GECs
Zee introduces its leadership and development academy ‘Lead Your Ship’
Mumbai: Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) has launched its new academy of leadership and management development – ‘Lead Your Ship.’ The academy is an industry-first initiative that aims to develop new-age leadership and managerial capabilities at all levels. Its vision is to build a resilient and agile organisation where leaders’ skills and capabilities are a true cornerstone.
Zee has made significant strides toward workforce capability development by establishing a 4×4 academy framework that allows for the development of compliance, techno-functional, behavioural, and leadership skills across the organisational pyramid.
These academic pillars are built on four beams: integrated academy journeys; learner-centric technology; assessments & certifications; and career progression; providing the company’s workforce with long-term development and growth plans.
The academy provides career-related development interventions at all levels of the organisational pyramid.
The five interventions—arise, aspire, advance, ascend, and accelerate—are specifically designed to develop foundational proficiency at the bottom of the pyramid into critical leadership, managerial, and transformational competencies, ultimately enabling them to transition to higher roles within the organisation.
Commenting on the launch, ZEEL head of HR, content SBU & head of enterprise culture and capability development Dheeraj Jaggi said, “Being the first media and entertainment powerhouse in India, ZEE has always been an Academy of Talent. Over the years, we’ve nurtured great talent who have shaped the future of the industry. Once again, we are delighted to launch the Lead Your Ship Academy, another pioneering and first-of-its-kind initiative, that will play a critical role in upskilling the workforce to keep up with the fast-changing industry environment.”
“Given the shift in workforce development needs post-covid,” he continues, “the curriculum of all 5 career-linked development interventions is designed to meet the new capability requirements for managers and leaders, ultimately promoting science-based self-development for inclusive and global leadership and supporting their career progression.”
Lead Your Ship Academy will provide holistic development to Zee’s workforce through a blended delivery model based on extensive research-led insights. The curriculum has been developed in collaboration with renowned industry partners and academic institutions, and it will include modern pedagogy to assess, develop, engage, and reinforce new-age skills. The Lead Your Ship Academy will develop the skills of over 3,400 employees across the organisation and will provide over 6,000 hours of training. It is one of Zee’s most ambitious capability-building initiatives.
Following the success of initiatives such as the Compliance Academy and Digicademy, the company is taking workforce capability development a step further by establishing Lead Your Ship as an academy of excellence. Last year, Zee launched the first digital academy of its kind, which received an overwhelming response from both internal and external stakeholders, successfully onboarding 97 per cent of employees.
The Digicademy has consistently outperformed the majority of the key platform KPIs at the AMEA and global levels. The academy received accolades and awards at prestigious industry forums such as ET HR World, People First, Transformance HR Forum, and BusinessWorld People HR, to name a few. In the future, the company intends to launch a techno-functional academy, which will primarily focus on improving technical and digital skills, making employees more adept in this fast-paced industry.
For more than three decades, Zee has had a strong legacy of home-grown leaders who have been at the forefront of innovation and pioneering initiatives around the world. Zee is committed to strengthening the leadership pipeline and building a future-ready workforce in order to lead the next disruption in the M&E industry and drive hypergrowth in the new normal.
GECs
Samsung TV Plus launches Kings of Comedy channel
New free FAST channel brings iconic Hindi comedy shows to millions of Samsung Smart TV owners.
MUMBAI: Samsung TV Plus has just turned up the laughter volume and it’s completely free. The leading free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service in India has launched Kings of Comedy, a premium comedy channel featuring some of the country’s most beloved primetime shows. Available exclusively on Samsung TV Plus, the channel delivers back-to-back hits including Comedy Nights with Kapil, Khatra Khatra Khatra, and Comedy Nights Bachao, with no login or subscription required.
The launch marks a milestone for free streaming in India, offering audiences a dedicated comedy destination directly from their Samsung TV home screen. It arrives as Samsung TV Plus India celebrates its 5th anniversary, during which the service has grown its monthly active users by 42 per cent and more than doubled its total viewing hours. The platform now offers over 180 free channels across 14 languages.
Samsung TV Plus India general manager and head of business development Kunal Mehta said, “Comedy is the heartbeat of Hindi entertainment, and Kings of Comedy brings together the shows Indians already love, completely free on their Samsung TV. Our focus remains the same take the content people know and make it effortless to access.”
Globally, Samsung TV Plus has surpassed 100 million monthly active users across more than 4,500 channels, solidifying its position as one of the world’s leading free streaming services.
Kings of Comedy is now available on all compatible Samsung Smart TVs. For viewers seeking non-stop laughter without any cost, this new channel delivers a royal treat proving that sometimes the best entertainment really does come with no strings (or subscriptions) attached.
