A year after launching KidZ, ZEE5 is sharpening its strategy in India's crowded children's entertainment market by prioritising original Indian intellectual property (IP) over an exclusive dependence on licensed programming. While television networks and YouTube continue to dominate children's viewing, the platform is positioning ownership of characters and stories as its long-term competitive advantage.
Building Franchises Beyond Streaming
Its latest original, Shivlok Ke Kundakka Mandakka, reflects that ambition. Rather than serving as another mythology-based animation title, the series is part of a broader effort to create proprietary characters that can expand into merchandising, licensing, gaming and branded collaborations.
According to Chandan Khandelwal, Business Head – KidZ and Vice President, Platform Strategy, the long-term objective is to build an ecosystem where original characters live across multiple consumer touchpoints instead of remaining confined to streaming.
Currently, 20% of the KidZ catalogue comprises original programming, while 80% is licensed content. That balance is expected to shift to 50:50 within the next year, supported by a pipeline that includes at least one major original release every month for the remainder of the current financial year.
The Bigger Picture
For media planners and marketers, the strategy signals a shift from content acquisition to IP ownership.
As children's entertainment becomes increasingly franchise-led, platforms with proprietary characters gain stronger monetisation opportunities through licensing, consumer products and brand partnerships.
The Last Word
In the streaming economy, owning memorable characters—not just distributing content—is emerging as the most valuable long-term media asset.