- Announces a landmark agreement with the United States’ DISH and Sling TV
- DISH and Sling TV to carry 27 new channels in USA
- Taking the total count of ZEE channels in the US to 37, with a combined reach of 52 million homes
Mumbai, India; 20 June 2016: India’s leading media conglomerate, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) announced a landmark agreement with DISH and Sling TV to further strengthen its presence in the US Territory. As a part of the agreement, DISH and Sling TV will carry 27 new channels in addition to the existing 10 ZEE channels, which will be available in varied languages like Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Bhojpuri, Oriya, Rajasthani and Urdu. Post this alliance, the total number of ZEE channels available in the US market will be 37 with a combined reach of 52 million homes (that includes English and Spanish HHs).
Further, Sling TV and DISH will be the exclusive provider in the US of ZEE’s premium on-demand library, which includes movies and over 400 additional popular video titles. Over time, Sling TV will become the exclusive over-the-top (OTT) provider in the US for all but one of ZEE’s South Asian channels. In the coming months, ZEE will transition viewers from its direct-to-consumer services to Sling TV or to authenticated access only.
Speaking on the partnership, Amit Goenka, CEO-International Broadcast Business, ZEEL said, “America is one of the most important markets for our International business. The deal with DISH further consolidates our leadership position and is in line with our ambitious 2020 goals. We are very delighted to announce that with this deal not only has our reach in the Mainstream American market for our Z Living network quadrupled, but we will also now be serving the high potential Spanish language subscribers with two 24×7 networks. With this deal we will cater to 16 different language groups in America across 5 genres. ZEE and DISH have been natural partners for the last 18 years and we both share our vision on future growth of pay TV in USA.”
“Our agreement with ZEE enables us to provide a vast amount of entertainment to fans of South Asian content, while also giving customers a more streamlined way to access and enjoy both linear and on-demand content,” said Chris Kuelling, Senior Vice President of Programming for Sling TV and DISH. “ZEE shares our goal of growing the South Asian market, and together we are able to better serve this community, as well as the other language groups served by ZEE.”
To broaden the options available to fans of South Asian content, Sling TV and DISH are launching a new ‘Hindi Gold Pack,’ which will contain all of the ZEE Hindi channels, plus other leading Hindi channels. In addition, &TV, one of the most requested Hindi channels by current Sling TV and DISH customers, will be added to the existing lineup. ZEE’s on-demand content will be available at no additional charge to DISH and Sling TV subscribers with the Hindi Gold Pack.
DISH and Sling TV will also add two Spanish-language channels, Z Living Español and Zee TV Español, and two Brazilian channels, Zee TV Portuguese and Z Living Portuguese, to their respective line-ups. The new Spanish channels can be found on DISH in the DishLATINO Clasico, DishLATINO Dos, DishLATINO Plus and DishLATINO Max packages, and the Best of Spanish TV package on Sling Latino.
Zee Alwan and Zee Aflam, two popular Arabic channels will launch in the DISH Arabic Super Elite and the Arabic Mosaic Pack on Sling TV as well.
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Notes to Editor:
About Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL):
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited is one of India’s leading television media and entertainment companies. It is amongst the largest producers and aggregators of Hindi programming in the world, with an extensive library housing over 222,000 hours of television content. With rights to more than 3,818 movie titles from foremost studios and of iconic film stars, ZEE houses the world’s largest Hindi film library. Through its strong presence worldwide, ZEE entertains over 1 billion viewers across 171 countries.
Pioneer of television entertainment industry in India, ZEE’s well-known brands include Zee TV, &tv, Zee Cinema, Zee Action, Zee Classic, &pictures, Zee Anmol, Ten 1, Ten 2, Ten 3, Zee Cafe, Zee Studio, Zee Salaam, Zing, ETC Bollywood, Zee Q and Zindagi. The company also has a strong offering in the regional language domain with channels such as Zee Marathi, Zee Talkies, Zee Bangla, Zee Bangla Cinema, Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada, Zee Tamil and Sarthak TV. The company’s HD offerings include Zee TV HD, Zee Cinema HD, &tv HD, Zee Studio HD, Zee Café HD, &pictures HD, Ten 1 HD and Ten Golf HD.
ZEE and its affiliate companies have leading presence across the media value chain including television broadcasting, cable distribution, direct-to-home satellite services, digital media and print media amongst others. ZEEL also operates its own digital platforms with OTT offerings on OZEE, DittoTV and india.com. More information about ZEE and its businesses is available on www.zeetelevision.com
About Sling TV:
Sling TV L.L.C., a subsidiary of DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH), provides over-the-top television services including domestic and international live and on-demand programming. It is available on televisions, tablets, computers, smartphones and other streaming devices. Sling TV offers two streaming services, which collectively include programming content from Disney/ESPN (single-stream service only), Fox (multi-stream service only), HBO, AMC, A&E, Turner, Scripps, EPIX and Univision. Sling Latino offers a suite of standalone and add-on Spanish-language programming packages tailored to English-dominant, bilingual and Spanish-dominant U.S. households. Sling International currently provides more than 250 channels in 20 languages across multiple devices to U.S. households. Sling TV is a next-generation service that meets the entertainment needs of today’s contemporary viewers. Visit www.Sling.com.
Follow @Sling on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Sling #TakeBackTV
About DISH:
DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH), through its subsidiaries, provides approximately 13.874 million pay-TV subscribers, as of March 31, 2016, with the highest-quality programming and technology with the most choices at the best value. DISH offers a high definition line-up with more than 200 national HD channels, the most international channels and award-winning HD and DVR technology. DISH Network Corporation is a Fortune 250 company. Visit www.dish.com.
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Media Contact:
Jayshree Kumar / Arantxa Gonsalves
Corporate Brand – Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL)
Mobile: +91 9769286661 / +91 9820336890
Landline: +91-22-7106 1367 / 7108 5464
Email: jayshree.kumar@zee.esselgroup.com / arantxa.gonsalves@zee.esselgroup.com