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KIDZ LEANS ON SAFETY AND CURATION TO DIFFERENTIATE IN A YOUTUBE-DOMINATED MARKET.

- CHRISTINA MONIZ

AFTERANINE-YEAR break, Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) has re-entered the kids' entertainment space with KidZ, a dedicated children's vertical on ZEE5.

But rather than chasing scale alone, the platform is positioning itself around a sharper proposition: curation, safety and co-viewing. The offering includes over 140 titles such as Boonie Bears and Inspector Chingum, available in multiple languages, targeting children aged 6-13-Gen Alpha, a cohort that is both digitally native and increasingly discerning.

Chandan Khandelwal, business head, KidZ, & vice-president, platform strategy, ZEE5, says the platform will help to tap the growing business opportunity in the country's massive viewer base of children, estimated at 400 million."As a pan-India platform, we cannot afford to not cater to such a large, digitally savvy audience. A lot of households have connected TVs (CTVs) and families like to watch content together."

A "mom-approved" alternative

KidZ's key differentiator lies in howit frames the competitive landscape.

Instead of competing purely on content volume, ZEE is positioning the platform as a "mom-approved"alternative to the algorithm-driven sprawl of YouTube. "YouTube is the biggest competition not just in children's entertainment but every other genre.