels, the show has amassed more than 2.5 million subscribers, signalling growing global appetite for Turkish storytelling.
Notably, many of these licensing deals were struck after the show had already aired on YouTube, flipping the traditional distribution model on its head. Instead of competing with broadcasters, the digital-first strategy appears to be doing the heavy lifting in building awareness and audience demand.
GoQuest Media managing director Vivek Lath said, “Arafta is proving out what we believed about the make-to-sell model. A YouTube-first release does not compete with licensing. It builds the asset that licensees are buying.”
Season 1 wrapped on April 17 with a globally streamed finale that drew over 102,000 concurrent viewers, setting the stage for the next chapter. Lead actors İlsu Demirci and Emin Günenç will return, with the narrative continuing to explore themes of love, vengeance, sacrifice and fate.
Rains Pictures executive Sevda Kaygısız said the decision to move quickly into Season 2 was driven not just by success, but by the depth of the story still to be told. “Arafta is not just a successful project for us; it reflects our belief in powerful storytelling and building a genuine emotional connection with audiences,” she noted.
As Turkish dramas continue to travel beyond borders, Arafta’s success underscores a larger shift in how global hits are made and sold. In this case, the small screen found its big moment online first, and the world followed.
