Kochi: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has announced its entry into Kerala with the launch of its fifth channel in the Southern region, Zee Keralam. The channel was unveiled by the ZEEL leadership team comprising of Punit Misra, CEO, ZEEL, Siju Prabhakaran, South Cluster Head, ZEEL and Deepti Sivan Pillay, Business Head, Zee Keralam in Kochi today, in the presence of artists from the Zee Keralam family. With 38 domestic channels and 39 international channels under the ZEEL umbrella, the launch of Zee Keralam will consolidate the southern market for the network with a total of five channels.
With the brand promise, “Neithedukkam Jeevitha Vismayangal” i.e. “Let’s weave wonders in life”, Zee Keralam aims to inspire the people of Kerala, to rise above their circumstances and craft their own destiny. The channel will stand for progressive content that will bring together generations through endearing stories of ordinary people who are creating an extraordinary destiny.
Commenting on the launch of its fifth channel in the region, Siju Prabhakaran, South Cluster Head, ZEEL said, “The South Cluster has been growing exponentially for Zee as a network in the last few years and with the launch of Zee Keralam, we are certain that the region will continue to perform at a high growth rate. We set foot in the South with our first GEC – Zee Telugu in 2005, followed by Zee Kannada, Zee Tamil and Zee Cinemalu. Ever since, we have emerged as market leaders in every State, winning the hearts of millions our South Indian viewers across the world. We hope to continue the upward growth trend with the launch of Zee Keralam.”
Zee Keralam will go on-air in November 2018, with a robust programming calendar that will be a mix of both fiction and non-fiction shows along with an extensive movie library and star-studded events line-up. Showcasing a set of determined characters who are entrenched in Malayali culture and tradition, the channel pledges to telecast endearing stories of ordinary people weaving wonders in life in their own way.
“Zee Keralam aspires to reflect the beliefs, ideas and attitudes of every middle-class Malayali today. With a well-balanced programming mix based on consumer insights, the aim is to ignite a sense of self-transformation among our audiences to achieve the extraordinary. With inspiring stories of a girl whose nakshatram and physical appearance doesn’t limit her from taking charge of her life in Swathi Nakshatram Chothi to ZEE’s most popular dance format Dance Kerala Dance where we blur the lines between aspiration and stardom, we believe that Zee Keralam will be a platform for every Malayali to be inspired to weave wonders in their lives”, Deepti Sivan Pillay, Business Head, Zee Keralam said.
Zee Keralam will go on-air along with its HD feed and is set to enter the market with a robust and complete package of content that is family inclusive and culturally rooted to Kerala that will bring together generations. With storylines that resonate with intrinsic nuances of the state, topics such as migration-led family structures and dying art forms like Bale will ignite the inner spark amongst Malayalis to rise above their circumstances and craft an extraordinary destiny for themselves and their families. The programming line-up includes seven fiction shows, three non-fiction shows and one morning show.
Furthermore, the channel has a strong movie line-up that includes blockbusters including Mohanlal, Hey Jude, Aami and Madhuraraja to name a few.
The mega launch event “Vismayraava” is a wondrous and magical evening marking the beginning of the channel’s journey with some of the biggest celebrities from Mollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood & Bollywood. The event is scheduled to take place in Cochin in the month of Nov and is the channel’s first up-close showcase to the people of Kerala.
The brand proposition “Neithedukkam Jeevitha Vismayangal” i.e. “Let’s weave wonders in life” is brought alive on the channel in a stellar visual packaging based on the inner spark and radiance that inspires people to be extraordinary. The shows take forward the visual spectacle, most of them being shot in real locations across Kerala with state of the art technology- Sony F5 cameras.
The channel is set to launch with an extensive multimedia campaign covering all major districts of Kerala and also is targeting complete reach and accessibility throughout all distribution platforms.