Over the past 16 years, Zee Telugu and Zee Cinemalu, cluster head Anuradha Gudur, along with her team have successfully affirmed the position of their general entertainment channel (GEC) on the Telugu viewership charts. The University of Hyderabad postgraduate in arts with a major in mass communication/ media studies has spent even longer than that within Zee Entertainment Enterprises having joined it in 2005 as programming head.
At that time, Zee Telugu was the first entrant from the Zee stable to make a foray down south. And it quickly gained popularity by leveraging positively inclined innovative content featuring young and aspirational characters among the urban masses. There’s been no looking back since. Over the years, it got deeply ingrained into the 84-odd million Telugu speaking audiences’ culture and viewing options until it sprinted ahead of the rest to breast the tape at No 1 among viewers in Hyderabad, a position it maintains even as it is celebrating its sixteenth anniversary.
Indiantelevision.com's Nirmal Narayanan got into a conversation with Gudur – who also leads the four-year old Telugu movie channel Zee Cinemalu - on what has kept Zee Telugu and at the top her game, over the past 16 years and more so over the past 14 months of the Covid19 pandemic. Excerpts from the interview:
On Zee Telugu’s 16-year journey.
It’s been an exhilarating journey thus far. Our emphasis was always focused on content creation that is both compelling as well as entertaining for the audience. In return, we received unparalleled support and love from viewers, advertisers and our distribution partners alike. We could not have asked for any more!
On the ups and downs and challenges it has faced.
No journey was ever going to be simple and straightforward. Zee Telugu faced its fair share of turbulence but sailed through it all through teamwork and a positive attitude to achieve our goals. This mind set helped us to quickly understand, identify and rectify the problem areas. A special mention needs to be made regarding our advertisers and distribution partners who always had our back (stood steadfast with us) in good and (particularly during) difficult times.
Zee Telugu was the first regional channel from the Zeel group to enter south India where the Telugu segment was already a well-established market even back then. Zee Telugu was the youngest GEC brand while other Telugu channel offerings with already established viewership enjoyed an ongoing engagement with Telugu speaking audiences. We had to carve out an audience for our channel leveraging differential and innovative content (non-fiction offerings like Aata, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, etc).
We began by catering to younger demographics to capture their attention before eventually moving towards family oriented audio-visual content. Over the years, Zee Telugu has established itself as a channel that is highly rooted in Telugu culture and family values while also showcasing progressive narratives through young aspirational characters. We are ranked numero uno in Hyderabad with a very strong presence across urban markets.
On how Zee Telugu entertained audiences during the pandemic.
During the first wave of the Covid19 pandemic in 2020, Zee Telugu consciously raised its creativity standard by a few notches in order to lighten up the mood and spirits of its ardent viewers leveraging entertaining and more compelling content. This included mobile shoots and the launch of a non-fiction show Lockdown Talks with Ravi alongside fiction shows such as Queen and Amrutham. Similarly, morning band shows like Omkaram and Sreekaram Subhakaram witnessed continuity of creation and being telecast in view of their relevance with the current times as also the Arogyame Mahayogam health awareness show. Our learning during the lockdown period was that audiences found immense joy in the apparently smaller things in life. We therefore wanted to make every moment count and ensure viewers were entertained and engaged through our daily offerings.
Post lockdown in 2020, Zee Telugu launched 14 original fiction programs on one single day before anybody else in the market. We also had the distinction of being the only channel in the market to on-board brand ambassadors for our comeback campaign while promoting prime time and non-primetime shows. Since then, we have also launched Hitler Gari Pellam, Inti Guttu, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa – The Next Singing Icon, Big Celebrity Challenge - Season 5, Krishna Tulasi, Drama Juniors – The Next Superstar, Mithai Kottu Chitemma, Oohalu Gusagusalade and the celebrated flagship award show Zee Telugu Kutumbam Awards alongside other topical relatable events on occasions such as Dussehra, Ganesh Chaturthi, Sankranti, Holi, Mother’s Day and Women’s day. We made every moment count and worthwhile for the viewers.
On the shows that helped Zee Telugu affirm its numero uno position in industry
Zee Telugu has always played by its own strengths i.e. its differential and innovative content. It was the Aata dance reality show that provided Zee Telugu its identity and the path that led into the hearts of the regional audience. Thereafter, the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa singing reality show not only provided wholesome entertainment but also identified talented singers who have since established their eminence in industry today. Inspirational and innovative stories were first produced by Zee Telugu for the Telugu audiences. Fictional offerings such as Muddha Mandaram, Varudhini Parinayam America Ammayi and others give us the proverbial foothold in the Telugu television industry. Radhamma Kuthuru – the story of an independent girl won over the hearts of television audiences.
Trinayani – a one of its kind story adapted from the original Bangla TV show has proved to be a winner in Telugu as well. Need I even say anything more about Prema Entha Madhuram that is endowed with top-notch production values, a very heart-warming story and lovable characters that easily makes it one of the best offerings on Zee Telugu today. Despite the pandemic situation, we hosted Sa Re Ga Ma Pa - Grand Finale which was a live show conducted with the utmost and strict safety protocols being observed. It was undoubtedly one of the most talked-about shows on Telugu television back then and surprisingly, even today.
On the type of content being fleshed out now.
Zee Telugu is constantly redefining content to match up with the viewers' dynamic appetite to accommodate the differential preferences while emphasising relatable concepts. Be it the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Grand Finale-Live or the Women’s day special ‘Maguva Maguva Lokaniki Telusa Nee Viluva. By offering unique and light hearted storylines as in Hitler Gari Pellam,
Mithai Kottu Chittemma, etc we continue to keep audiences entertained in these unprecedented and stressful times. An emphasis on positive content that is also entertaining for viewers is our key motto in the current pandemic scenario. Zee Telugu's strength is
storytelling and we want to continue playing the game to our strengths.
On the channel's ranking in the market
We are a challenger brand. While we are ranked No 2 in overall numbers, Zee Telugu holds first ranking in its core primetime (daily between 20:00 and 23:00 hrs) and enjoys a 34.8 per cent share. Zee Telugu has maintained its position as the undisputed No 1 in Hyderabad for six consecutive years in running.
On the impact of OTT, especially regional ones like Aha.
OTT platforms are capitalizing on the existing scenario in order to establish themselves during the pandemic by playing a pivotal role in acquiring digital movie rights to migrate movies directly on to OTT platforms or effectively taking films away from movie theatres to OTT platforms in real quick time.
Regional OTTs held the edge especially, during the lockdown due to lack of availability of original content for TV. I'm sure all of them have gained viewership including Zee5. Television demands viewing by appointment and features content that is appealing to the entire family and not limited for a specific section of the audience. TV will always have its audience irrespective of the changing dynamics.
