Zee Telugu
Zee Telugu is an Indian Telugu-language general entertainment pay television channel in India. It was launched on 12 September 2004 as Alpha Telugu[1] and was rebranded as Zee Telugu on 18 May 2005. The channel is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises.[2] Zee Telugu was the 9th most popular channel in India and had a TRP of 1593 impressions as of September 2021.[3]
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Country | India |
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Broadcast area | Worldwide |
Headquarters | Hyderabad, Telangana, India |
Programming | |
Language(s) | Telugu |
Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 576i for the SDTV feed) |
Ownership | |
Owner | Zee Entertainment Enterprises (merger with Culver Max Entertainment pending) |
History | |
Launched | 12 September 2004 (as Alpha TV Telugu) 18 May 2005 (as Zee Telugu) |
Replaced | Alpha TV Telugu |
Links | |
Website | Zee Telugu |
Establishment
In 2004, Zee Network had channels in Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, and Punjabi. Its proposed Telugu-language channel was expected to launch by August 2004,[4] but the launch did not take place until September.[5] The channel launched with the name Alpha TV Telugu, but was later renamed to Zee Telugu. It initially featured a large number of American films dubbed into Telugu. In August 2007, the network also dubbed Bollywood film Sholay from Hindi into Telugu as an experiment.[6]
History

In September 2005, the channel announced that Sanjay Reddy would be their new chief executive officer, succeeding Ajay Kumar, who had left several months previously. Reddy had previously worked at The Walt Disney Company and Pearl Media.[7]

By December 2005, Zee Telugu had only achieved a 1.24% weekday and 1.86% weekend market share in Andhra Pradesh. As a result, it re-launched in order to shift the target market from a mass market to a segmented market of young professionals.[8]
In late 2006, Zee Telugu began work on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, a Telugu-language singing competition, and was scheduled to run for 35 episodes.[9] Zee Telugu announced plans to launch Little Champs, a version of the show aimed at viewers ages 6–13, hosted by N. C. Karunya.[10]
Programming
Reception
Week | Year | BARC Viewership | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mega Cities | Rank | |||
Week 23 | 2021 | 280.29 | 5 | [11] |
Week 25 | 2021 | 295.83 | 5 | [12] |
Week 13 | 2023 | 267.21 | 5 | [13] |
Week 16 | 2023 | 289.06 | 5 | [14] |
Week 17 | 2023 | 284.44 | 4 | [15] |
References
- Ak, Bijoy (4 September 2004). "Alpha Telugu set to battle it out with Gemini, ETV". Indian Television Dot Com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- "Zee Tele's stock soars on ratings upswing, future prospects". Indian Television Dot Com. 6 July 2006. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- "Weekly TV Viewership Data: At Your Fingertips". Broadcast Audience Research Council. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- Kurmanath, K.V. (15 June 2004). "Zee's Telugu channel likely in August". Access My Library. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- "Zee Telugu identifies key properties; to launch telefilm band in January". Indian Television Dot Com. 15 December 2005. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- Visakhapatnam (27 August 2005). "Get set for Sholay in Telugu". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 September 2006. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- Singh, T. Lalith (17 September 2007). "Zee Telugu has a new CEO out of the box". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 October 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- Singh, T. Lalith (2 July 2005). "Get set for `Gold Rush'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- "A talent hunt for singers", The Hindu, 31 October 2006, retrieved 21 March 2008
- "It's `no acting, only singing' for Karunya". The Hindu. 20 February 2007. Archived from the original on 26 August 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- "WEEK 23 - DATA: Saturday, 5th June 2021 To Friday, 11th June 2021". BARC India. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020.
- "WEEK 25 - DATA: Saturday, 19th June 2021 To Friday, 25th June 2021". BARC India. Archived from the original on 30 December 2021.
- "WEEK 13 - DATA: Saturday, 25th March 2023 To Friday, 31st March 2023". BARC India.
- "WEEK 16 - DATA: Saturday, 15th April 2023 To Friday, 21st April 2023". BARC India.
- "WEEK 17 - DATA: Saturday, 22nd April 2023 To Friday, 28th April 2023". BARC India.