MUMBAI: Team ZEE5 returned from its Russian sojourn last month, checking into a new office address in Andheri East. The move away from ZEEL’s Lower Parel headquarters is the latest in a slew of changes being effected at the media conglomerate’s OTT business. Interestingly, a parallel can be drawn from the reforms in 1980s Russia to highlight the shift occurring at ZEE5 India. Perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness) – have been key change drivers of brand ZEE5 under boss Tarun Katial.

Manish Aggarwal’s promotion to business head was followed by an injection of high-profile talent in the form of Rajneel Kumar - as business head expansion projects and head of products – and Taranjeet Singh - chief revenue officer and business head - new projects; the nucleus around which the brand will now be built.

ZEE5 has been an effective communicator of its vision as a brand, and has so far been in control of the narrative. From articulating the rationale behind partnerships with Airtel TV and Reliance Jio to being open to dialogue over other low-key deals, the company’s engagement strategy has been simple, effective and on point.

Another significant development at the company’s congregation in Moscow was the clarion call of ‘mission 100 million’ Tarun seems to have given his team, setting the agenda for the future. Having clocked 41 million monthly active users on last official count; the next big goal now seems to be breaching the three-figure MAU mark.

If Q2 numbers are anything to go by, then ZEE5 appears to have made significant gains with a 190 per cent growth in users, who spend an average of 31 minutes per day on the streaming app, with a 340 per cent rise in video views since April 2018.

This can be largely attributed to Tarun’s aggression and instinctive genius in creating unique but mass content. The focus now needs to shift towards stepping up the technology in terms of user experience and robustness, if a serious challenge to Star India’s OTT Hotstar has to be mounted.

With the impending leadership change at Hotstar, and competition dialing up their investments and fostering new partnerships, the very nature of India’s OTT landscape could alter.

As the super streamers jostle for second spot in the OTT sweepstakes, here are some insights from one the central figures – Tarun Katial - to this exciting high-stakes play

There’s a significant upsurge in user engagement. Were Originals the major driver? What was catch-up content’s role?

Content in regional languages is the clear protagonist of the story we have charted out. Not just have we curated original content in six languages (Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali), but made that content available across all these languages in dubbed versions. In addition, we offer great options of searchability in eleven languages – by text and voice – a first for any OTT platform. These include Gujarati, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Kannada and English in addition to the six mentioned above. Thus, a subscriber is never at a loss on the platform on account of the language of maneuverability.

We, at ZEE5, also make the most of the inherent strength of the Group in terms of the rich portfolio of viewing content that ZEE has developed over time. And we bring that entire repertoire of content on the platform so as to encourage viewers across the globe who have missed out on any of their favourite shows to get up-to-speed. ZEE5 provides subscribers the choice to binge watch from 1 lakh hours of On Demand Content and 90+ live TV channels.

The OTT audience is a very unique one and recognising the evolved nature of the sensibility, we have developed innovative marketing tools that has kept them on the platform. In addition to this, we also have discount offers for the price-sensitive first-time user.

What have been the major reasons for the rise in MAU?

Content has been our mainstay, and our edgy, relatable content line-up has found a huge audience not just in the main metros, but also tier II and III cities of the country. Our audience has developed great affinity with our originals across Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Bengali. This is in addition to all the content via our partner channels and fed onto the platform for those who may have missed the programmes during the airing time.

This, complemented by the state-of-the-art technology we have deployed on the platform, offers our audience a winning combination. Tools such as Variable Bit Rate, P2P CDN and Latest Content Encoders have reduced the data usage for content consumption. For example – a film that required 2 GB data to watch earlier, now consumes a maximum of 200-300 MB data only. With a view to making our systems smarter, we have partnered with CDN providers to transmit data to the user’s phone basis his / her location so as to render an experience without impacting viewing quality.

Our marketing team has been aggressively forging innovative partnerships and alliances to add value to the digital journey of our subscribers. This includes partnerships with travel portals including makemytrip.com considering the immediate synergy, as also EZMall.com and payment gateways such as PhonePe, considering their online behavior.

How will you keep up the pace of this upsurge?

For digital entertainment players like us, there’s huge scope in this data-rich consumer landscape. Industry reports and data clearly shows that the demand and propensity to consume exists.

In the coming months, you will see us better engaging with OEMs to facilitate embeds into the handsets, while the association with Airtel, Amazon Fire Stick and Xiaomi continue. This will be in addition to our tie-ups with payment wallets such as PhonePe for additional benefits, value-adds for our subscribers with other digital players as listed above. Thus, our subscribers have enough and more reasons to come back to us, in addition to the exciting content line-up.

Our content line-up with the additional uploads every month and an improved experience of recommendations using AI and Machine Learning will be an added incentive for subscribers to explore the platform and stumble on hitherto undiscovered content pieces.

After Karenjit, what's going to be your flagship show?

Our strong content library has shows ranging across crime, thriller, comedy, biopic, family drama genres in different languages. One of our marquee shows releasing this year is the Saqib Salim and Ranvir Shorey-starrer Rangbaaz. Set against the rustic background of Gorakhpur, the crime/ thriller series is inspired from a true story. 

We are releasing a mix of originals across languages to keep the users entertained and wanting for more. Some of our big ongoing and upcoming properties include the ZEE5 Film Festival, Malayalam Shorts – comprising three Malayalam short films, Row No. 26 - a web series on renowned author Priya Kumar’s book, etc. Thus, there will be an entire set of shows on the platform on a monthly basis.

Can you talk a bit about content pipeline for next 6 months?

Our upcoming Bengali original Paoli Dam starrer Kaali, Row No. 26 – an adaptation of Priya Kumar’s novel, Saie Tamhankar starrer ‘Date with Saie’ are few of the exciting shows to watch out for. This, in addition to some big 2018 blockbuster digital releases and much more.

Recently ZEE had a film festival. Are consumers showing enough interest in original films?

The response to the ZEE5 Film Festival has been phenomenal. The views generated by the Indian and Pakistani movies have reinforced our belief that the OTT audience is looking for engaging content. Stories said interestingly will always draw an audience.

ZEE5 is now available in 150 markets. Which international markets will be prioritized?

We have recently announced our plan for international expansion for ZEE5. Under this, the mobile application will be released in more than 190 countries across the world in Android, iOS and web formats. Starting from next April, we will start reaching out to our audiences in countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Russia where we will have originals made in accordance to their taste and preferences along with dubbed content. We will design our strategies keeping in mind that the audience is not the same everywhere. While the developed markets will entirely be on the subscription model, Middle East and North Africa will have a combination of AVoD and SVoD.

Subscriber growth in terms of percentage.

The number of ZEE5 active users have gone up by 190% per cent since April 2018. Considering that we have clocked in these numbers in just eight months of launching the platform, we are very proud of our performance. Statistics also indicate that our video views have grown by 340 per cent as compared to the last month indicating significant improvement in user engagement.

Are you going to tie up with any local cable broadband providers?

We will soon announce our alliances with renowned cable broadband providers. This will further enhance our reach and connectivity.

Given that your leadership style is pretty aggressive, how are you expanding the ZEE5 operations going forward?

At ZEE5, we are a very passionate team that is driven by the desire to succeed.

While this is the team that puts together the platform, we are also consumers of OTT content. And hence, we become the best judge of the efficacy of the experience that our subscribers are privy to. So, outdoing our own expectations is what drives us, and we have loads of fun doing it day in and day out!

Our aim eventually is to make ZEE5 a platform that is extremely intelligent in predicting consumer tastes and preferences, such that the home screen is a bespoke version for every subscriber.

You say ‘ZEE5 is the second most popular OTT platform’. On what parameters is this based?

According to public numbers and data, we are the second largest OTT platform in the country.

You’ve now had some time to settle down in your new role. What are the holes that need to be plugged?

The past eight months have been an absolute roller-coaster ride for us at ZEE5, and this has been possible only on account of the forward-looking and dynamic team we have here. As a Group, we have always believed in nurturing internal talent, while continuing to attract the best in the industry.

As we continue on our journey, we will continue to build the platform with a focus on consumer, technology, data and content as its pillars.