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Zee appoints for Polish launch

Indian media giant Zee Entertainment has appointed an NBCUniversal International exec to oversee the launch of a new Bollywood-focused network in Poland that will also offer local original content.

Pawel Kolasa

Pawel Kolasa becomes country manager for Zee in Poland, reporting to Neeraj Dhingra, CEO at ZEE Networks Europe. He will work on Zee One’s launch later this year of what it calls a “specially customised version” of the Bollywood film and entertainment network.

Zee One will offer customised high-budget movies and series, action films, thrillers, comedies and musicals for Polish viewers. Lifestyle programmes inspired by Indian culture will also feature, covering subjects such as cookery, travel or yoga.

Zee has been expanding its international operations over the past 12 months, launching free-to-air Zee One in Germany last year and unveiling plans for a global SVoD service to C21.

Its portfolio already includes 34 Indian and 37 international TV channels, plus eight HD stations, which are claimed to reach almost one billion people across 169 countries.

Amit Goenka

Kolasa has worked in the TV industry for more than two decades and was most recently head of affiliate sales at NBCU’s Universal Networks International.

Amit Goenka, CEO for Zee’s international broadcast business, said the Polish launch would help the company build on its existing services that “reach more than one billion viewers across five continents.”

“After the successful launch of Zee One in Germany last year, we want to further strengthen our presence in Central Europe, and Poland is the market with the highest potential in this region,” Goenka added.

Dhingra added that the launch marked the first time an Indian media conglomerate had entered Poland and would “play a key role in the development of our business in this part of Europe.”

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