Movie Channels
STAR Gold to ‘KICK-START’ a pioneering programming event
MUMBAI: Star Gold, the home of Bollywood premieres, has initiated a first-of-its-kind content driven campaign for Salman Khan’s upcoming film KICK! With the much- awaited blockbuster film hitting theatres on 25th July 2014, Star Gold has taken an innovative marketing route by associating with the film before its theatrical release and this initiative is a first amongst any Hindi movie channel.
Star Gold presents KICK Start, a unique event conceptualized and created exclusively for the viewers of Star Gold in association with the release of the movie KICK. Superstar Salman Khan, along with his co-stars Jacqueline Fernandes and Nargis Fakhri will entertain viewers with their splendid performances on stage. The special programming will also include actors Varun Dhawan, Aditya Roy Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor along with Mika and Himesh adding in to the entertainment quotient.
Announcing this unique initiative, Hemal Jhaveri, Executive Vice President, Star Gold, said “Movie associations in the past have always taken place during a TV premiere, much after the theatrical release. This unique association with KICK helps us build engagement with special content around the movie much earlier on. While this definitely drives viewership, it also provides a promotion platform for the movie release resulting in a win-win for everyone.
Apart from the event, the celebrations continue with a weeklong movie fest featuring Salman Khan movies Dabangg, Jai Ho, Garv, Ready and Wanted in the channel’s prime-time slot at 8pm.
Early 2014, Star India network had announced its movie acquisitions for the year comprising of 18 highly anticipated Bollywood films. With its high profile movie acquisitions list for 2014 and maximum number of 100 crore Bollywood films being premiered on the channel, Star Gold can definitely be called the Home of Bollywood Premieres for all Hindi movie buffs.
KICK START premieres on Sunday, 27th July, 2014 at 1pm, only on STAR GOLD.
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.
