South Asian Streaming Platform ZEE5 Reveals Most Successful Content As U.S. Drives International Growth

EXCLUSIVE: ZEE5, the subscription service specializing in South Asian film and TV, has revealed the content that has performed best on its platform in the U.S. since its launch stateside in June 2021.
The three top languages have been Hindi, Telugu and Bengali. Across those languages, the best-performing titles are:
Hindi: Abhishek Bachchan crime thriller film Bob Biswas, and Salman Khan action pic Antim – The Final Truth.
Telugu: supernatural drama Bangarraju and romantic comedy Varudu Kavaanelu.
Bengali: family drama Tonic and romantic comedy Jodi Kintu Tobuo.
The U.S. has been the key international territory for the service since the launch last year, driving more than 40% of total international subscriptions. ZEE5 said it had continued to grow 15% month-on-month in both viewers and subscriptions in the territory.

As of December 21, it had 101.9 million global monthly active users, and 9.6 million daily active users.
In the U.S., the service is subscription-only, with an annual price of $49.99, or a monthly sub of $6.99.
The platform noted that Hindi content continued to be the driver for growth, but that Bengali, Telugu, Punjabi, and Tamil were all performing well across the country, while Telugu had been particularly successful in states including Colorado, North Carolina, Missouri and Texas, and Bengali content was performing in Kansas, Louisiana, Connecticut and New York.

ZEE5 launched 51 originals in 2021, and the company said it would double that figure this year.
“I’m very glad to see the strong response to ZEE5 in the U.S., especially within such a short span of time,” said Amit Goenka, President, Digital Businesses & Platforms, ZEE Entertainment. “The U.S. is a high priority market for us and material to our International Strategy, and this early momentum inspires much confidence as we plan for the days ahead.”
Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global, said, “As the only standalone destination for South Asian content in the U.S., ZEE5 Global has grown at an exponential rate in the last eight months and surpassed every milestone. By bringing in the biggest stories and stars from the region as well as ensuring new content every minute and as it releases in India, we will continue to delight our viewers here with the very latest content from back home in the language of their choice.

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