Television
Zee Cafe announces third season of its culinary show Chef Vs Fridge..noww
Mumbai: Zee Café has announced the third season of its culinary show Chef Vs Fridge. This show will feature a mix of contestants right from home chefs to food influencers competing for the never seen before prize- their own cooking show on TV. This season also brings back the duo from season two – chef Ajay Chopra and chef Shipra Khanna as the anchors and judges.
With social media strengthening its roots, the fame game is at an all-time high in the country. While everyone is looking for their chance at 15-sec of fame, Zee Café brings an opportunity for the chefs to earn the deserved popularity. Food content largely saw a rise in popularity during the pandemic and since then, there has been no looking back for the genre.
The show has received an ample amount of love from the viewers which has translated into onboarding eight passionate brands as sponsors. The show will be co-powered by Parle Platina Hide & Seek, Pril, Catch Masala, Kitchen Partner TTK Prestige, Special Partner Sankalp Foods, Vijay Sales as the Gratification partner and BL Agro as the Associate sponsor.
Sharing her views on Chef vs Fridge, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd national sales head niche cluster Sonal Shah said, “Zee Café is committed to bringing formats that provide entertainment to the consumers through its unique value proposition. The last season of Chef vs Fridge received immense engagement from the viewers and delivered value to our partners. At ZEE, we remain committed to offering concepts that delight our partners and enable them to reach audiences in a unique manner. The fact that we have renewed our association with all our partners from the previous season, in addition to drawing in a new set of sponsors for the third season of the show, speaks volumes about our unique content formats helping brands build a better connection with audiences. We are confident that this season is going to excite and entertain the viewers and deliver maximum value to our partners.”
Sharing his excitement for the new show, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. chief channel officer English channels Rishi Parekh shared, “Zee Café has always focused on providing valuable and engaging content to the viewers and we are immensely grateful that the audiences are enjoying the originals we have released in the last few years. After the success of both seasons 1 and 2 of Chef vs Fridge, we knew we had to bring a season three with more twists and turns for our audiences! We ensure you a gastronomic ride throughout the season with our chefs and judges.”
Talking about the partnership, Parle Products Private Ltd senior category head Mayank Shah shared, “From the inception, we at Parle Products have been prioritizing taste, quality and innovation while catering to various taste buds in the country. This has led to the consumers enjoying our premium Parle Platina Hide & Seek Range and making it a part of their everyday lives. Zee Café’s show Chef vs Fridge is perfectly aligned with our vision of bringing premium quality to the Indian audiences by enabling amazing cooks from across the country to come under one roof and share their skills, tips, and art with the larger audience. We are enthralled to be a partner with Chef vs Fridge for the third time and we are sure the show is going to be a hit amongst the audiences.”
Sharing their views on the collaboration, TTK Prestige executive vice president sales & marketing Dinesh Garg said, “We have garnered a lot of value through our partnership with Chef vs Fridge in the last season and we are excited for the launch of the new season. We are sure the strategic partnership will lead ahead in the right direction and the show will garner immense love and support from the viewers.”
Speaking about Pril’s association with Chef Vs Fridge, Jyothy Labs Ltd Jyothy Ramachandran said, “Chef vs Fridge is a show that has been loved by audiences. After fruitful association in the last season, we are keen to associate with it again. We are eagerly looking forward to an exciting and engaging new season of Chef Vs Fridge.”
The show will start airing on Sunday, 26 February 2023 at 8pm on Zee Café and will also be aired across other ZEE channels Zee Zest SD + HD, Zee TV SD + HD, Zee Marathi SD + HD, Zee Punjabi, Big Ganga and Zee5.
Sports
IPL 2026 ad race sees digital-first categories dominate CTV
E-commerce leads CTV with 35 per cent share; Google tops linear TV
MUMBAI: In the IPL’s biggest face-off yet, it’s not just bat versus ball, it’s screen versus screen. And in IPL 2026, connected TV seems to be playing a very different game from traditional television. Fresh data from TAM Sports shows that advertising trends across Linear TV and CTV diverged sharply during the first 22 matches of the tournament, underlining how brands are splitting strategies across platforms.
On CTV, digital-first categories clearly stole the spotlight. E-commerce media, entertainment and social media alone accounted for a commanding 35 per cent share of ad volumes, followed by e-commerce services at 12 per cent. Smartphones (8 per cent), cars (7 per cent) and air conditioners (5 per cent) rounded off the top five, signalling a strong tilt towards tech-savvy, urban audiences.
Linear TV, however, told a more traditional story. Mouth fresheners led with a 14 per cent share, followed by e-commerce services at 12 per cent. Categories such as e-wallets, financial institutions and paints each held a 6 per cent share, reflecting mass-market consumption patterns that continue to anchor broadcast television.
The advertiser mix further highlights this split. On CTV, Star India (JioHotstar) dominated with a hefty 35 per cent share, followed by Google at 20 per cent. Havells India and Renault India each accounted for 4 per cent, while Reliance Consumer Products stood at 3 per cent.
On Linear TV, Google emerged as the top advertiser with a 13 per cent share, followed by Reliance Consumer Products at 9 per cent. Vishnu Packaging and Havells India held 6 per cent each, with K P Pan Foods at 5 per cent.
Despite these differences, there was notable overlap. More than 25 categories and over 20 advertisers were common across both platforms during the 22-match period. E-commerce, mouth fresheners, cars and paints featured prominently across screens, while brands like Star India (JioHotstar), Google and Reliance Consumer Products maintained strong cross-platform presence.
Yet, exclusivity is where the divergence becomes sharper. CTV saw over 15 exclusive categories and more than 25 exclusive advertisers, including smartphones, astrologers and fast food outlets. Linear TV mirrored this with over 15 exclusive categories and 20-plus advertisers, led by chocolates, jewellery and personal care.
The broader takeaway is clear. IPL advertising is no longer a one-screen strategy. CTV is fast emerging as a playground for digital-native, high-engagement categories, while Linear TV continues to deliver scale for traditional mass brands.
As the tournament progresses, one thing is evident: in the advertising IPL, it’s not just about where the eyeballs are, it’s about which screen they’re on.
