Bengaluru bookstores see surge in demand for ‘Heart Lamp', Kannada original after Banu Mushtaq's Booker win
Dhananjay of Beetle Book Shop, Vijayanagar, started receiving calls with inquiries about the book's availability from 6.30 am on Wednesday. With a majority of their customers being Kannada readers, the demand for the Kannada version is higher.
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Mint
3 hours ago
- Mint
Will ZEE5's new slate of content, regional push, and micro-drama help it win the OTT war?
ZEE5, the video streaming platform owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, will release over 130 new titles in FY26, including web series, films, and non-fiction shows, with a focus on family audiences and younger viewers. To expand its offerings, the firm has also partnered with tech startup Bullet, which has developed a micro-drama application featuring fast-paced, vertical-format episodes designed for younger audiences. 'In FY25, we had only 60-odd launches through the year, including movies, but this coming year, you would see over 130 launches happening," Amit Goenka, chief executive of the international broadcast business of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, and head of Z5 Global, said in an interview with Mint. 'Language is our big push and we've added four more languages for original content," he added Also Read: Regional content gains ground on OTTs even as Hindi dominates While the focus on Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu remains, ZEE5 has now entered the Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, and Malayalam segments. It has launched language packs that allow users to pay only for specific language content. The Hindi pack (which also includes Punjabi and Bhojpuri content) and the all-access pack remain available with monthly and annual variants. Regaining margin Last February, Zee had said it was charting a three-pronged approach—cutting costs, reducing overlaps between businesses, and enhancing quality to regain margins—after its merger with Sony Pictures Entertainment collapsed. In line with this, ZEE5 now operates under a 'leaner, meaner" model with a profitability-first mindset, Goenka said. In FY25, the company halved its Ebitda loss to ₹548 crore. 'While we provide the consumer with entertainment and the right experience with a technology focus, it is still primarily focused on making sure it is profitable," he said. To boost revenues, ZEE5 is bolstering its AVoD (advertising video-on-demand) strategy, moving some content from behind the paywall to a free tier over time, repurposing old library content into smaller versions for new viewers and curating a user-generated content or UGC slate. Zee Entertainment Enterprises reported a 1,305% year-on-year growth in its consolidated net profit to ₹188 crore in Q4FY25. The total revenue in the March-ended quarter stood at ₹2,220 crore, which was up 1.6% from a year ago. Total revenue of ZEE5 during the quarter stood at ₹274.7 crore. Goenka said regional content will continue to be a growth engine. 'If you look at the broadcasting industry, the real growth has come from expanding into language markets. People still want that connect with their roots, and we should give that to the audience, whether from a content or platform experience perspective," he added. While Goenka did not give specific investment figures for this year, ZEE5's budget for each content typically hovers in the range of ₹5-7 crore. In the case of regional shows, the spending is even lower. Also Read: Independent producers, boutique studios veer towards regional cinema for big gains Tough terrain Despite progress, challenges remain. Entertainment industry experts believe local platforms have a tough road ahead. 'OTT (over-the-top) is a heavy investment game. While on the one hand, you have the likes of foreign giants like Amazon, whose losses are subsidized because of the e-commerce business, there is JioHotstar on the other, which is on the warpath with sports and regional content," said a senior content studio executive on condition of anonymity. However, Goenka is optimistic. 'Our audiences know that when they come to Zee, they're going to get family-friendly content. Being able to produce at the right cost is the second big advantage we have over any of the other players. Plus, at Zee Studios, we produce a large amount of movies every year. So we are not dependent only on the market to acquire movies and have our own slate, which gives us a steady flow of content," he said. He added that foreign players with deep pockets have been around in India for a while, but the real challenge remains catering to the price-sensitive Indian consumer, which even international platforms have had to take cognisance of. According to a report by media consulting firm Ormax, the audience universe for video streaming in India currently stands at 547.3 million people, but active paid subscriptions have stagnated at 99.6 million. The average number of platforms subscribed to per paying audience member fell from 2.8 to 2.5 in 2024, highlighting the waning need among audiences to pay to watch too many streaming services, the report said.
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
ZEE5 Aims to Slash Operating Losses by up to 60% in FY26
HighlightsZEE5, owned by Zee Entertainment, aims to reduce its operating losses by 50-60% in the fiscal year 2026, with a target to achieve an EBITDA margin of 18-20%. The platform plans to launch 100 content titles in fiscal year 2026, focusing on language-based offerings in regional markets such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, and Bengali. Despite facing competition from major streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video, ZEE5's revenue grew by 6% in fiscal year 2025, reaching ₹976 crore, as the company emphasizes cost control while delivering quality content. ZEE5 , the streaming platform owned by Zee Entertainment, aims to reduce its operating losses by 50-60% in FY26 , president of digital businesses and platforms Amit Goenka said. The OTT industry has shifted its focus to achieving profitability after years of heavy investments in subscriber acquisition, which had taken a toll on their P&L. In FY25, ZEE5 reduced its Ebitda loss to ₹548 crore from ₹1,105 crore in the previous year. The company has been aggressively cutting costs to achieve its goal of an 18-20% Ebitda margin in FY26. "This year, we are striving to reduce our Ebitda losses by more than 50-60% compared to last year. ZEE5 is the only division in Zee Entertainment that is not yet profitable, and we are looking to make it Ebitda-positive," he said. According to Goenka, producing content at a competitive price has been Zee's strength, and the company wants to maintain the cost advantages it has built over the years. ZEE5's focus on investing more in the story than in the star cast has helped it reduce costs-unlike other major streamers who spend huge amounts of money on star-driven shows, he noted. "We will control our costs and at the same time deliver quality content to audiences," he said. ZEE5 is planning to launch 100 content titles in FY26, with a focus on language-based offerings in markets like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali. In FY25, the platform launched 60 pieces of content across movies and originals. Goenka also downplayed concerns that stringent cost controls would impact revenue growth, even as the platform competes with giants like Netflix, Prime Video and JioHotstar. ZEE5's revenue grew by 6% in FY25 to ₹976 crore. "Controlling costs can still help you grow users and offer a great content experience because how you tell the story is more important than the face behind it," he said. While ZEE5 has a hybrid subscription and ad-led model, Goenka sees a lot of potential in the subscription model and intends to partner with telcos, broadband players and other distribution platforms to reach new audiences in tier-2 and -3 cities. The platform also aims to double down on technology to improve user experience and experiment with emerging genres like short-form vertical video.
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Time of India
ZEE5 aims to slash operating losses by up to 60% in FY26
Mumbai: ZEE5, the streaming platform owned by Zee Entertainment, aims to reduce its operating losses by 50-60% in FY26, president of digital businesses and platforms Amit Goenka OTT industry has shifted its focus to achieving profitability after years of heavy investments in subscriber acquisition, which had taken a toll on their P& FY25, ZEE5 reduced its Ebitda loss to ₹548 crore from ₹1,105 crore in the previous year. The company has been aggressively cutting costs to achieve its goal of an 18-20% Ebitda margin in FY26."This year, we are striving to reduce our Ebitda losses by more than 50-60% compared to last year. ZEE5 is the only division in Zee Entertainment that is not yet profitable, and we are looking to make it Ebitda-positive," he said. According to Goenka, producing content at a competitive price has been Zee's strength, and the company wants to maintain the cost advantages it has built over the years. ZEE5's focus on investing more in the story than in the star cast has helped it reduce costs-unlike other major streamers who spend huge amounts of money on star-driven shows, he noted. "We will control our costs and at the same time deliver quality content to audiences," he said. ZEE5 is planning to launch 100 content titles in FY26, with a focus on language-based offerings in markets like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali. In FY25, the platform launched 60 pieces of content across movies and originals. Goenka also downplayed concerns that stringent cost controls would impact revenue growth, even as the platform competes with giants like Netflix, Prime Video and JioHotstar. ZEE5's revenue grew by 6% in FY25 to ₹976 crore. "Controlling costs can still help you grow users and offer a great content experience because how you tell the story is more important than the face behind it," he said. While ZEE5 has a hybrid subscription and ad-led model, Goenka sees a lot of potential in the subscription model and intends to partner with telcos, broadband players and other distribution platforms to reach new audiences in tier-2 and -3 cities. The platform also aims to double down on technology to improve user experience and experiment with emerging genres like short-form vertical video.
