GECs
UTV to beef up non fiction software production
MUMBAI: After fiction and animation, software major UTV has now trained its sights on the non fiction segment.
Keen to tap into the huge potential for this segment both in the burgeoning domestic market as well as among overseas broadcasters, UTV plans to float a team of ideators who will be primarily responsible for coming up with original ideas that can be converted into viable series, both here and abroad. Heading the team is old UTV hand Jyotirmoy Saha, the general manager, animation. Saha, who has extensive experience in networking with meeting with buyers for UTV’s animation software in international markets, has been given the additional charge of non fiction. Saha also has the mandate for constituting the team of five ideators, responsible for generating the content. The talent pool will be the only addition in terms of investment to the UTV team for building up the non fiction segment, says Saha.
With growing demand, no genre within the non fiction segment is taboo, believes Saha, except perhaps for natural history, which he believes may not be the company’s core competency. That apart, Saha is keen to try game show formats, biography formats, current world issues, documentaries for the young…the list can go on.
For starters, UTV has bagged a deal in Washington for an one hour documentary for the National Geographic Channel, details of which Saha is loath to reveal at this point. BBC World’s show Back To The Floor is produced by UTV, the first run of which ends on 14 February. It was last year that UTV got seriously down to the business of making non fiction software with the co-production of a 26 episode ‘cuisine tourism’ show Pan Asia that was aired in five countries including Canada. Pan Asia currently airs on Star World in India.
The non fiction team within UTV will however not restrict itself to domestic channels, as Saha puts it, “Thinking only India cuts off 85 per cent of my market.” So, while the team would operate out of India, UTV will actively look at international markets.
UTV also has the growing brood of news channels in its focus. It has produced a series Back To School on the different ways in which children in different parts of the country go to school, including Kashmiri kids whose school is housed in a houseboat, and Kutchi kids in Gujarat whose school is located in the salt pans of the westernmost tip of the country. It has also pitched two shows for the proposed UTV channel for the young, says Saha, the theme for which will be ‘kids, learning and adventure’.
GECs
Z launches ‘Dilfluencer Moments’ to boost brand engagement across screens
New omnichannel format blends TV characters, storytelling and digital reach to boost engagement and affinity
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (‘Z’) has unveiled ‘Dilfluencer Moments’, a new omnichannel media format designed to help brands cut through the clutter and turn audience attention into brand love.
With media access increasingly democratized, visibility alone no longer drives results. Shrinking attention spans and rising content noise have made memorability, emotional connection and action the real currency. Dilfluencer Moments addresses this by embedding brands into character-led, culturally resonant storytelling that travels seamlessly from TV to digital, social and creator ecosystems.
The format debuted with the “TumHoLovely” campaign on National Girl Child Day. Anchored in Hindi and Marathi shows, the campaign’s narrative extended organically across digital platforms, amplified by creators and community participation. A brand film featuring Sanya Malhotra further showcased how TV-originated cultural cues can spark broad engagement and virality. Within 24 hours, the campaign racked up 35 million total impressions, 20 million digital views, 2.5 million engagements and over 1,000 comments.
Laxmi Shetty, head – advertisement revenue, broadcast & digital, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, said, “As consumers turn away from interruption-led communication, advertisers need moments that feel culturally earned and emotionally authentic. Dilfluencer Moments delivers reach at scale through character-first content systems that connect with audiences personally, transforming storytelling into brand love.”
Kartik Mahadev, chief marketing officer, ‘Z’ & Zee 5, added: “Access alone is no longer an advantage; affinity is. Affinity comes from storytelling, familiar characters and moments that stay with audiences across screens. Dilfluencer Moments lets brands participate meaningfully in moments audiences already love, travelling organically across linear, digital and social platforms at scale.”
By anchoring campaigns in high-trust television moments and extending them into digital and social ecosystems, Dilfluencer Moments enables brands to generate organic engagement, amplify virality and convert attention into long-term emotional equity.
With its national scale, deep emotional storytelling and character-first approach, Z is offering marketers a powerful new way to build affinity, cut through clutter and create culturally resonant brand moments that stick.
