Act Globally, Think Locally: ZEE Entertainment's Worlwide Growth

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE) is one of India's leading television, media and entertainment companies. It is among the largest producers and aggregators of Hindi programming in the world, with an archive of over 120,000 hours of television content. With the rights to over 3,500 movie titles, ZEE houses the world's largest Hindi film library. It entertains over 959 million viewers across 169 countries. A pioneer of the entertainment industry in India, ZEE's brands include Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zee Premier, Zee Action, Zee Classic, Ten Sports and ETC Music. It also offers channels in regional languages such as Zee Marathi and Zee Bangla. The group’s integrated range of businesses support the content-to-consumer value chain model, enabling it to become a pioneer in content aggregation and distribution through cable and satellite as well as new media.

The rapid expansion of digital media has overtaken the delivery platforms of media firms, threatening traditional content production and distribution models, particularly for broadcast firms in the West. Digital encroachment has been slower in Asia, giving traditional media firms like ZEE a breathing space to develop a digital strategy – having observed the lessons of their peers in OECD economies – in response to the threat. The case explores scenarios and strategies for ZEE and other traditional broadcast firms in Asia. With its recent aggressive moves into markets beyond India, ZEE represents an increasingly important class of emerging market multinationals.