Zee Aflam, the first 24-hour Bollywood film channel dedicated to an Arabic audience, has recorded a year-on-year growth in reach by over 22 per cent in 2011, according to an industry report.

Marking its third year of operations in the Middle East, the pan-Arab channel also recorded a 36 per cent increase in ratings, the report said.

Zee Aflam, part of Zee Entertainment, a major television network, has established its credentials in the Mena region as the ‘gateway to Bollywood for Arabic audiences.’

Tailoring its programming content to suit local sensitivities, the films screened on Zee Aflam’s growth in viewership spans all Arabs – both male and female – highlighting the increasing acceptance of the channel as a family entertainment medium, a statement said.

“In the past three years, Zee Aflam has set a new imprint in the Arabic entertainment industry by offering, for the first time, 24-hour Bollywood film entertainment,” said Mukund Cairae, chief executive officer & executive vice president – Menap, Zee Entertainment Enterprise.

“This was a perfect fit to the audience preferences, with Hindi films enjoying huge popularity among Arabic-speaking audiences across the Mena region.”

“In addition to introducing super-hit Bollywood films dubbed into Arabic, Zee Aflam has evolved as a preferred family channel, as indicated by the growing reach and ratings in the past years. Zee Aflam is also being increasingly preferred by marketing professionals as a channel of choice for reaching out to a captive audience of Arabic families,” he added.

With its headquarters in Dubai, UAE and office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Zee Aflam evaluates regional preferences in the selection of its movie programming. All the films are edited and adapted keeping in mind the tastes of the Arabic audience.

This year, the channel is focusing on strengthening its programming mix with the latest Bollywood movies to be telecast every week as well as a blockbuster every month.

Two popular Bollywood movies that are dubbed in Arabic will also be screened weekly.

Additionally new film-based features and celebrity interviews will also be introduced. As part of further building its film library, Zee Aflam is also in discussions with leading Bollywood production houses.

“With one of the largest movie libraries in the world already, Zee Aflam has a definitive edge in terms of the film programming, enabling us to telecast movies that appeal to Arabic audiences,” Cairae concluded. – TradeArabia News Service