Zee Telugu
 | |
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Worldwide |
| Headquarters | Hyderabad, Telangana, India |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Telugu |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 576i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Zee Entertainment Enterprises |
| History | |
| Launched | 12 September 2004 |
| Replaced | Alpha TV Telugu |
Zee Telugu is an Indian Telugu-language general entertainment pay television channel in India. It was launched on 12 September 2004 as Alpha TV Telugu.[1] and was rebranded as Zee Telugu on 18 May 2005. The channel is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises.[2] Zee Entertainment Enterprises also launched a Telugu movie channel named Zee Cinemalu in September 2016.
Establishment
[edit]In 2004, Zee Network had channels in Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, and Punjabi. Its proposed Telugu-language channel making its first entry in southern region was expected to launch by August 2004,[3] but the launch did not take place until September.[4] The channel launched with the name Alpha TV Telugu, but was later renamed to Zee Telugu. It initially featured a large number of American films dubbed into Telugu. In August 2007, the network also dubbed Bollywood film Sholay from Hindi into Telugu as an experiment.[5]
History
[edit]In September 2005, the channel announced that Sanjay Reddy would be their new chief executive officer, succeeding Ajay Kumar, who had left several months previously. Reddy had previously worked at The Walt Disney Company and Pearl Media.[6]
By December 2005, Zee Telugu had only achieved a 1.24% weekday and 1.86% weekend market share in Andhra Pradesh. As a result, it re-launched in order to shift the target market from a mass market to a segmented market of young professionals.[7]
In late 2006, Zee Telugu began work on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, a Telugu-language singing competition scheduled to run for 35 episodes.[8] Zee Telugu announced plans to launch Little Champs, a version of the show aimed at viewers ages 6–13, hosted by N. C. Karunya.[9]
Sister channel
[edit]Zee Cinemalu
[edit]Zee Cinemalu is an Indian Telugu movies pay television channel offers Telugu language movies.[10] It launched on 4 September 2016 and it is the sister channel of Zee Telugu.[11] The channel is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises.[12]
Programming
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Ak, Bijoy (4 September 2004). "Alpha Telugu set to battle it out with Gemini, ETV". Indian Television. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Zee Tele's stock soars on ratings upswing, future prospects". Indian Television. 6 July 2006. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ Kurmanath, K.V. (15 June 2004). "Zee's Telugu channel likely in August". Access My Library. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Zee Telugu identifies key properties; to launch telefilm band in January". Indian Television Dot Com. 15 December 2005. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ Visakhapatnam (27 August 2005). "Get set for Sholay in Telugu". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 September 2006. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ Singh, T. Lalith (17 September 2007). "Zee Telugu has a new CEO out of the box". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 October 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ Singh, T. Lalith (2 July 2005). "Get set for 'Gold Rush'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ "A talent hunt for singers", The Hindu, 31 October 2006, retrieved 21 March 2008[permanent dead link]
- ^ "It's 'no acting, only singing' for Karunya". The Hindu. 20 February 2007. Archived from the original on 26 August 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Zee Cinemalu out to capture Telugu movie market with launch on Sept 4". Adgully. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "ZEEL Launches Zee Cinemalu A Telugu Movie Channel". Business World. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "ZEEL slated to launch its Telugu movie offering Zee Cinemalu in September". Exchange4media. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2023.