•    Becomes First Indian in History to Receive this Prestigious Honor;

•    Award is presented by Citigroup's Chairman and Emmy Award-winning Actress

Subhash Chandra, the Founder of Zee Group (its ZEE TV — India's first Hindi satellite channel), received the 2011 International Emmy® Directorate Award.  Mr. Chandra made history by becoming the first ever Directorate Award recipient from India.  The award was presented at 39th International Emmy® Awards, which took place on Monday, November 21st at the Hilton New York in New York City. 

“Subhash Chandra is a one of a kind visionary- a self-made entrepreneur who made his mark on the Indian television industry by launching the first privately-owned channel in India,” said Bruce Paisner, President & CEO of The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. “We happy to present him with our 2011 International Emmy Directorate Award as Zee Entertainment Enterprises prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary, in 2012.”

Remarked Mr. Chandra, “India is the cynosure of the world today and it's a great privilege to be the first Indian recipient of this award. It really means a lot to me, Zee Group and the Indian media and entertainment Industry.”  He added, “While there have been many representations from India in the areas of technology and retail, this puts India's media industry on the map and raises the profile of India with regards to its media and content.”

Richard Parsons, Citigroup chairman and former chairman and CEO of Time Warner, along with Emmy Award-winning actress Archie Panjabi (CBS Network's critically acclaimed hit drama “The Good Wife”) present the International Emmy Directorate Award to Mr. Chandra during The International Emmy Awards Gala.

The 39th International Emmy® Awards were hosted by Jason Priestley, who was joined on stage by a cast of international celebrity presenters. Actor, director and producer, Mr. Priestley (Call Me Fitz, Bag of Bones, Beverly Hills 90210) was hosting for the second consecutive year. He was be joined on stage by Mr. Parsons, Ms. Panjabi and a cast of presenters including, Brazilian actor Vladimir Brichta, Jeff Hephner (Starz' Boss), Edward Herrmann (Gilmore Girls), Rick Hoffmann (USA Network's Suits); John Larroquette, Danny Pino (NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Ally Sheedy, Blanca Soto (Univision's Eva Luna and El Talismán), Jessica Szohr (Gossip Girl); Wendy Williams (host of syndicated talk show The Wendy Williams Show) and Goku and Luffy (characters from Toei Animation's animated hit Dragon Ball Z and One Piece).

The International Emmy® Awards recognize excellence in television programming produced outside of the United States. 1,000 international entertainment decision-makers from over 50 countries attend the International Emmy® Awards Gala in New York every year. For a list of nominees, visit http://iemmys.tv/news_item.aspx?id=136.


For further information about auditions, please contact Babita Bahal, Babita.bahal@zeetv.co.uk

Zee Network Launched in 1995, Zee Network, UK was the first South Asian Entertainment Network of its kind.  Since then it has grown in popularity and become synonymous with South Asian entertainment.  Zee has continually entertained and engages audiences with a unique blend of high-quality, localised and innovative programming. It also offers the world's largest Hindi film library, with an option of English and French subtitles.   Worldwide Zee reaches 71 million households across 168 countries and 500 million viewers through a global entertainment network

Zee is amongst the largest producers and aggregators of Hindi and other South Asian regional language programming in the world. With its commitment to meet audience needs, it has brought five entertainment channels to the UK viewers which include:

Zee TV - The leading South Asian Entertainment channel in the UK and Europe. Its multi-genre info-tainment offering includes dramas, soaps, reality and talent shows, films and news. Available on Sky 788 and Virgin Media 809. 

Zee Café - The newest addition to the Zee pack, with programmes catering to a male audience including yearlong cricket.  The newest addition to the Zee pack, with programmes catering to a male audience including yearlong cricket, news,
current affairs and business show. Sky 846.

Zee Cinema - A 24 hour movie channel showcasing the best of Bollywood films from the latest blockbusters to yesteryear classics, as well as magazine shows around celebrity lives. Available on Sky 790 and Virgin Media  810.

Zee Punjabi - The UK's only Punjabi entertainment channel offering daily, live Gurbani from India, along with drama programmes, music and comedy shows and news. Available on Sky 798 and Virgin Media 812.

Zing - A Bollywood, music and entertainment channel featuring playlists comprising Bollywood hits and classics, British Asian music and Asian music videos, as well as behind the scene shows. Available free on Sky 789 and Freesat 509.  Also available on your mobile for FREE on Yamgo TV
www.yamgo.mobi/zing.  The Zing website also hosts the latest Bollywood news and gossip.

In addition

Zee Russia - A 24 hour entertainment channel dubbed in Russian covering multiple genres of Bollywood movies, travel, music, food, lifestyle, Indian fashion and family dramas. Available across Russia and reaching countries in the CIS and Baltic areas.

More information about Zee is available at http://www.zeetv.co.uk