ZEE5, one of India’s leading OTT platforms, continues to carve a niche in the highly competitive digital entertainment market. With a growing global presence, the platform has effectively harnessed cutting-edge technology to not only enhance user engagement but also redefine content delivery.
In an exclusive interview with The Financial Express, Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer of ZEE5, sheds light on how the platform is leveraging AI, machine learning, and cloud infrastructure to drive personalised experiences, and meet the evolving demands of a diverse audience.
ZEE5 has established itself as a leading OTT platform in a competitive market. How does technology underpin ZEE5’s long-term growth strategy, both domestically and internationally, and help differentiate the platform through innovations in user engagement and content delivery?
We have successfully used technology as an enabler to help people discover content in the language of their choice. At the heart of our strategy lies advanced AI and machine learning, enabling personalized recommendations based on viewing preferences, watch-history, and real-time behavior. The platform’s seamless user experience is driven by adaptive streaming technology, delivering buffer-free viewing and high-quality visuals with 4K resolution and Dolby audio.
How is ZEE5 leveraging technology, such as AI and data analytics, to streamline content curation, predict user preferences, and meet the growing demand for diverse and regional content ?
AI has a multifaceted role in content creation and enhancing overall user experience. It helps us gain insights into the viewing patterns and habits of the audience and hence facilitating personalised content recommendations. AI is expanding audience engagement through meaningful creatives, memes, and short-form content, amongst others, making AI quite the game-changer for the OTT industry today.
In 2024, we delivered around 31,900 reels for shows that are live on Zee channels as well as streaming on ZEE5 and around 6843 reels for YouTube project. Processing over 50 hours of content daily, and with live events/sports, we create more than 1000 hours of LIVE and VOD content.
We leverage data-driven insights to refine our content curation and recommendation algorithms. Through continuous innovation and a commitment to understanding our audience, we strive to create a viewing experience that is intuitive, enjoyable, and reflective of each viewer’s unique preferences.
How is ZEE5 using AI and cloud infrastructure to enhance content recommendations, improve platform speed and accessibility, and deliver a smooth streaming experience across diverse networks and devices?
ZEE5 leverages cutting-edge AI and robust cloud infrastructure to redefine the streaming experience for its users. Advanced AI algorithms analyse user preferences, watch history, and real-time behaviour to deliver hyper-personalized content recommendations, ensuring every viewer discovers shows and movies that resonate with their interests. ZEE5 uses AI-powered capabilities to create video summaries (webisodes and snippets) for its shows daily. ZEE5, has successfully implemented the Common Media Application Format (CMAF) to improve content delivery and viewer experience. This ensures smoother video playback across devices and maintains high audio-visual quality, even in low bandwidth areas. ZEE5 recently also announced its partnership with Cloud TV giving the audience access to ZEE5’s library directly on Cloud TV, a smart TV OS available across four million devices in India.
With a mix of subscription-based and ad-supported models, how does ZEE5 integrate AI and data analytics to optimise revenue generation through targeted advertising, and are there any innovative approaches, such as blockchain or NFTs, in the pipeline?
ZEE5 employs AI and data analytics strategically to enhance revenue generation across its subscription-based (SVOD) and ad-supported (AVOD) models. Through AI-powered insights, the platform analyses viewer behaviour, preferences, and engagement patterns, enabling highly targeted advertising that ensures relevance for users and higher ROI for advertisers. This personalisation extends across languages and regions, allowing ZEE5 to serve tailored ads that resonate with diverse audience segments. For SVOD, data analytics helps refine subscription pricing models by understanding user preferences, consumption trends, and market dynamics. This data-driven approach ensures affordability for consumers while maximizing revenue potential.
With increasing focus on data privacy and regulatory compliance, how does ZEE5 ensure robust user data protection while balancing the need for analytics to enhance platform features and user engagement?
Our data protection practices are built on secure cloud infrastructure, advanced encryption, and stringent access controls to safeguard user information against potential breaches. We further ensure content security through authentication mechanisms, including signed URLs and user verification, for secure content delivery.
To combat piracy, ZEE5 also employs platform fingerprinting and uploads reference video files to platforms like YouTube and Facebook, enabling automated detection and blocking of pirated content. Additionally, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) recently secured a landmark ‘Dynamic+’ John Doe order from the Hon’ble Delhi High Court to protect its extensive content library from digital piracy. This groundbreaking legal victory extends protection to ZEEL’s vast array of movies, TV shows, and OTT content available on ZEE5, marking a major step forward in digital copyright enforcement in India. This comprehensive approach enables ZEE5 to uphold user privacy while leveraging data-driven insights to optimize viewer engagement and platform features.
How is ZEE5 embracing emerging trends like live streaming, short-form content, social media integration, and interactive features? Additionally, how might technologies such as AI-generated content or real-time user interactions shape the platform’s roadmap?
ZEE5 is at the forefront of embracing emerging trends like live streaming, short-form content, social media integration, and interactive features to deliver dynamic and engaging user experiences. Our live streaming initiatives, such as Ganesh Aarti streaming, multilingual broadcasts of the Calcutta Football League, and coverage of the DP World ILT20, demonstrate our commitment to connecting audiences with culturally significant events and sports. These efforts foster a sense of community and inclusivity among our diverse viewer base.
To elevate engagement, ZEE5 has integrated gamification features directly into the platform, including polls, quizzes, prediction games, and voting options. These tools empower brands to create impactful campaigns while providing users with immersive and interactive experience. For instance, during live sports events, viewers can predict match outcomes, participate in quizzes, or express preferences through real-time voting and like-dislike features, transforming passive viewing into an active and participatory experience.
ZEE5 also recognises the growing demand for bite-sized entertainment, curating a diverse range of short-form content to cater to modern, on-the-go audiences. These quick and engaging formats complement our extensive library of full-length titles. Additionally, ZEE5 collaborates with social media platforms to leverage shareable content snippets, promote live events, and launch social-driven challenges, extending the platform’s reach and fostering real-time audience interaction.
To shape its roadmap, ZEE5 harnesses AI technologies to enhance content discovery and streamline operations. The platform generates AI-extracted video snippets and webisodes for over 100 shows daily, boosting content marketing and discoverability. Furthermore, ZEE5 is actively exploring AI-driven metadata generation to streamline content categorization and improve searchability across its vast library.
What technological challenges does ZEE5 face as it scales to new regions, and how are innovations in bandwidth optimisation, piracy prevention, and infrastructure scalability being implemented to address them?
Operating in India, a country with numerous regional languages and diverse audiences, presents unique challenges. To overcome these complexities, ZEE5 prioritizes delivering localised and culturally relevant experiences tailored to its diverse user base.
ZEE5’s forward-thinking approach ensures it remains at the forefront of innovation, continually evolving to meet the dynamic preferences of its audience. As the only OTT platform in India’s media and entertainment (M&E) ecosystem to offer all three business models—AVoD, SVoD, and TVoD—ZEE5 caters to a wide range of viewer needs.
Additionally, on the global front, ZEE5 serves as an aggregator for lesser-known regional platforms and content through its ZEE5 Add-On feature, extending its reach and enhancing content diversity.
The platform covers a comprehensive range of content categories, including news and sports, supported by a robust tech infrastructure. This infrastructure is designed for unmatched scalability and reliability, with foundational systems in place to support ZEE5’s extensive operations as it expands into new regions.
