ZEE’s technology & innovation centre implements first of its kind common media application format for ZEE5

ZEE5, India and Bharat’s largest home-grown video streaming platform has successfully adopted the Common Media Application Format (CMAF) at a wider scale to transform content delivery and enhance viewer experience. The innovative move, implemented by Company’s Technology & Innovation Centre based in Bengaluru, facilitates smoother video playback across devices and allows ZEE5 users to experience good AV quality even in areas with low internet bandwidth.

By optimizing bandwidth consumption and reducing operational costs, ZEE5 is expanding its reach to 100 million users, ensuring more viewers can have access to high-quality streaming. CMAF is a versatile and extensible standard designed to package segmented media, enabling seamless cross-device compatibility. By adopting CMAF, ZEE5 is not only ensuring an uninterrupted viewing experience but also reducing latency, a critical factor in live streaming of sports, news and events.

Reflecting on the impact of CMAF, Shiva Chinnasamy, Chief Technology and Product Officer, ZEE said, “Our strategic focus is to provide best-in-class AV experience even in areas with low internet. CMAF allows us to serve content more efficiently, ensuring no data wastage while delivering high-quality immersive experiences to every viewer, no matter their bandwidth. ZEE5 is focusing on building in-house capabilities to provide robust services and experience to their consumers and adoption of CMAF is a crucial step to achieve the same.”

Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 India, said, “At ZEE5, we remain focused on enhancing viewer experience through cutting-edge technology. Adopting the Common Media Application Format (CMAF) is a step forward in ZEE5’s vision to democratise access to quality entertainment. This ensures that even in regions with low internet connectivity, our users can enjoy seamless viewing experiences. This strategic move reflects our commitment to bring quality content to a broader audience, which also aligns with our goal of delivering immersive entertainment across multiple devices. CMAF represents a significant step in further refining how our viewers engage with content on our platform.”

Commenting on the success of the format, Suneel Khare, Senior Vice President and Head of Video Engineering, ZEE, said, “The implementation of CMAF is strategic. It allows us to streamline and improve our content delivery, enabling real-time low-latency streaming while significantly reducing data requirements. This enhancement ensures smoother playback even in regions with low bandwidth, expanding ZEE5’s reach to a broader audience, including those with limited internet access.” Passionate in Marketing