MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) is all set to add a new channel to its bouquet. Christened ‘&TV’, the new Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) from Zeel’s stable is set to launch in the second week of March.
The channel will launch shows starting from prime-time. With a robust line-up of fiction and non-fiction shows in the pipeline, the channel aims to target the changing consumption trends of youth and premium segment viewers. The channel will be competing with the incumbent players in the highly competitive Hindi GEC space.
&TV has roped in multiple top line production houses like Sphere Origins (Balika Vadhu), Swastik Productions (Mahabharat), Shashi-Sumeet Productions (Diya Aur Baati Hum), Endemol India and Freemantle India amongst others. It has also got on-board a few start-up production houses, one of them being Saregama Productions.
Sphere Origins’ show Ganga will be followed by other shows like Swastik Productions’ Razia Sultan, Saregama Productions’ Begu Sarai, Edit II Productions’ fiction comedy titled Bhabhiji Ghar Pe Hai? amongst others.
According to information available with Indiantelevision.com, shooting for all the shows has already begun.
The channel has also lined up an aggressive content strategy for non-fiction formats and has begin acquisitions in the space. It has acquired the format of an internationally acclaimed singing reality show called The Voice. This will be aired soon after the curtains come down for the quiz show. The popular reality series, which has travelled across 169 countries, will be produced by Endemol India for the Indian viewers.
The Voice, is an American reality television singing competition broadcast on NBC. Based on the original The Voice of Holland, the concept of the series is to find new singing talent (solo or duets) contested by aspiring singers, aged 15 or over, drawn from public auditions.
Additionally, the launch of the new channel will be supported by a marketing blitzkrieg. Sources close to the development inform that a budget of approximately Rs 120 crore has been set aside for marketing and promoting the channel. “The channel is going to go very strong and aggressive on the marketing front. It wants to build the ‘&’ franchise and make its mark along with other GECs in the space,” informs the source.
