With Zee Entertainment Enterprises and Sony Pictures Network India Stakeholders set for a merger, industry experts feel it will lead to improved content

Mona

The proposed merger of Zee Entertainment Enterprises with Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) is largely being seen as a good strategic fit. The two media giants are set to emerge as strong contenders on both broadcast and digital platforms. With the merger these well-established brands — Zee and Sony — the merger will make them the country’s largest media company with SPNI’s parent company, Sony Pictures Entertainment, putting USD 1.575 billion in the merged entity. Industry insiders share views about the merger.

Award-winning producer-actor Rahul Mittra sees this as a strategic move that will bring the two biggest brand names of our industry together. “The proposed merger is seen in good light and the consolidation will lead to both players capitalising on each other’s strengths and compete with the market leader Star & Disney,” he analyses the business side of it. As for the industry, he lists, “Though more competition is deemed healthy, from content point of view, the combined power of ZEEL and Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) translates to significant scalability and great operating grip. The two can have more might to provide range of content, right from sports to desi shows. Unlike Sony, Zee has strong footprints across Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and other languages, but both of them have strong film business.” On the down side, the decision-making process might get slower as now the call is going to be taken not by a family, but an MNC.

“More players mean competition and quality content. If consolidations keep happening, than one entity with money can buy all OTT platforms,” says Mittra, who feels OTT platforms are here to stay and will co-thrive with cinemas in the long run. “Our entertainment industry has dealt with two waves and emerged stronger,” says the filmmaker, who not only survived Covid twice, but did rather well with his last production Torbaaz going for a whopping price on Netflix.

Quality & variety

Director Rajat Bhardwaj sees the collaboration in light of providing more to the viewers. “Together the two can bring quality content and a variety for viewers,” says Rajat. TV actor Sharad Malhotra, who was seen in Naagin 5, says, “It must be a business decision. It should be good for TV industry — more creativity, more business. Zee and Sony are good in their respective fields.” Soon to be seen in Virodhi, the actor says, “We as actors work wherever a good offer comes from; audiences, I guess, will get more experimental content.” Filmmaker Suneel Darshan sees the move as encouraging. “Sony is set to benefit from Zee’s extensive movie catalogue and mass base,” says the Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha director. “Sony gets to penetrate Zee’s mass base worldwide,” he deems. “It’s too early to say how it will affect the industry. But one can hope for quality content .”

Literal bonanza

“It’s always good when two giants of an industry merge. Same here for Zee and Sony; let’s see how they take it forward,” says director Mandeep Chaahal. “Netflix and Amazon are global brands. But Sony and Zee have managed to give them stiff competition on the home turf. Netflix and Amazon have got urban viewers, whereas Zee and Sony have successfully captured pan-India audiences. Their coming together can be a bonanza. They might go for a single OTT platform to merge content. So viewers might not need two subscriptions separately, ” he says.