Mumbai, June, 2017: The British will soon arrive on your television screens! Zee Café, the No. 1 English entertainment channel in India, has partnered with BBC Worldwide to bring award winning premium British dramas. Starting from 26th June, 2017, Zee Café will host the Nexa presents BBC First block with 11 brand new shows set to air every weeknight at 10 PM. Promising to captivate audiences, the new line-up of shows on Zee Café includes War & Peace, Fleming: The Man who would be Bond, Class, SS-GB, Maigret, Doctor Foster, Top of the Lake, The Kettering Incident, New Blood, From Darkness and Thirteen.
British dramas are known for great stories which are unpredictable, thrilling, complex and engaging. In a television space cluttered with American shows, Zee Café aims to break the norms of the industry with the best from the world of British dramas for its constantly evolving viewers.
Talking about the association Mr. Punit Misra, CEO – Domestic Broadcast Business, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) said, “ZEE is recognized as a pioneer in the broadcast industry for delivering great content to viewers across the world. Similarly, the BBC is known for its world class entertainment. In an unprecedented age of TV drama, we believe we can connect with audiences who are hungry for nuanced storytelling that will immerse and entertain them.”
“This rich catalogue of unforgettable dramas is in line with our brand promise of ‘All Eyes on New’ and will significantly enhance our channel portfolio. From edgy new perspectives to shows that immortalize classics, we believe that this block of BBC First will be irresistible to the discerning Indian viewer who values premium content,” he adds.
“We are delighted that Zee Café is bringing BBC First to India, which will bring the best of British creativity to an appreciative audience. This is a curation of critically acclaimed and award-winning original British drama, that will challenge perceptions though surprising storylines and unforgettable characters,” commented Ms. Julia Kenyon, Director, Global Brands and Content Marketing, BBC Worldwide. “BBC First has been very successful in countries where it has already launched across Australia, the Middle East, Europe and Asia. We look forward to connecting with Indian audiences who know and enjoy premium drama.”
From compelling narratives to awe-inspiring characters viewers will get to explore a rich & diverse variety of content. Not just that, they will also get to see versatile actors like Rowan Atkinson popularly known as Mr. Bean, Dominic Cooper, Sam Riley, Kate Bosworth, Lily James and many more in the BBC First block.
The dramas that will premiere on Zee Café include War & Peace, the critically acclaimed adaptation of the novel by Leo Tolstoy, which revolves around three young people who experience life, love and loss against the epic backdrop of Russia’s wars with Napoleon, Fleming: The Man who would be Bond, the action packed drama that tells the real story of Ian Fleming the man who created James Bond, whose own life adventures were the inspiration for creating one of the most iconic spies in modern literature, Class, the Doctor Who spin off which revolves around the students of Coal Hill Academy who have to deal with the alien threats while trying to deal with their personal lives, SS-GB, the engrossing drama set in a 1941 alternative timeline, in which Nazi, Germany having won the battle of Britain has now occupied United Kingdom; and the crime story starring Rowan Atkinson, Maigret that is set in 1950’s Paris where a serial killer is targeting women in the seedy district of Montmartre, amongst many others.
Iconic in their production value, the dramas airing in the BBC First block will transport viewers to the land of the Queen. Zee Café through its robust promotional campaign weaves these British associations with our cultural fabric to drive deeper experiences around the communication #TheBritishAreComing.
War & Peace will premiere on 26th June, Fleming: The Man who would be Bond on 27th June, Class on 28th June, SS-GB on 29th June and Maigret on 30th June.
Mark your calendars from 26 June @ 10 PM every weeknight and tune into Nexa presents BBC First on Zee Café as #TheBritishAreComing
About Zee Café:
Zee Café is one of the leading player’s in the English GEC category. It encompasses an exhaustive library of the top international shows like The Big Bang Theory, Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Two and A Half Men, House of Cards, The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars etc. Catering to English speaking audiences it boasts of a healthy mix of reality and scripted show offerings directly from the U.S. It has associations with powerful international studios such as Fremantle, Disney, WB, CBS, Sony etc and is currently available across all major DTH & Cable networks in India. For more information please visit the website: www.zeecafe.tv.
About Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL):
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited is one of India’s leading television media and entertainment companies. It is amongst the largest producers and aggregators of Hindi programming in the world, with an extensive library housing over 120,000 hours of television content. With rights to more than 3,500 movie titles from foremost studios and of iconic film stars, ZEE houses the world’s largest Hindi film library. Through its strong presence worldwide, ZEE entertains over 959 million viewers across 169 countries. ZEE has been selected Business Superbrands 2010-11, Industry Validated.
ZEE and its affiliate companies have leading presence across the media value chain including television broadcasting, cable distribution, direct-to-home satellite services, digital media and print media amongst others. More information about ZEE and its businesses is available on www.zeetelevision.com
About BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Its vision is to build the BBC’s brands, audiences, commercial returns and reputation across the world. This is achieved through investing in, commercialising and showcasing content from the BBC around the world, in a way that is consistent with BBC standards and values. The business also champions British creativity globally.
In 2015/16 BBC Worldwide generated headline profits of £133.8m and headline sales of £1,029.4m and returned £222.2m to the BBC.
For more detailed performance information please see our Annual Review webpage: bbcworldwide.com/annual-review/.