Zing paves the future path of British Asian entertainment

The channel innovates with a locally produced daily soap - Cloud 9

UK’s No.1 Asian Lifestyle Channel Zing is all set to broadcast a locally produced drama series in an initiative never seen before on UK Asian Television. With the onset of the festive mood and bringing in the new year, the channel will launch a soap called Cloud 9 on 7^th January 2013, occupying the weekday prime time slot of 6:30pm.

Cloud 9 represents a milestone in Asian entertainment as it is the very first daily soap-series to be produced in the UK, specifically catering to the UK Asian audiences. This soap highlights the British Asian lifestyle, drawing on themes relevant to their way of life. In a never-before-seen method, the soap showcases the British Asian community in its true form, taking away stereotype perceptions regarding the UK’s largest ethnic group - the South Asians.

The new soap encompasses the lives of the residents of a London town, presenting a range of characters, explored by the soap’s pivotal star Ajay - a young Brit-Asian finding his way in life. Following his story and spiraling the highs of love, dreams and reality - the soap highlights various aspects that make this a special town called ‘Cloud 9’, which brings to life important British Asian values of family life, aspirations, tradition and modernity.

Keeping in line with the elements of multi-cultural British life, the cast will feature a mix of Brit Asian, English, plus true ‘desi’ characters. There will be high-brow names in the casting and the production, with the on-air quality not falling short of mainstream standards. The series will be entirely in English.

Archana Kanade, Zing Business Head says “The future of British Asian TV is here! With Cloud 9, Zing is taking Asian entertainment in the UK to the next level. Zing strives to give its target audience what they want plus more. Cloud 9 is the product of extensive research and background work enabling us to tailor the soap to the taste of the Brit-Asian psyche, presenting their world to them on the small screen for the first time. This soap comes at a time when the Asian population is growing rapidly and is the largest ethnic population in the UK. Numbers have gone up phenomenally since the last Census and it is this audience that Cloud 9 will cater to.”

Zing has always been a trendsetter with initiatives such as the first local Bollywood and Hollywood news and magazine show Brit’s Bollywood. It also aired its Brit-Asian talk-show Rock The Vibe earlier this year. Its fast paced entertainment means the channel already scores highly amongst the 16-40 year old audience and with Cloud 9, it will be taking a step further in strengthening its commitment of relevant quality content for the local audiences.

The show will start with a huge marketing push, with the first teaser promos already running across the ZEE channels. Look forward to the show, starting from 7^th January 2013, Mon-Fri 6:30pm on Zing - Sky 789 and Freesat 509.

For the latest on Cloud 9, follow Zing UK on Facebook and Zing TV UK on Twitter.

Bollywood, Music and Entertainment channel Zing presents a unique local interactive show, Rock The Vibe.

Starting from 21 May, weekdays at 4:30pm, Rock The Vibe is an entertainment show that will get audiences talking – with discussions on a new topic every day, designed especially for the Asians of Britain. Adding a touch of glamour – special episodes will see lucky callers getting to speak with celebrities. And the show has pulled out all stops  to feature UK’s global talent Jay Sean in its very first episode on Monday 21 May, 4:30pm.

From relationships to marriage, fashion, food, movies, Bollywood, celebrities to local happenings – a range of Brit-Asian themes will be explored in each episode. All this will be in direct discussion with the viewers themselves – who will be invited to share their views and experiences via calls and messages. The show will make the most of the new-age power of social media in TV, with  each episode going beyond TV to discussions on the web, Facebook and Twitter.

Archana Kanade, Zing Channel Head, UK “Rock The Vibe puts the viewer at the heart of its entertainment. It’s a unique concept set to bring a local touch to connecting with Zing’s audiences on the trends that are in with the youth of Britain today. Keeping with current trends, the show will build an interactive relationship with its viewers - with trivia and topics being tweeted and facebooked about beyond the front room TV - engaging with viewers with a  personal touch. The show will also give viewers the chance to not only catch their favourite celebs on-screen, but also hear their views, join in and speak with them. We want the audience to guide the show so come on board and Rock The Vibe!”

The show will be presented by Zing’s very own VJ and Actor-Producer Asad Shan, current presenter on Zing’s other local offering Brit’s Bollywood. Speaking of the show, he says “This will be one cool experience for the people! The show is bursting with a variety of highlights. With so much going on in each episode the viewers are in for a treat! I cannot wait to get talking with the young Asians of Britain - finally they get a show built around them.”

Discussions on the show will be alongside Bollywood, Pop, Urban, Bhangra and alternate music, with viewers again able to view their choices. A mix of competitions and give-aways will also get the vibe flowing.

Zing will be celebrating the start of the show with a Rock The Vibe Launch Party on 19 May, at Jewel Bar, St Pauls, London, in association with Voodoo Entertainment. Join in for the party of the year!

Watch out for upcoming special celebrity features. Join in the show every Monday to Friday at 4:30pm from 21 May, repeated at 9:30pm – not missing Jay Sean on the premiere episode! For the latest on the show and to get involved, follow Rock The Vibe on Facebook and Twitter.

The show is gaining huge support from the UK media industry:

Raj Ghai, Director of Media Moguls, London “I am delighted with the concept of a locally produced daily show for the Asian community in the UK. It’s something that’s been greatly lacking and I congratulate Zing for having the initiative to fill the gap. I also applaud Zing for having the foresight to extensively include social media in this project, thereby reaching out to a whole new generation of savvy Asians.  I know for sure that my music clients, like Jay Sean, will be thrilled to have a brand new and exciting platform for them to share their talents with. Asian TV comes of age!”

Pedro Carvalho, Director of Fnik, London “It’s so good to see British Asian’s being given a daily television platform to air their talents, Zing is about to make this extraordinary move, which I’m sure will make changes to many people’s viewing habits. There is no excuse to  now say  that you can’t see good quality music videos and interesting lifestyle stories on British Asian TV, and to add to this, viewers can also participate in the show by calling in. If you miss this high quality daily show on Zing then you may as well throw your TV away!”

Waleed Jahangir, Director of Mumbai Rouge Entertainment, London “This program will fill a major gap for young ethnic youth from around the world.  UK has become a hub for ethnic entertainment worldwide and this program is a great platform for all events and news.  I salute Zing for recognising the needs of British Asian entertainment.   This will be great for all our events and artists and will benefit the industry in a big way. Something new, something unique and at last something for the Brit Asians. Making the show interactive is a great idea and adding a celebrity factor takes the entertainment to yet another level. Looking forward to this!”