'Regional is the buzzword today': Ashish Sehgal on why language-first content is the future of India

As India's media and entertainment landscape undergoes seismic shifts - driven by changing consumption habits, the OTT boom, advertiser realignments, and digital disruption - legacy players are being challenged to transform from within.

At the heart of this transformation is Zee Enterprises Entertainment Limited (ZEEL), which recently revealed a bold new brand identity under its 'Z What's Next' vision.

Also Read: Zee Entertainment launches new identity and ‘brand universe’

To decode the story behind the rebrand and understand the road ahead, Storyboard18 caught up with Ashish Sehgal, Chief Growth Officer at ZEEL, for an in-depth conversation on platform evolution, regional strategy, and the new face of engagement in the content-first economy.

Rebranding with Purpose

Zee's new brand identity, launched as part of its 'What's Next' vision, marks a significant shift for the legacy media company. But what does a refreshed logo or sleek brand narrative really mean for the business?

"The whole idea to rebrand the whole Zee offering and also the identity was to connect with today's consumer," Sehgal explained. "And when I say today's consumer, it does not mean only youth. The way everybody is consuming media is changing... So it becomes very important that you refresh your brand, you don't remain fuddy-duddy."

He emphasized that the rebranding was not just about aesthetics but about evolving Zee's promise as content-first company powered by technology. "We are saying: I am content first, and technology is going to help me build that reach. So I will take my content wherever the consumer is sitting."

And that, Sehgal noted, is key to attracting advertisers. "What is an advertiser wanting? Advertiser is looking at the consumer I am reaching to... If I reach more and more consumers, it helps us to take that reach to the advertiser for them to build their businesses."

Diversifying Revenue: Beyond Linear, Beyond Ads

Zee is moving swiftly to counter headwinds in the traditional television space by unlocking new monetization avenues across digital and live formats. "We have now, of course, Zee5, which is a digital offering," Sehgal noted. "We have opened up even ads onto our AVOD consumers so that we can offer premium customers to our advertisers."

The company is also reinvesting in live events and IP-driven experiences to deepen engagement and drive experiential brand value. "We are creating our old IPs, building them, and curating them from today's perspective. That helps brand building and becomes a touch point for advertisers to engage with our consumers."

Sehgal also touched on newer distribution and monetization models. "We have opened up FAST channels recently on OEMs... So only advertising money from television is not the focus. We are now opening new streams to improve our subscription base through offerings like seven language packs, and even exploring commerce through content."

Also Read: Divya Karani and Saurav Adhikari join ZEE Board following shareholder nod

The Zee Bet: Building, Not Buying

With Pay TV under pressure and the rise of streaming giants, the media landscape is ripe for consolidation. Yet, Sehgal reasserted Zee's confidence in organic brand creation over acquisition. "Zee has always believed - more than acquisition - we try to build our own brands."

Pay TV still remains relevant, he insisted. "It is still the biggest reach medium for any advertiser, even at current stage... and people who came onto free TV a few years back are now upgrading themselves onto television."

To reinvigorate Pay TV, Zee is betting big on exclusive content and strategic premieres. "Like IPL did a reverse thing, going behind paywall on digital, which brought back people back to TV. Similarly, we are doing a lot of TV-first premieres of our movies. So that will help build the Pay TV ecosystem."

Regional is the New National

If there's one megatrend defining Zee's roadmap, it's localization. And it's not just a regional strategy - it's a language-first strategy.

"Regional is the buzzword today," Sehgal said. "even platforms like YouTube and Facebook are now creating more regional content because they understand India is not one language or culture."

But Zee is going further. "We don't call it regional anymore. For us, Hindi is also a language. So out strategy is all language-based. There's no 'national' strategy now."

This language-centric model is about maximizing cultural resonance and return on investment. “One language may have fewer consumers, but that consumer may be from a much richer state,” Sehgal pointed out. “You have to touch base in their own language, in their own culture.”

Navigating Disruption and Distribution

On the challenges facing TV distribution - TRAI tariff orders, bundling woes, and OTT migration - Sehgal admitted that innovation is the need of the hour.

"It is always about how to innovatively create your packages for cable operators to showcase and become more relevant from the content being consumed in each state," he said.

That will help us to still see that the overall revenue on the distribution side is not de-growing.”

As for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s recent proposal to introduce multiple audience measurement systems, Sehgal remained cautious. “It’s just a draft where they’re asking for consultations… I have no comment to make right now on that.”

Zee's Big Bold Bets

Looking to the future, Sehgal outlined two major bets that will help shape Zee's 2-25-25 playbook.

"One is building more and more homegrown IPs - not just for one market but that can travel across platforms and languages," he said. "The second is growing our new-age platform Zee5... So we want to own the consumer on both ends - linear and digital."

And the golden thread tying it all together? Language.

"Language-based content is going to be the underlying theme in every strategy we make," Sehgal concluded. "Once you have one successful IP, you can replicate that into other markets. That's the vision.

Also Read: South India and content partnerships to drive Pay TV margins in 2025