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ZEE Network UK celebrates 15 years on-air

The longest serving Asian satellite TV broadcaster, ZEE Network UK is celebrating 15 years on air in March.

The history
On Wednesday 1st March 1995, ZEE TV entered the UK market, replacing TV Asia. No one predicted the revolution that had started. ZEE created a new culture of South Asian entertainment in the UK, with gripping dramas, Bollywood blockbuster movies, talent shows, news bulletins, music and documentaries.

ZEE’s programming is what set it apart in 1995 and that continues to hold true today. Classic shows including, ‘Amanat’, ‘Antakshari’, ‘Dastaan’, ‘Saap-Seedi’ and ‘ZEE Cine Awards’ have contributed to the channel’s leading position.

With award-winning shows such as ‘Justujoo’, ‘Astitva Ek Prem Kahani’, ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’ and current hit dramas such as ‘Pavitra Rishta’ and ‘Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo’, along with reality dance show ‘Dance India Dance’; ZEE has consistently connected with its audiences in the UK.

Today
With ZEE TV, ZEE Cinema, Zing and ZEE Punjabi, ZEE Network today reaches Asians of all age groups, across every community and religion.

Today, 15 years later, inspired by ZEE’s pioneering launch, not only are there numerous other TV channels, but lifestyle shows and club nights all following in ZEE’s footsteps. However, ZEE remains the undisputed leader of the pack, keeping the entertainment aspect of its content fresh and engaging.

To mark the milestone in the UK, Bharat Ranga, COO, International Business, ZEEL said, ���ZEE has become the global term for South Asian Entertainment and we attribute our brand’s leading position over the past 15 years to our loyal viewers. They have welcomed us into their homes and ZEE has become part of their family. Our relationship with our viewers has evolved over the years and we have continually refined our programming to cater for their needs.”

Celebrations
To launch the 15th anniversary celebrations, ZEE TV announced a number of special anniversary shows including, a special anniversary episode of ‘ZEE and You’, co-hosted by Niki Aneja, who viewers will recognise as the star of many popular soaps including ‘Astitva Ek Prem Kahani’. There will be exciting competitions throughout the month and three lucky viewers will receive a special prize which will be announced during ‘ZEE and You’ on Sunday 28th March at 16:35.

The network will also be giving away exclusive subscription offers. In addition, to commemorate the company’s 15 years, ZEE UK will also
be giving away free downloads via its website.

ZEE Network UK’s 15 year timeline
1995
�ۢ Supermodel contest: Contest to find a male and female face to represent the Asian youth in UK

1996
�ۢ UK Antakshari: ZEE UK filmed and broadcast the UK edition of Antakshari – the landmark musical game show, for which hundreds came to audition

�ۢ ZEE Premier : A monthly in-house magazine distributed to all ZEE subscribers

1997

�ۢ Filmi Baatein : Filmed and broadcast a popular show hosted by Shekhar Suman in UK

1998
�ۢ ZEE TV goes live 24 hours a day

1999
�ۢ First to launch subtitling facility in UK with English, among the South Asian channels

�ۢ ZEE Asia Live: Sponsorship of this mammoth ground event providing a complete Asian experience, which earlier was never witnessed in the heart of London

�ۢ Launched Music Asia: UK’s first, 24 hour Asian music channel, later rebranded as ZEE Muzic , now called Zing

�ۢ Launched Alpha Bangla, UK’s first Bengali language channel

2000
�ۢ ZEE TV goes digital on Sky Digital

�ۢ ZEE TV is the first Asian channel to go digital in Rest of Europe

�ۢ Miss World: ZEE became the first Asian channel to host an international event of this magnitude – hosted at Millennium Dome, London

�ۢ Launched the interactive ZEE UK website

2001
�ۢ Launched ZEE Cinema – 24 hour film channel replacing Alpha Bangla on Sky Digital in UK

�ۢZEE TV goes completely digital in UK as the analogue feed on cable also replaced by digital

2002
�ۢ Launched UK’s first Punjabi language channel Alpha ETC Punjabi

�ۢ Launched the channels ZEE Cinema, ZEE Muzic and Alpha ETC Punjabi on cable

2003
�ۢ Alpha ETC Punjabi – only regional channel to be able to increase its price in UK

2004
�ۢ ZEE Magazine: Quarterly lifestyle magazine launched for UK DTH subscribers – only Asian TV channel to do so

�ۢ Alpha Punjabi launched in rest of Europe

�ۢ Astitva Ek Prem Kahani: For the first time a popular Indian serial was shot in UK and broadcast worldwide

2005
�ۢ ZEE UK hosted the 8th ZEE Cine Awards in London

�ۢ Launched ZEE Gujarati in UK

�ۢ Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005 – ZEE UK held the auditions for Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005

2006
�ۢ The ZEE Carnival 2006: A three day event featuring an array of top Bollywood, Kollywood and ZEE stars, the scale of which had never been delivered before

�ۢ ZEE became the only Asian television network to provide dual language subtitling facilities through teletext in English and French across Europe

2007
�ۢ ZEE Network Europe entered the Russian mainstream television industry with the launch of ZEE TV, Russia – a complete entertainment and lifestyle channel in the Russian language.

2008
�ۢ ZEE Europe is the only international territory to host the ZEE Cine Awards twice in a single location by hosting the 11th ZCA in London