Sling TV and DISH have entered into a long-term renewal agreement with Asia TV USA, part of the “Zee” group from India and a leading provider of South Asian programming.
In addition to renewing the 10 Zee-branded channels already offered on Sling TV and DISH, the new agreement includes the addition of 27 new Zee channels such as &TV, Living Foodz, Zee Bangla, Zee Tamizh and Zee Cinema HD.
As part of the agreement, Sling TV and DISH will be the exclusive providers in the United States of Zee’s premium on-demand library, which includes movies and over 400 additional popular video titles.
Over time, Sling TV will become the exclusive over-the-top (OTT) provider in the US for all but one of Zee’s South Asian channels. In the coming months, Zee will transition viewers from its direct-to-consumer services to Sling TV or to authenticated access only.
“Our agreement with Zee enables us to provide a vast amount of entertainment to fans of South Asian content, while also giving customers a more streamlined way to access and enjoy both linear and on-demand content,” said Chris Kuelling, SVP of programming for Sling TV and DISH.
“The US is a mature pay-TV market and operating a direct-to-consumer business can be a low or negative margin initiative, so it made good business sense to align our growth strategy by expanding our offerings and partnering with Sling TV as our chosen OTT platform,” said Sameer Targe, business head at Zee Americas.