Subhash Chandra Announces $250 Million Fund for Veria Living

NEW YORK: In New York ahead of the International Emmy Awards Gala on Monday, where he will receive the Directorate Award, Zee Group chairman Subhash Chandra has announced the creation of a $250 million content development fund for the U.S. health and lifestyle network Veria Living.

The fund will go towards the development, production, co-production and acquisition of content for Veria Living, which is carried on DISH Network, Verizon FiOS and Frontier Communications. The $250 million investment is part of Zee’s five-year plan to expand Veria’s presence. “We are firmly committed to growing the Veria brand across television, Internet, mobile and OTT platforms. By focusing on original content development and production we’re not only looking to build a broad U.S. audience for Veria Living, but also setting the table for the expansion of the brand globally over the next couple of years.”

The channel recently unveiled a new prime-time programming line-up and a new website. Talent lined up for content on the channel includes Jewel, Deion Sanders and Yogi Cameron. "We not only want to appeal to our core 35-44 adult and 25-54 women demos, but to all Americans who are looking to lead healthier lives," said Suresh Bala Iyer, CEO of Asia TV USA, which manages Veria Living and Zee’s portfolio of Indian networks in the U.S. "Veria Living helps them to achieve this by passionately advocating for quality and vitality of life by following proven wellness and nutritional activities. This fund will go a long way towards helping us to achieve our goals while creating the most entertaining content possible that fits our mission.”