Indian media company Zee Entertainment Enterprises will distribute its German free-to-air channel Zee One on Astra (19.2° East).
SES Platform Services, the technical services subsidiary of Astra satellite operator SES, will handle the satellite transmission. A long-term contract has now been signed. In addition to the satellite capacity, the Munich-based company will also be responsible for encoding, multiplexing and uplink.
Zee One will be available on Astra in standard (SD) and high resolution (HD), reaching 18 million DTH households in Germany and 2.5 million in Austria and Switzerland.
The channel launching in mid-2016 will screen Bollywood movies, Indian TV series and shows 24 hours per day; German original productions are also planned.
“We are looking forward to the launch of Zee One into one of the world’s most important television markets,” said Neeraj Dhingra, CEO Europe at Asia TV (Zee TV). “As yet, the Bollywood genre is still barely represented, so enhancing Germany’s entertainment offerings by introducing an entirely new genre will transform the viewers’ TV experience.”
In addition to Astra, Zee One will also be distributed on cable and IPTV networks. A carriage contract has already been signed with cable operator Unitymedia.
