GECs
Zindagi forays into Turkish content with ‘Feriha’
MUMBAI: Known for airing Pakistani series on Indian television, Zee Entertainment Enterprise Limited’s (ZEEL) Hindi channel Zindagi is all set to launch a new Turkish drama for Indian audiences. Titled Feriha – a Turkish Tale of Love, the series will go on air starting 15 September, every Monday to Friday at 7pm.
Based in Istanbul, Feriha – a Turkish Tale of Love, is a story of a young, beautiful and ambitious girl born in a family of humble means. The girl-next-door named Feriha aspires to touch the sky and has a burning desire to succeed in a world that her parents consider as alien. Born to a janitor father and housekeeper mother, Feriha earns a fully paid scholarship in an elite University where the city’s affluent parents send their children. In the struggle for acceptance among her rich peers, she portrays herself as one of them and lies about her background.
Speaking about the launch of the new Turkish show, Zindagi & FTA Cluster business head Priyanka Datta said, “After Pakistani series, we are introducing our first Turkish show Feriha. The culture they have is closely connected to India and we can easily relate to them. With this Turkish show we are targeting the younger audiences aged between 15 – 30 years. If you see our other shows which are from Pakistan, it attracts people in the age group of 35- 45, but Feriha is entirely a college romance and so it will be more relatable with the younger audiences.”
With dating app Woo as the title sponsor, the show will have 20 – 40 episodes.
While FCB Ulka will handle the creative innovations, the mandate of media agency has been given to MEC.
Talking about the marketing activities, Datta informed, “Apart from television we are also looking at other platforms. We will aggressively promote the show through our network along with other youth and music channels. We will also use radio as a medium to generate awareness. We are running a contest for the audiences and the winner will get a chance to travel all the way to Turkey.”
The show effortlessly blends in with the channels’ brand philosophy Jodey Dilon Ko as it encapsulates the essence of different relationships.
The channel reached one year landmark recently and commenting on the journey so far Dutta said, “The journey started with Pakistani shows and then eventually we introduced Indian original series Shukriya. Now we are getting into Turkish content. We have received phenomenal response and appreciation. The journey so far has been very good for us. We will keep enhancing our portfolio.”
Talking about the response that Zindagi has received from the advertisers, Datta asserted, “Initially we started with 11-12 clients, within a month we reached to 24 -25 clients and we ended the year with 140- 150 clients on board.”
GECs
ZEEL overhauls sales structure to chase growth across TV and digital platforms
New structure sharpens digital push as viewing habits fragment fast
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. is reshuffling its sales playbook as it looks to keep pace with a fast-changing media landscape, where audiences are scattered, screens are multiplying and advertisers are following the data.
According to media reports, the rejig is anchored in the company’s push to build a more integrated, data-led monetisation engine, one that can straddle both traditional television and fast-growing digital platforms with equal ease.
At the heart of the move is a reworked sales architecture designed to deliver cross-platform solutions. With connected TV gaining ground and digital consumption surging, ZEEL is aligning its teams to move quicker, think broader and sell smarter.
The restructuring is being led by chief operating officer, advertisement revenue, Sandeep Mehrotra, at a time when the company says it is seeing tremendous growth. The idea is simple: match the right talent to the right opportunity in a market that is anything but static.
As part of the overhaul, several long-serving executives have been elevated to chief sales officer roles across regions and content clusters. Sanjoy Chatterjee will head the east market, while Gunjarav Nayak takes charge of the west along with high-margin verticals such as hmg, brand works, intellectual properties and digital sales. Rajnish Gupta will oversee bengaluru and chennai markets alongside the kannada and tamil clusters.
In other key moves, Divjyot Dhanda will lead hyderabad and kochi markets and manage zee tv, zee keralam and the telugu cluster. Roshan Vasu Kotian will supervise a diverse portfolio including Zee Marathi, &tv, Zee Punjabi, Zee Anmol, Big Magic and Zee Biskope.
The company is also strengthening its bench, appointing national sales heads across retail, regional clusters, digital and brand solutions. Ankur Kapila’s appointment to lead digital sales signals a sharper push into a segment that continues to outpace traditional formats.
Behind the scenes, dedicated strategy and operations roles have been carved out for both linear and digital businesses. Nitin Shetty, Rajkiran Shrivastav and Priya Nambiar will take on key responsibilities to ensure the new structure runs with precision.
The broader aim is clear. ZEEL wants a bigger slice of advertising budgets that are steadily drifting towards digital and connected TV ecosystems. By integrating its offerings, the company hopes to deepen client relationships while unlocking new revenue streams.
The new structure takes effect immediately, with Mehrotra continuing to report to chief executive officer Punit Goenka and steer the company’s advertising revenue strategy. Senior executive Laxmi Shetty will support the transition, with her revised role expected to be announced soon.
In a market where content is everywhere but attention is scarce, ZEEL’s latest move is less about rearranging the org chart and more about staying in the game.
