The channel available on the DSTv and GOTv platforms in Africa is among the top 2 channels in those pay TV platforms. As we took our coffee and interacted with media personalities such as East FM's Maalika at the press conference, you could tell the company is committed to serve the African audiences that are interested in the Bollywood shows. Speaking at the meeting was the Zee World TV CEO Mr Hirash Goyal saying, "Zee World is the largest aggregator of Bollywood content and we dub it in English to cater to the wider African market. We've been in the industry for 25 years and we reach an audience of over 1.3 billion worldwide. We see a lot of opportunities in Kenya and Africa as well."
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Mr. Hirash Goyal[/caption]The channel will be releasing new programmes over the next 5 to 6 months. Some of them will be continuations of the most popular shows such as Twist of Fate which comes in for a second season. The content is also thoroughly edited to fit the African market. They do this by cutting down some of the over the top scenes that Bollywood is synonymous with. There will also be movies starring legends such as Sridevi and Aamir Khan who have starred in the biggest Bollywood blockbusters.
Kids are not left out on viewing because the content is normally very culturally nuanced and family oriented. Rattna, who is one of the founders of the channel, said, "At times I get people telling that their kids actually request to watch the shows which means we are doing something good in the market."
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East FM Presenter Maalika[/caption]East FM's Maalika said, "I think it's really exciting that their bringing content to Africa that's dubbed in English, then it reaches a much wider audience because there's so much quality content that comes up from Bollywood. The channel gives a greater platform to access it locally and they also hoping to incorporate talent from Africa which is very exciting."
