ZEE 5's Manish Kalra, on their content strategy, says they offer a mixed bag to the consumers | Exclusive

Manish Kalra

Manish Kalra, the Chief Business Officer of OTT platform Zee 5, was in conversation with MoneyControl recently, where he spoke about how they decide their content strategy.

Manish was asked about giving their consumers a mixed bag, to which he said they want to cater to everyone and not restrict themselves to just one type of content, be it any genre.

Talking about stiff competition from other OTT platforms like Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hotstar, Manish says their focus is also on regional content and catering to 'Bharat' offering a mixed bag to lure everyone to their platform.

Excerpts from the interview: 

Why delve into different genres 

No. I'll give you a very straight answer. So we are consumer backwards. We really meet a lot of consumers, and I like to do it personally. I heard that, hey, on an OTT, I don't want to be stuck to a particular genre or a particular actor. I see it, and that's verbatim. So the customer says that; I see it like a buffet. If I want x, I would want to consume x. If I want you. Give me the choice, because otherwise, if you don't have the mix of everything, all genres, and whatever cuisines, I'll go to someone else."

Zee 5 wants to offer a mixed bag of content to its user

So I wanna be in control, and if, let's say, someone said that if I wanna watch something alone, I would seek content from you. If I were to watch something with my family, I'd seek contentment with you. And if I were to watch something else with my wife, I'd seek contentment with you. So it's a consumer behavior. So, as an OTT platform, because our diaspora is so diverse, we have to cater to all requirements.

Tracking what is being consumed 

And we also keep track of what's trending all over and what is getting consumed. Because we're looking at the consumer perspective, they are looking for diverse forms of entertainment. And, from that perspective, we do keep looking at what's trending and what we're missing out on. So let's say just since you mentioned Kakuda, we realize that, overall across the OTT industry, there's a lack of good comedy as well as better collage and a good mix of horror comedy. So when Aditi came up with the concept and they kind of pitched it to us, it was it was for me; it was breaking the clutter because there's so much crime and thriller content that is coming on OTT.

Understanding audience perspective 

From our audience perspective, we did realize that they are looking for something fresh. So, one thing that last year worked for us was a week on Mrs. Undercover. We've done the Radhika Apte movie. That was a pleasant surprise for us, and then we said okay, horror comedy; definitely, why not? Let's give it a shot. And then we keep trying, more and more so that consumers take with us and they stay entertained. To answer your question, it's consumers demand, and we plan accordingly.

Targeting regional audiences 

We have a very clear strategy on who we are catering to and how we will go about winning our share in the country. We are very clear that it's India. It is an Indian consumer. The kind of content they like, we do have a rich learning from the broadcasting and TV experience. So that gives us an understanding of the consumer. And from there on, we are also trading very well in regional languages, so whether it is Telegu or Tamil, I am not sure if you are aware we just announced an anthology series in Malayalam, which is the first in the Indian OTT industry.

With likes of Mr. Mohanlal, then we have Manorathangal coming up. And similarly, like I said, in Telugu, Tamil, as well as Bangla, we have a series, and we have a set of original shows that keep coming up. So our forte is India. We cater to, like, I love to say Bharat. And, our audience is, this Bharat doesn't only exist in Tier 2, 3 towns. It exists in various pockets, like Bombay, Delhi, and all the metros as well. And so we cater to Indians, their sensibilities, and we bring in content that works for them. And I think so far, it's been a good story, Sarika, for us in terms of growing the platform, both in form of subscriptions as well as remaining. And at the same time, ensuring that, we are focused on bringing the right quality of content to our consumers.

So, yes, I think we have complete clarity on where we are and how we are moving from there.

Gyaarah Gyaarah is their next release on Zee 5.