Zee TV buck up before you loose out altogether (Zee TV)

Member Name: angelic2004

Product:	Zee TV
Date:	10/03/09 (372 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The odd good serial, improve Hindi, good entertainment music wise

Disadvantages: Long advert breaks, needs new ideas for serials, needs to axe the serials at the right time.

Zee TV was once the number one channel for Asian viewers and maybe still is with a quite a few. Now times have changed, so many other channels are popping up to compete with them in order to keep their existing viewers happy and grab new viewers. It's on 809 for Virgin Media viewers and 788 for Sky viewers. Currently they are showing for free on Sky at the moment, those adverts just keep popping up that its free for a month.

Zee TV in the past had a mix of Indian and Pakistani serials, entertainment shows (game shows, singing competitions, concerts, award shows, chart show), Religious serials (Ramayan, etc), Health shows, Cookery shows, the 3 hour movies at lunch time on a daily basis with the addition of movies on evening at the weekend. Short, five minutes news bulletins every hour from the sub continent along with UK and International news. Out & About - local community show. Zee & You - version of Points of View where you praise and complain and request programmes. Zee once more - Watch you a favourite /missed episode requested by viewers and there was also the odd travel show.

Zee TV in the present has changed a lot and has like many other channels, branched out into separate channels for music, movies, Indian regional channels and so on. Pakistani serials are gone as a result of different channels are now showing them 24/7. The singing competition SA RE GA MA PA use to be judged by singers and music directors has under gone the change they get judges up to the final 14 then under go the voting process very much like X Factor with the sob stories and the dramas and less actual singing, but I guess you have to move with the times, sad how it is. There are two versions the adults - challenge and for the kids - Lil Champs. Lil Champs is under going the auditions process so it may be back on screens soon along with over bearing parents. Short News bulletins are gone you get a half an hour slot in the morning, in the evening and one more just before midnight. Movies have been cut down to Friday to Sunday. More serials have been added to replace the movies. It is very unlikely you will get to see a new movie unless you get Zee Cinema, as new movies are rarely shown and numerous movies are repeated way too much. Except for addition of Yoga for you, another entertainment show - Dance India Dance and the Kid's Zone some of the previous programmes are still there just more updated. Many serials are getting axed and being replaced by new ones in order to compete with other channels such as the latest one called Colors and their number one serial at the moment, Balika Vadhu - Story of a child bride, which some what different from other serials as its never been done before, it was a break from the normal family dramas and has gained so many viewers, I heard that this idea was shown to other popular channels such as ZEE, Star Plus, Sony Entertainment, but it was rejected. Zee lost out on a gem of a serial and is desperately trying to find something to compete with it to gain its number one position back. Zee must be kicking them self for rejecting it as this serial grows from strength to strength. Hopefully Dooyoo accepts my suggestion for this serial as I could explain it further.

Some of Zee's other channels are facing the axe due to low viewership and is likely Zee Gujarati and Zee Next are to disappear, hopefully some of the content appears back to Zee TV as it seems some what bare with different content on separate channels.

An annoying point about Zee TV is the number of adverts, it can seriously put you off watching a programme and even a movie, so much time elapses you are under the impression the programme had finished, adverts are loud and annoying at times, I think I could make a hot chocolate, drink it and visit the loo, maybe do a bit of washing up in that time and still there would be an advert on.

Zee TV allows you to put subtitles up you press Teletext 888 for English and I think 889 for French.

Some of the programmes on at the moment:

Chhoti Bahu.. Sindoor Bin Suhaagan - About an adopted daughter, Radhika who is subjected to second grade treatment all through her life. Will she fight against it and gain her rightful position as Dev's wife and younger daughter- in- law to the family? Or will she remain a doormat? The story is not bad but this serial is seriously dragging and may end up loosing viewers.

Kasamh Se - Started of as a story of three sisters who vow to stick together no matter what, with the main lead, Bani the eldest always trying to be the good too shoes and never learns that she really can't trust anyone. She has battled death so many times, had plastic surgery, tried to save her family so many times, but does she get any thanks for it? Well no, but the silly women still wonders why me. Now it has come to the point where the actors are bored with the show hence it is quickly being wrapped up and is to end in a week or two.

Saat phere - Story of Saloni, a dark complexioned girl, it did not matter that she was actually beautiful, hugely talented with a scope to make a name for herself as other just saw her colour. This was popular a few years ago as many dark complexioned girls could actually identify with it and the stigma attached that only fair was beautiful. Now they have taken a 11 year leap with Saloni now a mother hoping to find her missing daughter but fails to realise she is right under her nose and she has been bringing her up all this time under the impression she was the servant's daughter. Now her daughter is facing the abuse she once went through. All I see is the repeat of the story now and now I think it should end as I really don't know where they are actually going with this track.

Banoo Main Teri Dulhann - Another long running serial which was recently spared the axe due to popularity with viewers so in its place Kasamh Se got axed. It was about a couple, the illiterate, poor, simple girl Vidya and Sagar, who is mentally unstable and acts like a child. Sagar's step sister (Sindoora) was behind his condition and never wants him to get well and is out to kill the couple for the business and property. Sindoora kills them both but they reincarnate as Divya and Amar to take revenge and destroy her. So this game begins again.

Naaginn..Wadon ki Agnipariksha - is a story of an magical snake taking revenge on humans. The story revolves around a female snake who decides to transform into a human form to take revenge of her parents' death, who were the king and queen of Naag community. They were killed by humans for a precious stone. So starts the struggle to find the killers and kill them and find the stone. There have been times where the story has dragged but with the addition of new enemies the story gets meatier and manages to hold its own.

Lux Dance India Dance - 'Sabse bade Dancing Star ki khoj' - A dancing competition to find the best dancing star. Disco king - Mithun Chakraborty himself is the grand master who makes the final decision who goes and who stays. It is judged by three choreographers made famous for their work in bollywood - Geeta Kapur, Remo D'souza and Terrence Lewis. Six dancers are in each of their teams. They do a group performance on one day and then the next the two weak ones from each team have to perform individually to gain their place to next round. One boy and one girl are eliminated each week. Then I think it may go to public voting when they get their final six.

Overall Zee TV need to seriously pull its socks up to compete with the likes of the channel Colors which is willing to approach tabooed subjects and knows that viewer want something new and exciting in their serials. Colors is likely to make is appearance on Sky in the UK this year.

Zee TV also Holds a Zee Carnival every year in London usually in Feb with Bollywood stars, TV stars, food, fashion, music, etc. It is usually sold out especially when Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan is there. I have only ever attended the Zee mela at the NEC Birmingham a few years ago and was disappointed with the organisation its like they could not be bothered here in Birmingham and actually do it properly in London where more people are like to attend. Probably why they would never hold it in Birmngham again cause of the shame of the organisation previously.

Summary: Was once a top Asian channel but is it slipping?