I interned at ZEE5, the OTT platform of Zee TV as a part of my summer internship. The moment I found out that ZEE5 was visiting my campus, an inner voice told me that I had to crack its interview at all costs.
I have always been fond of media, the technical aspects of media and the work that happens on the back-end of the entertainment industry. For me, ZEE5 was the perfect place to be at as it had the perfect blend of entertainment and business aspects of the industry. I brushed up on the latest news in the digital and OTT landscape, the content that was trending in Indian and international markets, and how OTT had a differentiating factor from Television and other media. Thankfully, I cracked the interview, and was offered a summer internship for 2 months at ZEE5, Mumbai.
I was quite nervous on my first day at internship. I entered the posh WeWork building of ZEE5 Headquarters in Mumbai. The place was buzzing with activity. People were milling around, the meeting rooms were full and the place had a sense of beautiful chaos to it. I inadvertently smiled. This was the type of place I wanted to be at.
For the first month, I worked on curating food-based content. My work included conducting research about trends in food-based content in domestic and international media, as well as understanding perception about food-based content amongst youth. On the basis of these insights, I curated playlists for food-based content on ZEE5.
In the second month, I worked on launching World Digital Premiers of South Indian movies. I designed the marketing plans and content marketing ideas for the promotion of these movies. My aim was to generate buzz on social media about the World Digital Premiers of these movies. Me and my team accordingly created promotional content and used digital listening techniques to monitor the social media buzz around these movies.
My mentor, Sanket Kulkarni was a senior of mine from college. Working with him was a great experience. He was helpful at all times and he assisted me at every step of the line. He gave me technical assistance at all points. He gave me in-depth briefings and made sure that I didn’t feel left out at any meetings. Thanks to him, my content curation for food-based content will be used by ZEE5 under the launch of its new food page, ZEE5 Food Court.
All in all, working at ZEE5 has been a very fulfilling experience. It has given me a perspective about the nitty-gritty that go behind the scenes to bring content to our devices. It has helped me develop skills like patience, discipline and rigour to tackle all problems. To my juniors who wish to work at ZEE5, I would advise you to stay abreast of the current happenings in the OTT landscape. Consume content from OTT platform, but also try to understand the business aspects of it. If you’re truly passionate about content, ZEE5 is the place to be at.
