MUMBAI: With the International Yoga Day around the corner, the ZEE Group’s Media & Entertainment companies are gearing up to actively participate, making it a huge success. The companies which are lending support to this initiative are Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, Zee Media Corporation Limited, Z Living, Zee Learn Limited and Zee Digital Convergence.

Last year, our  Prime Minister, Narendra Modi while addressing the 193-member UN General Assembly at the United Nations said, “Yoga is an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness within yourself, the world and the nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change. Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day.”

Commenting on the importance of International Yoga Day, Dr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman – ZEE & Essel Group said, “The ancient Indian practice of Yoga nurtures the mind, working through the medium of the body. Yoga enhances the body and soul with additional strength, zeal and beauty. It is a beautiful act of nurturing the divinity within you. I strongly believe that it is a gift to all of us, and it is essential that we work towards making it a mass movement globally. I am confident that the International Yoga Day which our Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has initiated will have a strong impact on humanity, maybe not immediately but definitely in the next five to ten years.”

Elaborating on the Group’s participation in the International Yoga Day, Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) said, “Yoga is a way of living which recharges the body and promotes the balanced development of the physical, mental and spiritual being. As the excitement around International Yoga Day builds up, we, at the ZEE Group, have lined up a range of yoga-based activities to engage with our viewers across the world. Our channels and brands will feature yoga content integration, expert advice from yoga gurus, useful trivia, celebrity bytes and yoga cuisine, among other interesting initiatives throughout the day. Apart from this, we are celebrating Yoga Week across all our offices where employees will perform yoga sessions led by expert instructors.”

As the world prepares to celebrate the International Yoga Day, and with India leading the charge, the ZEE Group is committed to making this a major national and global event.

Some of the key initiatives that will be showcased across the ZEE Group companies and channels are as follows:

·         Among Zee Entertainment’s bouquet of channels, Zee TV, the flagship Hindi GEC will feature yoga-based content integration in its popular shows, Satrangi Sasural and Neeli Chhatri Waale while &TV will be integrating the essence of International Yoga Day through its shows - Dilli Wali Thakur Gurls, Bhaghyalakshmi and Gangaa.

·         Zindagi, the premium Hindi GEC will espouse the effectiveness of practising Yoga through its afternoon show ‘Simply Beautiful’ which is based on healthy living while our FTA channel, Zee Anmol will run fillers, each of which will focus on one Chakra of the body and how a particular type of Yoga cleanses that chakra, infusing energy into the body and bringing about a positive change.

·         ZEEL’s Hindi Movie Cluster will integrate yoga and Bollywood to commemorate International Yoga Day. The channels will urge audiences to adopt Yoga as a lifestyle choice by showcasing advice from Yoga instructors as well as trivia and quotes from stars practising yoga.

·         ZEEL’s Regional Channels have also planned a slew of yoga-based activities. The leading Marathi GEC, Zee Marathi will advocate the benefits of Yoga through content integration in leading fiction and non-fiction shows like Julun Yeti Reshimgaathi, Honaar Sunn Mee Hya Gharchi, Dil Dosti Duniyadaari, Chala Hawa Yeu Dya and Ka Re Durawa. Similarly, Zee Bangla’s shows like Kojagori, Didi No. 1 and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa will inspire viewers to be fit and practice yoga through Yoga integrations within the content.

·         In the South, Zee Telugu, with an aim to promote health and well-being will showcase the importance and benefits of practicing Yoga for a well-balanced mind, body and soul through integration of information related to Yoga in the following shows - Muddu Mandaram, Abhishekam, Subhamastu, Vahreva, Lakshmi Raave Maa Intiki and Omkaram. Zee Telugu is also associating with Siti Network for a ground event based out of Hyderabad where celebrities will interact with participants to demonstrate and practise yoga. Yoga-based content integration will also occur on Zee Kannada’s top two fiction shows, LoveLavike and Jothe Jotheyalli and on Zee Tamizh’s shows Parambariya Maruthavam and Enga Veetu Penn.

·         Among the Regional Movie Channels, Zee Bangla Cinema will be positioning its family drama, Maach Mishti & More as the face of the Yoga practice movement while Zee Talkies will be featuring ‘Cinema-Asan’ – A Filmy way of celebrating Yoga where celebrities will perform asanas, share tips and engage with consumers on the topic of Yoga.

·         On the occasion of International Yoga Day, ZEEL’s English Cluster, Zee Café and Zee Studio, will feature yoga trivia and quotes from famous shows like Desperate Housewives and The Big Bang Theory and Hollywood movies like Pretty Woman, Aeon Flux, Iron Man 3 and The Lincoln Lawyer. 

·         Among ZEEL’s Niche Channels, ZETC will be running a mini-campaign ‘Bollywood GuruCool’ which will propagate yoga, highlight different actors who practice yoga and suggest suitable music for yoga while Zing will feature Bollywood Yoga vignettes throughout the day. Zee Khana Khazana, India’s premium 24-hour food channel will be showcasing ‘Yoga Cuisine – Spiritual Foods’ on its shows - Suryanamaskar Starts, Saatvik Bites, Jiyo with Jia and The Beauty Fridge. To build interest in Yoga among kids, our edutainment channel, Zee Q will telecast an episode of its show ‘Bandbudh Aur Budbak’ titled ‘Yoga Se Hoga’ at different timeslots during the day.

·         Truly living up to the name ‘International’ Yoga Day, ZEEL’s International Territories will also be actively supporting and celebrating this ancient Indian tradition.

o   ZEE Americas and ZLiving will be engaging with audiences through their popular shows like Rock Your Yoga, Yoga Sutra Now with Jai Sugrim, Yogapalooza, Yogi Cameron: A Model Guru and Yoga for Life. 

o   ZEE UK & Europe is dedicating an entire week to promote Yoga and will bring in various Yoga experts on its live TV show, Zee Companion to demonstrate the practice, interact with viewers and answer their queries about Yoga. ZEE UK & Europe will also be participating in the UK’s biggest International Yoga Day event which is being held at the Alexandra Palace.

o   Additionally, Zee TV Russia has partnered with the yoga centre ‘Organic People’ to arrange a mass celebration for yoga lovers under the guidance of famous Russian yoga guru Rauf Asadov which will be aired live on Zee TV Russia’s website.

o   In the Asia-Pacific region, ZEEL’s channels will air a special AV on Yoga, hold various contests for viewers and also broadcast the International Yoga Day events being held in major cities in Thailand, Australia and China.

o   Zee TV Africa has partnered with the Consulate General of India in Durban and High Commissioner of India in Johannesburg on a range of activities in support and celebration of International Yoga Day including an on-air awareness campaign and eighteen on-ground events across various regions of South Africa.

o   ZEEL channels in the MENAP region are also creating awareness about Yoga and its benefits by running an on-air and social media campaign.

·         Zee Digital Convergence will extend support to the different channels and amplify their yoga-based content in the digital space. Furthermore, ZEEL’s OTT platform, DittoTV, will highlight special live yoga features run by different news channels, yoga shows and videos from ZLiving and a brand new show-‘Yoga for Life’.

·         The various channels of Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL) are also enthusiastically participating in the International Yoga Day celebrations.

o   Zee News is celebrating International Yoga Day through special programming, ‘Yoga Living’ which features demonstrations by renowned yoga gurus, yoga documentaries, bytes from famous celebrities like director Mohit Suri, wrestler Sushil Kumar and actress Shilpa Shetty, and yoga advice and tips.

o   Zee Business is inviting business honchos, entrepreneurs, politicians and yoga experts to be a part of their special Yoga show. Prominent personalities who will be sharing their Yoga advice and recommendations include Jayant Sinha, MoS Finance, Government of India, Anand Rathi – Founder & Chairman, Anand Rathi Financial Services Ltd., Amish Tripathi, Author of The Shiva Trilogy and Bharat Thakur, the famous Yoga Guru.

o   On Zee 24 Taas, a campaign named as ‘Zee 24 Taas Yog Abhiyan’ is being run to promote the practice of Yoga in daily life. News stories featuring Yoga experts highlighting the importance of Yoga in today’s time is being showcased along with celebrity wishes for the campaign. On-ground, students from more than 100 schools from Vidarbha, Marathwada, Western Maharashtra, Konkan and Khandesh will take the pledge that they will practice Yoga everyday, which will help them build their bodies and minds in a positive way, thus building a healthier society. Also, as a part of this initiative, lakhs of students from various schools will voluntarily perform different asanas of Yoga at the same time across the cities and villages of Maharashtra.

o   In Rajasthan, Zee Marudhara is highlighting the State Govt.’s initiatives on Yoga including the Live coverage of the state’s IYD function in which Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje will be participating. The channel is also running regular stories on ‘How yoga can be beneficial in our day to day Life’ and broadcasting a series of chat shows with Yoga Experts, Teachers, Ministers, etc. on the importance of Yoga and its benefits.

o   Zee Sangam has done a series of shows with yoga gurus who have spoken on its importance and also demonstrated various ‘asanas’. Case studies on individuals who have benefited from yoga are also being aired on the channel.

o   Zee Punjab Haryana Himachal will broadcast the live coverage of the IYD functions across the major cities as well as discussion programmes on Yoga, ZLiving yoga tips and content integration in major bulletins.

·         To educate students about the importance of Yoga, the educational division of the Group, Zee Learn Limited will be organizing lectures, demonstrations, Yoga shivirs and sessions across its various schools and institutes - Kidzee, Mount Litera Zee School, ZICA, ZIMA as well as at Himgiri Zee University.