Airtel and Zee bring the best of Indian theatre to the TV screen

New Delhi, April 23, 2019: Airtel Digital TV, the DTH arm of Bharti Airtel, and Zee Theatre, the popular theatre segment of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., today launched ‘Spotlight’ – a video on demand channel that will air the best of Indian plays by popular theatre groups from across the country.

With this, Airtel’s Digital TV platform with its strong customer base, will offer Indian theatre a wider market reach in India as customers watch their favourite plays from the biggest playwrights come alive right in their homes.

Viewers can watch over 100 plays in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali and English, across a wide variety of genre, ranging from classic, to thriller, to comedy which will be brought to life by renowned artists such as Varun Badola, Sonali Kulkarni, Ira Dubey and Vikram Gokhale. Some of the popular plays that will be available to customers on the new channel are Choker Bali, Ma Retire Hoti Hai, Vaastav, Sakubai and Janpath Kiss.

Richa Kalra, Product Manager – DTH, Bharti Airtel said, "At Airtel, we are always innovating for newer ways to delight out customers. Today, we are excited to add Theatre to our video-on-demand content portfolio and offer a wider genre of entertainment to our customers. With this partnership with Zee, we aim to offer a wider reach for the rich culture of Indian theatre."

Commenting on the occasion, Shailja Kejriwal, Chief Creative Officer – Special Projects, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. said, "Theatre is our national heritage that is cherished across the country; however, some of our finest and most pertinent plays seldom reach beyond a few cities. At Zee Theatre we aim to bring the most revered and relevant plays to every Indian household. The partnership with Airtel Digital TV further reinforces this desire to celebrate the heritage of Indian theatre.

Spotlight – Asli Manch, Asli Kahaniya will air on channel no 191 as a Subscription based Video on Demand (SVOD) service and will be available to customers for free for the first 10days. Post the trial period, customers will have to pay Rs 75 per month for the channel.

To activate Spotlight, customers have to just give a missed call to <8448284727> form their registered telephone number. For more details, log on to www.airtel.in/digital-tv

About Airtel Digital TV

Airtel digital TV is a leading national DTH service provider offering MPEG4 & DVBS2 – currently the most advanced digital broadcasting technologies available in the world. The company offers both standard and high definition (HD) digital TV services with 3D capabilities and Dolby surround sound and is backed by a 24X7 customer care. With 694 channels & services including 78 HD channels, 5 international channels and 3 interactive services, Airtel Digital TV has introduced many firsts to the segment including the Internet TV, universal remote, several unique interactive applications, multi lingual EPG, and integrated anytime, anywhere recording through mobile and web. Airtel Digital TV had over 15 million customers as on December 2018. To know more please visit, www.airtel.in/digital-tv

About Zee Theatre

At Zee Theatre, a vertical of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., we aim to revive, restore and spread the rich cultural heritage of Indian theatre to audiences across the world through the platform of their choice including TV, OTT and DTH. By partnering with renowned Indian theatre veterans, Zee Theatre recreates some of the most celebrated Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and Bengali stories with striking productions and refreshing music based on contemporary taste. With this initiative, we aim to not only make Indian theatre more accessible to the new generation but also provide a platform for theatre artists to showcase their talent.