ZEE5 Global’s Archana Anand on the success of ‘RRR, sports rights in India and finding a niche in the US.

With the year almost over, ZEE5 Global COO Archana Anand is optimistic about 2023. The South Asian streamer, which operates in more than 190 territories including the US and boasts around 200,000 hours of content, is experiencing “our best year yet and we’re ending it on a high note,” she says.

In an in-depth interview with Deadline, Anand explains how India’s biggest commemorative film, RRRhelped drive the service to new heights globally this year, with a 209% annual increase in consumption from January to October 2022. In the US, it has become the preferred stream for many Indians and South Asians.

Archana also reveals that South Asian content attracts an audience that even Bollywood has not reached, with languages ​​like Telugu dominating among ZEE5 Global subscribers in the US (20% share of local subscribers) and Australia (13%). While Telugu language RRR Apparently, the prosecution carried other non-Hindi titles like Valimai, Karthikeya 2 and fingertip also encouraged to watch.

Launching in the US in 2021, ZEE5 quickly found a niche among local South Asian audiences by targeting them in local supermarkets and working with student associations. Dubbing and subtitling has led to a huge revival in the US and the UK, among others, says Anand.

In terms of content, ZEE5 Global has moved closer to the West The Broken Newsa remake of Mike Bartlett’s BBC drama Pressure, and is actively creating an American original series, with a call for a creator earlier this year. ZEE5 sources say the status of this initiative remains “under discussion” and updates are likely to follow later.

Anand and her ZEE5 colleagues hope the momentum will continue into 2023. Major corporate changes are on the horizon as the merger between broadcasting parent company Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited and Culver Max Entertainment (formerly Sony Pictures Networks India) nears completion. This would put the streamer on the same list as rival SonyLIV, with many scenarios possible at this point.

Read on for the full interview.

Reporter: Let’s start with the implications of RRR. how did it help you Position ZEE5 worldwide?

We want people to know that there is a South Asian streaming service with around 200,000 hours of content in 12 languages ​​and we have the latest movies. Last year we did RRR and The Kashmir files, which really helped us in this leadership game. nominated for the Golden Globe, RRR has a lot more for us to get out.

Reporter: It was such a huge crossover worldwide and broke through like few Indian films had before.

AA: This film is the only time I have seen a film where mainstream people came to our platform to watch because of the hype. This has put us in an insane leadership position which we aim to capitalize on with more exciting plans for next year. We really want to own South Asia in a big way.

Reporter: All the talk about the RRR continuation then it will be very exciting.

AA: Oh yes, absolutely.

Reporter: The film seems to represent a tidal wave of interest in Indian content. are you do you see it

AA: I have been saying for over a year and a half that Indian content is the next thing to happen and when it happens, we want to be at the forefront of making it happen. We have the greatest right to win to achieve this. I was very ambitious and part of my vision is that ZEE5 should speak the truth. RRR was a nice incentive to push things forward.

There is a newfound love for Indian content, but there is also a resurgence of South Asian content in general. Before it was just about Bollywood, it suddenly had to stand back and ask people what the boys in the south were up to. Their content creates a global sensation that Bollywood cannot match. People look to the formula to find out what connects the world so beautifully. Perhaps it is time for India, and especially the South, to shine.

Reporter: This is ZEE5 Global’s first full year in the US market. You seem to have carved a niche for yourself there, but what have been the challenges and what do you still have to do?

Archana Anand: When I went to the market, I was well aware that I was hunting a cohort that made up 2-3% of the population – and they don’t even live in one area. They are spread across the mainstream and in places like the Tri-State Area, the Bay Area and Texas. It is a big challenge to even establish the brand with only 2-3% of the population as a consumer. If I was marketing in India, it wouldn’t be a good idea to take 20 billboards in the most populated area and put out ZEE5 as a sure shot, but I’m not getting the same return on my investment in the US . I need to capture the areas where the South Asian population is dense. Putting something in Times Square won’t attract the right crowd – how many South Asians will see it?

Reporter: How did you attract those bags full of consumers?

Attracting a consumer through digital marketing as a niche player is extremely expensive – upwards of $80/$90 each time, so we had to think outside the box. The way we did it is a source of pride today, and many have tried to emulate us: we found where the South Asians are. No matter where in the world you live, South Asians want to go to South Asian stores, so we partnered with Patel supermarkets in the US, which was the biggest reason for our victory, and even Lulu supermarket in the UAE. The other big draw for South Asians in the US is IT and technology. Many are university students, so it made perfect sense to work with the North American Association of Indian Students to launch down-to-earth initiatives, including a hugely successful university Bollywood dance competition. We had a student rate for them and since they were away from home, the need to get news and entertainment from home made our discounted rate very attractive.

Reporter: Overall, how do you rate 2022 for ZEE5 Global?

AA: It’s been our best year yet and we’re ending it on a high. It was a three-year journey and in that time I saw many people succumb along the way, confused about what they were trying to achieve. I made it very clear why we started this journey and fight with everyone in the ecosystem to make sure we don’t get lost.

Today, the numbers show that as a South Asian streaming service, we are the undisputed leader across the globe. In the US, our main market outside India, we have a leadership position which is a dream come true. We upset all the old people who directed the story there. Coming from a backlog where bigger and more powerful players tried and failed, we could really tell the story – the numbers are there to prove it. The overall story is very encouraging for us; in the global context it is deeply affected. What didn’t work were the things we didn’t have full control over.

Reporter: Let’s talk sports rights. Sports in India and in the Indian diaspora is huge. Just look at the figures from the IPL rights auction earlier this year – it was a real eye opener. You have invaded this space by taking over the rights for the ILT20 cricket tournament. What does it mean?

AA: Be it India or the subcontinent in general, what people find most fanatical about after Bollywood is cricket. We recognize the importance of keeping people glued to the screen – cricketers are our biggest heroes next to Bollywood stars. However, some of these rights come with insane price tags, so deciding what to spend and how to progress is always a very tactical one. We put all our effort into it, but how much we want to spend and how much we want to earn is weighed on a case-by-case basis. ITL20 is the first of many you will see.

Reporter: It’s been almost two years since India’s streaming regulations went into effect, and many are concerned about how it could increase censorship. How does regulation affect what you do?

AA: When we pushed for the document that we wanted as the regulatory way forward, we fought hard for self-regulation and said that it was fundamentally different from traditional television. It was clear to us that we do not shy away from our responsibility and that from a moral point of view we could definitely point to our absolute no categories. But we’ve fought just as hard to say that creativity, in its truest form, requires certain creative freedoms, and we don’t want them to be restricted under the guise of broader rules. We believe that this will take away the core of how streaming platforms work.

Coming back to the global side, we decided to regulate each local area. For example, when we worked in Bangladesh, I realized that it is a country with much stricter laws. It was the same in Pakistan and the Middle East. We understand that what you believe is true, whether it’s about religious or cultural sentiments, and you should stick to it.

Reporter: The question of how streamers should work in local areas is exploding worldwide. This has become a major debate in Europe, where how much to reinvest is more important than what to show. You talked about investing locally in the US and that’s something you’ve done elsewhere.

AA: It is reasonable to expect streaming investments in local markets, and this is how we worked in Bangladesh for example. We pushed hard to go local and did a good job of creating local content for that market with local developers. We get it [the fear around overseas players coming in]. In India in 1994 when globalization took place, there was initial fear of the arrival of big labels like KFC and Coca-Cola – will they take away our jobs? Are we polluting our water? It takes conversation and time to just prove that you will win. Wherever we go, we will give as much as we get.

Reporter: One last question about the original content. Can you name series and films that have really worked for you and where the challenges lie?

AA: We have a really fun show called triple and a fantastic spy thriller Mukhbir: The Story of a Spy, placed in a very specific context that will pique the interest of any South Asian if it deals with India and Pakistan; a very well done spy story with great production values. But we struggled more on the global side with originals than films. I don’t have the freedom to do marketing around like in India. I can use word of mouth to make it work – I can in this slightly delayed way about something that is already popular in India. Otherwise, movies work much better. The hype about movies is worldwide and the marketing is done for me. Originals work well in the global market, but I can’t build the hype in the same way.