English Entertainment
All new rich and riveting British dramas to premiere solely on Zee Café
MUMBAI: What makes dramas so gripping? Is it the cliff-hangers that leave you thinking, the characters that teleport you into a new world or the sheer cathartic experience? Come unravel the world of unconventional and immersive British dramas that promise to leave you #ShakenAndStirred only on Zee Café. The third season of BBC First premieres August 5, weeknights at 10 with six of the shows exclusive only to Zee Café, in partnership with BBC Studios.
Keeping in mind the fast-paced lifestyles of its viewers and their paucity of time, Zee Café makes it easier by providing options to catch up with the shows. You could either watch the dramas weeknights or binge watch the shows over the weekend, thus enabling viewers to choose their preferred pace and watch all the compelling dramas at their convenience.
Together with an authority in drama and an actor renowned for his craft, Nawazuddin Siddiqui – Zee Café took a differentiated approach to launch the BBC First campaign, engaging with new audiences. A familiar face and an influencer, Nawazuddin Siddiqui donned a dapper avatar in his quintessential demeanor as he candidly shared his excitement around the gripping narratives that set BBC First dramas apart. The film was promoted with high exposure on-air and on digital platforms. Further engaging with the fans, viewers also have a chance to preview a clip of Brexit: The Uncivil War one hour before the on-air telecast on Zee Café’s social handle.
Contemporary and captivating, the BBC First dramas come in all hues and shades. With IMDB 7+ ratings, each of these stories unravel the hidden truths, stir strong emotions, cross boundaries and break rules, as they bring to life the riveting drama they breathe.
‘Everyone knows who won. But not everyone knows how’ – watch a riveting account of how Britain’s history was shaped with Brexit: The Uncivil War. Witness the Emmy Award Winner and Academy Award Nominee, Benedict Cumberbatch essays the role of Dominic Cummings – a backroom boy and a disruptor who ‘Takes Back Control.’ From politics to the mafia, watch an ingenious crime drama that exposes the dirty linen of Russian organized crime, with McMafia featuring, BAFTA Award nominee, James Norton and the National Film Award winner Nawazuddin Siddique. From the award-winning novel, longest-running musical and a critically-acclaimed film and now to an eight-part drama series, relive Victor Hugo’s magnum opus redefined through a modern lens with Les Misérables starring the Academy Award winning actress Olivia Colman along with Dominic West and Lily Collins. And also, the family saga layered with the perils of power, politics and media; catch the award-winning actor Richard Gere’s return to television with MotherFatherSon where his unstable son poses a threat to his family and empire.
Sharing insights around BBC First, Prathyusha Agarwal, Chief Marketing Officer, ZEEL, said, "Three years ago at a time when the English Entertainment category was fairly skewed towards American content, Zee Café took a differentiated approach and introduced British dramas. We partnered with one of the largest networks known to be the home of premium, original British drama, BBC Studios. Over the last two years, BBC First has had an overwhelming response from audiences with 2X reach and the loyal viewers have transformed the block into a flagship property with its loyal viewers. As part of the block this year, six of the shows will be premiering in India and will be available solely on Zee Café. The added benefit this year is for the viewers to choose their consumption pace between a daily episodic or a weekend binge enabling ease of viewing for the discerning audience of Zee Café.”
Myleeta Aga Williams, SVP and GM, South and South-East Asia, BBC Studios said, Myleeta Aga Williams, SVP and GM, South and South-East Asia, BBC Studios, said, “BBC dramas are known for their evocative screenplays, riveting plots and strong characters. With a proliferation of choice for audiences of dramas, the BBC First block has consistently raised the quality bar and we are pleased to work with Zee Café to offer this content to its viewers. Our block, BBC First has resonated so well with audiences, and we look forward to presenting them more award-winning and highly-rated British dramas in its third season.”
Bringing some of the choicest Hollywood blockbusters, prized dramas, international news and lifestyle content for the Indian viewers, the powerful bouquet – Zee Prime English Pack – comprising &flix, Zee Café, LF and Wion, is priced at an attractive Rs. 15/- per month. That’s not all! For those who appreciate nuanced cinema, &PrivéHD brings riveting and award-winning films that stimulate the minds as they show them the other side of cinema. Zee Prime English HD Pack comprising – &PrivéHD, Zee Café HD, &flix HD, LF HD is priced at Rs 25/-. Consumers can also subscribe to the Zee All In One Pack @ Rs. 59/- per month.
UK: The aerial is losing its grip. As broadband becomes the default way Britons watch television, the UK is edging towards a decisive, and divisive, question: should Freeview be switched off by 2034? The issue, highlighted in reporting by The Guardian, has exposed deep fault lines over access, affordability and the future of public service broadcasting.
For nearly 25 years, Freeview has delivered free-to-air television from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 to almost every corner of the country. Even now, it remains the UK’s largest TV platform, used in more than 16m homes and on around 10m main household sets. Yet the same broadcasters that built it are now pressing for its closure within eight years.
Their case rests on a structural shift in viewing. Smart TVs, superfast broadband and the Netflix-led streaming boom have pulled audiences online. Advertising economics have followed. By 2034, the number of homes using Freeview as their main TV set is forecast to fall from a peak of almost 12m in 2012 to fewer than 2m, making digital terrestrial television, or DTT, increasingly costly to sustain.
But critics say the rush to switch off risks abandoning those least able, or least willing, to move online.
“I don’t want to be choosing apps and making new accounts,” says Lynette, 80, from Kent. “It is time-consuming and irritating trying to work out where I want to be, to remember the sequence of clicks, with hieroglyphics instead of words. If I make a mistake I have to start again.”
Lynette is among nearly 100,000 people who have signed a “save Freeview” petition launched by campaign group Silver Voices. She fears the government is about to “take [Freeview] away from me and others who either don’t like, can’t afford, or can’t use online versions”.
Official figures underline the fault lines. A report commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport estimates that by 2035, 1.8m homes will still depend on Freeview. Ofcom’s analysis shows those households are more likely to be disabled, older, living alone, female, and based in the north of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Freeview is owned by the public service broadcasters through Everyone TV, which also operates Freesat and the newer streaming platform Freely. After two years of review, DCMS is expected to set out its position soon, drawing on three options proposed by Ofcom: a costly upgrade of Freeview’s ageing technology; maintaining a bare-bones service with only core PSB channels; or a full switch-off during the 2030s.
The broadcasters have rallied behind the third option. They argue that 2034 is the logical cut-off, when transmission contracts with network operator Arqiva expire. By then, they say, the cost of broadcasting to a dwindling audience will far outweigh the returns from TV advertising.
Ofcom agrees a crunch point is approaching. In July, the regulator warned of a “tipping point” within the next few years, after which it will no longer be commercially viable for broadcasters to carry the costs of DTT.
Others see risks beyond economics. Questions remain over whether internet TV can reliably deliver emergency broadcasts, such as the daily Covid updates, in the way that universally available DTT can. The UK radio industry has also warned that an internet-only future for TV could push up distribution costs and force some radio stations off air if PSBs no longer share Arqiva’s mast network.
“It is a political hot potato,” says Dennis Reed, founder of Silver Voices, who says he has “dissociated” his organisation from the government’s stakeholder forum, which he believes is “heavily biased” towards streaming.
The Future TV Taskforce, representing the PSBs, counters that moving online could “close the digital divide once and for all”. “We want to be able to plan to ensure that no one is left behind,” a spokesperson says, adding that rising DTT costs could otherwise mean cuts to programme budgets.
The numbers show the scale of the challenge. Of the 1.8m Freeview-dependent homes projected for 2035, around 1.1m are expected to have broadband but not use it for TV. The remaining 700,000 are forecast to lack a broadband connection altogether.
Veterans of the analogue switch-off, completed in 2012 after 76 years, recall similar fears of “TV blackout chaos”. Around 6 per cent of households were labelled “digital refuseniks”, yet a targeted help scheme and a national campaign, fronted by a robot called Digit Al voiced by Matt Lucas, delivered a largely smooth transition.
This time, the BBC is less keen to foot the bill. Tim Davie, the outgoing director general, has said the corporation should not fund a comparable support programme for a Freeview switch-off.
Research for Sky by Oliver & Ohlbaum suggests that with early awareness campaigns and digital inclusion measures, only about 330,000 households would ultimately need hands-on help ahead of a 2034 shutdown.
Meanwhile, viewing habits continue to fragment. Audience body Barb says 7 per cent of UK households no longer own a TV set, choosing to watch on other devices. In December, YouTube overtook the BBC’s combined channels in total UK viewing across TVs, smartphones and tablets, albeit measured at a minimum of three minutes.
That shift may accelerate. YouTube has recently blocked Barb and its partner Kantar from accessing viewing session data, limiting transparency just as online platforms consolidate power.
“When the government chose British Satellite Broadcasting as the ‘winner’ in satellite TV it was Rupert Murdoch’s Sky instead that came out on top,” says a senior TV executive quoted by The Guardian. “There already is such an outsider ready to be the winner in the transition to internet TV; it is YouTube.”
Freeview’s future now hangs on a familiar British dilemma: modernise fast and risk exclusion, or protect universality and pay the price. Either way, the aerial’s days as king of the living room look numbered.
