ZEE Entertainment forays into Thailand

Launches 'Zee Nung', a 24x7 Bollywood channel localised for Thai audience

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | May 23, 2014

In line with its global brand positioning of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The World is My Family), Zee Entertainment Enterprise (ZEEL) yesterday announced its entry into the Thailand market with the launch of a new channel, Zee Nung, a 24/7 Bollywood channel dubbed in Thai, customised and packaged for the local audience. The channel will air super-hit Bollywood blockbuster movies targeting the pay-TV subscriber base in Thailand.

Subhash Chandra

Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEEL, said, “Thailand and India share deep-rooted cultural and social traditions, which is reflected in many aspects of Thai culture including architecture, art, drama, dance and literature. Our entry into this market reflects our commitment to build a strong bond with Thailand, thereby embracing our corporate philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.'”

“Thailand is a growing market with close to 30 per cent penetration of pay channels and hence falls in our priority for expansion,” Chandra added.

The Asia Pacific region is one of the focused and fastest growing regions for ZEEL. It currently has Zee TV APAC (Hindi channel), Zee Variasi (Malay channel), Zee Bioskop (Bahasa Indonesia channel) and Veria Living (English channel) as dedicated feeds, with offices in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Sydney, Guangzhou, Mumbai and now in Bangkok.

Sharing more details on ZEEL's launch in Thailand, Sushruta Samanta, Business Head – Asia Pacific, ZEEL, said, “We believe that the APAC pay-TV market displays a tremendous potential for growth. After our successful launch in Indonesia, Thailand was our next logical extension. Our research has revealed that Thais have a high positive perception towards Bollywood with growing awareness of this industry due to the large number of Bollywood films being shot in the country. Thais also show affinity for Bollywood dance numbers, with language not proving a barrier to enjoyment. ZEEL boasts of a huge Bollywood library which will boost our efforts to entertain Thai viewers in a consistent and compelling way. We thank CTH for partnering with us and believing in our product.”

Khun Chirdsak Kukiattinun, Chairman of Executive Committee of CTH Public Limited, Thailand, said, “Currently, CTH has a variety of content for everyone in the family. Our sports content includes Barclays Premier League, golf, major tennis tournaments, car racing and Thai boxing while our entertainment content encompasses famous series, documentaries, cartoons and Hollywood movies. Now, CTH is proud to partner with ZEEL for bringing Bollywood Movies 24x7 through the channel Zee Nung for the first time in Thailand.”

Vaishali Kasturia, ZEEL's Country Head for Thailand, said, “We want to reach out to people who want to experience contemporary, imaginative and high quality entertaining films. Zee Nung (Nung means movies in Thai) is specially created, designed and packaged to suit the Thai palate. I am confident that Zee Nung will truly live up to its tagline of Bollywood Nai Thai (Bollywood in Thai) by offering Bollywood blockbusters localised in the Thai language. With the setting up of our local team in Bangkok, we stand committed to making Zee Nung a big success in this market.”

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com