Movie Channels
Warner Bros. Discovery unveils its new leadership team
Mumbai: The newly formed Warner Bros. Discovery has announced its international leadership team under head Gerhard Zeiler. Earlier, he held the position of International President for WarnerMedia and currently he will oversee Discovery globally. Zeiler announced his regional team on Thursday.
In the major changes, Clement Schwebig was named as Warner Bros. Discovery President and Managing Director of South-East Asia, Korea and India. Schwebig is based in Singapore.
Anil Jhingan who was Discovery Asia Pacific’s President and Managing Director will lead business development for the enlarged Warner Bros. Discovery group across international markets.
“Our combined international business has significant scale, and a diversified portfolio – both geographically and across lines of business. As a result, when deciding the new leadership structure, we wanted to ensure that we had dedicated regional leads, to reflect the scale and complexity of the business which would, in turn, increase focus on key markets” Zeiler wrote in a staff memo.
Priya Dogra who was WarnerMedia Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia (excluding China) President will now head Warner Bros. Discovery Europe, Middle East and Africa (excluding Poland). James Gibbons who earlier oversaw operations in the UK and Nordics is now Warnermedia Discovery’s President and Managing Director for Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Gibbons will continue to manage the Nordics for an interim period.
Fernando Media is Warner Bros. Discovery Latin American and US Hispanic President and Managing Director. He replaces Whit Richardson who is leaving the company. Kasia Kieli is Warner Bros. Discovery President and Managing Director of Poland and CEO of TVN. She was earlier Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and African President and Managing Director.
Gillian Zhao will continue as WarnerMedia China president. Andrew Georgiou will still be Warner Bros. Discovery President and Managing Director for Sports Europe based in London. Robert Blair will lead licensing as International Television Distribution President. Ronald Goes will stay in his role as Executive Vice-President and Head of International TV production.
“As JB and I committed in our original note to you all, our decisions are the result of a thought-through process which included ensuring that the leadership team reflected the breadth of experience and talent across the two businesses. None of these decisions were easy or taken lightly,” wrote Zeiler in his memo.
Movie Channels
Zee5 launches five free FAST channels on Samsung TV Plus India
New genre-led channels bring comedy, drama, horror, classics and South films to Smart TVs.
MUMBAI: Zee5 just turned Samsung Smart TVs into a free entertainment buffet because when premium content costs nothing, even the remote control starts smiling. Zee5 has launched five curated free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus India, making high-quality, genre-specific entertainment available subscription-free to millions of Samsung Smart TV owners across the country.
The five channels now live are:
Zee Comedy Nation – Popular comedy shows and movies
Zee Dil Se – Compelling drama series
ZEE Horror Nights – Horror and supernatural content
ZEE Cine Classic – Timeless Indian films
ZEE South Flix – High-energy South Indian films dubbed in Hindi
All content is drawn from Zee5’s extensive library and programmed in a lean-back, always-on format ideal for large-screen viewing. This launch strengthens Zee5’s Connected TV strategy at a time when 64 per cent of its premium content watch time already comes from connected devices.
Zee5 chief business officer Siju Prabhakaran said, “At Zee5, we believe accessibility and scale will define the next phase of digital entertainment growth in India. Our presence on Samsung TV Plus strengthens our Connected TV strategy, enabling viewers to discover curated, genre-led content in a seamless, free, and premium environment.”
Samsung TV Plus India head of partnerships Kunal Mehta added, “Local partnerships are at the heart of how we grow Samsung TV Plus in India. Zee Entertainment is one of India’s most iconic media brands, and bringing their channels to our service means millions more Samsung Smart TV owners can enjoy premium local content, subscription-free.”
The channels are available directly through the pre-installed Samsung TV Plus app with no login or subscription required. This marks another milestone in Zee5’s CTV expansion and builds on its growing international presence, with Zee channels already available on Samsung TV Plus across Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
In a streaming world where paywalls often block the fun, Zee5 and Samsung have quietly opened the gates, proving that sometimes the best things in life (and on your TV) really are free especially when they come with a side of comedy, drama, horror, classics and South Indian blockbuster energy.
