MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprise Limited (ZEEL) in line with its global brand positioning of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The World Is My Family’ has now forayed into Thailand with its new channel Zee Nung, a 24X7 Bollywood movies 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.
ZEEL chairman Subhash Chandra 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,” added Chandra.
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.
ZEEL business head-Asia Pacific Sushruta Samanta 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. I am sure Zee Nung will reach new heights and capture the hearts of all Thai movie lovers.”
Said CTH chairman of executive committee Khun Chirdsak Kukiattinun, 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. And now CTH is proud to partner with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., the leading media company from India for bringing Bollywood Movies 24*7 through the channel Zee Nung for the first time in Thailand.”
Kukiattinun added, “This is a great opportunity for Zee Entertainment in Thailand and CTH sees this as an opportunity to offer a whole new world of experience to the CTH Customer.”
Zee Nung will be launched in Thailand in partnership with CTH and will be available on Channel 77 in its movie pack. The channel will have a robust programming line-up with properties such as Kings of Bollywood, Queens of Bollywood, Love Stories, Friday Blockbusters and Weekend Family movies. It will showcase the best of Bollywood movies across all eras and genres including romance, comedy, action and drama, thus providing Thai viewers the opportunity to watch their favourite stars like Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.
Speaking about the channel, Thailand country head Vaishali Kasturia 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.”
