Zee Network calls off content deal with Jio TV
11 Aug 2018
Zee Entertainment Enterprises has pulled out all its content from Reliance Jio Digital Services thereby terminating the multi-year contract signed between the two in mid-2016.
Subhash Chandra led entertainment and news channel took the decision to part ways after the channel and Mukesh Ambani’s Jio found it difficult to come to an agreement regarding the price.
On 6 August, the management of Zee decided to withdraw all 35 TV channels and more than 2 lakh hours of video-on-demand content, to which Jio subscribers had access to through their Jio Cinema app.
Since this was also part of the deal that fell through, content like movies and off-air shows have also been removed from the library.
The rift occurred when both couldn’t agree to a feasible commercial agreement and it is still not known if the two will come back for talks or look for alternatives.
For Jio, which had a dream run adding more than 215 million subscribers within 22 months of beginning operations, it could be a blow to lose a content partner during its growth phase..
On 7 August, all 35 Zee channels, including Zee TV, Zee Marathi, Zee Cinema, and all others, went blank on Jio’s live TV app. Non-air shows and movies have also been removed by Zee from the library content.
Jio is reported to be in touch with all the members of the ecosystem to create a winning relation between broadcasters, consumers, and all key players.
In fact, it was Jio TV that pushed up data consumption on Jio 2,400 million GB a month, while video content consumption per month has grown to 3,400 million hours, on the Jio platform.