ZEEL sets sights on five-fold growth in viewership

Leading media player Zee Entertainment Enterprises has said it's eyeing a five-fold growth in viewership in the next five years.
The company has a total viewership of over 959 million people around the world. "By 2020, we aim to reach a milestone of five times this number," the company said in its annual report.
The Essel Group firm has presence in 136 countries and offers content in multiple languages, with a portfolio of over 36 international channels.
"Our key potential international markets are Africa, South-East Asia and the Middle East, where we focus on providing content that's contemporary, engaging and relevant. Our aim is to become a global content company," it said.

The company said it plans to achieve four times growth in content consumption.
"Our pioneering vision, powered by world-class talent and expertise, has helped us set for ourselves big goals for 2020. We clearly foresee our company being ranked among the top global media brands in the next five years," Zee Entertainment Enterprises Chairman Subhash Chandra said in his message to the shareholders.

The global media and entertainment industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4 per cent from 2015, reaching around USD 2.3 trillion in 2018, he said.
He said factors like stronger Internet access, rapid digitisation and increasing globalisation of audience preferences are the growth drivers for the media and entertainment sector.

He added that technological advancements in entertainment consumption have bolstered the industry further.
"Aspects like 4K are slated to enrich the viewing experience and open a whole new arena of premium content consumption. 4G will further empower the consumer to access rich content on the go. These factors are giving the overall entertainment ecosystem a whole new dimension," Chandra said.
He added that the Internet is now a mainstream media for entertainment, and geographical boundaries are all but demolished.