ZEE5 and ALTBalaji announce alliance to create original content

The two rival over-the-top (OTT) video streaming platforms have come together for content in an unusual alliance. In order to increase the subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) business in India, ZEE5 and ALTBalaji have declared an alliance. Both are looking forward to leverage each other’s strength in the OTT domain and will work together to co-create original content which will only be available on their platforms.

ZEE5 is the OTT service whose owner is Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, while ALTBalaji’s management is in hands of Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms Ltd.

In a statement, the two companies said that this association is a collaborative process of understanding consumer insights and marketing to provide the viewer with better services that will result in an enhanced monetization for both. The content-sharing arrangement includes co-creation of more than 60 original content series, in Hindi, which will be exclusively available to SVoD subscribers of both the platforms.

The managing director and CEO of ZEEL, Punit Goenka, said in a statement, “I truly cherish the bond between Balaji and ZEE, which has been nurtured and built over the last two decades. Together, we have created some path-breaking content masterpieces which have truly entertained our esteemed audiences. I am almost certain that this association will enable both the brands to re-create the magic, this time in the digital space”.

ALTBalaji will maintain an exclusive partnership with ZEE5, as a part of the association, in order to improve its offerings with a focused and strategic approach.

The Managing Director of Balaji Telefilms, Shobha Kapoor, said in a statement, “This collaboration strengthens the 25-year old fruitful relationship between the Zee Group and Balaji Telefilms, from television content to movie monetization and now to digital video streaming. It plays to each partner’s individual strength and the consumer is the ultimate winner. This partnership will result in Balaji Telefilms being profitable as an entity, thereby giving us an opportunity to scale up our business ambitions, creating value for all our stakeholders”.

Ekta Kapoor, Joint MD, Balaji Telefilms, added, “As part of this partnership ZEE5 subscribers will get seamless access to ALTBalaji’s clutter-breaking originals in addition to ZEE5 existing content. This partnership enables ALTBalaji to continue to scale up rapidly its content creation ambitions and focus on building the largest library of original exclusive shows in India. We hope that ALTBalaji and ZEE5 will set benchmarks in unique storytelling.”