TORONTO – Popular Bollywood entertainment channel, ZEE Cinema, launched on Rogers Digital Cable and Telus Optik TV in Canada this month.
Zee Americas has entered into a long-term distribution agreement with Toronto’s Ethnic Channels Group for ZEE Cinema in Canada. The deal provides Ethnic Channels Group the rights to distribute the service on cable and satellite platforms here.
“This is exciting for us in that for the first time ever we are able to focus our marketing and unlock the strength of the ZEE Cinema brand in Canada,” said Suresh Bala, CEO, ZEE Americas, in a press release. “Ethnic Channels Group is an expert at marketing to ethnic audiences and expects to grow our distribution and our subscription base significantly. Currently ZEE Cinema is only available as a linear service, but we expect to work out the details of mobile distribution in the not so distant future.”
Zee Cinema’s library features over 5,000 hours of movies including classics and new releases. Viewers can watch their favourite recent movies such as Agneepath, Agent Vinod, Don 2, Desi Boyz, Barfee and others along with mature hits such as Taare Zameen Par, Rock On, Jab We Met and classics such as Awara, Sholay, Bobby and Padosan, among others.
“We are delighted to partner with the Zee TV Group for the launch of Zee Cinema in Canada. Bollywood today is a global phenomenon and Zee Cinema is its biggest custodian,” said Slava Levin, co-founder and CEO of Ethnic Channels Group, in the release.
“Ethnic Channels Group believes in the brand equity of its content partners, and it will be our primary objective to increase this for Zee Cinema in Canada,” added Hari Srinivas, president ECG.
