Mumbai: Completing 25 years in the industry, Zee Entertainment Enterprise limited (ZEEL) unveiled its new brand ideology: ‘extraordinary together’. The brand, which has a reach of 1.3 billion viewers worldwide, aims to double its audience to three billion in six years.
Zee organised a panel discussion on the evolution and future of the media. Participating in the discussion were Javed Akhtar, poet, lyricist and screenwriter, Anurag Basu, film-maker, Makarand Deshpande, theatre personality, Punit Goenka, MD and CEO, ZEEL, and Amit Goenka, CEO - international Broadcast Business, ZEEL.
Taking cognisance of the media’s exponential growth in India, Mr. Akhtar said, “We are gaining speed at the cost of depth, where the audience’s attention span has reduced drastically.”
Mr. Punit Goenka said the biggest change has been in programming. “Power has now gradually moved to the audience, who decide the schedule and time span of any content.”
Mr. Deshpande emphasised the need to keep the tradition of theatre alive in a rapidly-changing media world.
Mr. Punit Goenka said the focus of Zee will be on promoting theatre and live entertainment.
Mr. Basu said the fate of cinema halls lies in the taxes levied by the government and the pricing of tickets. “Watching movies in theatres has become a festive event, and small films do well because the tickets are cheaper.”
The discussion was hosted by Sudhir Chaudhary, Editor-in-Chief, Zee news.
