Zee5 launches ZAP advertiser platform built with Saptharushi
The platform uses consented partner data to build audience groups, keeping raw data within each partner's own systems.
Key facts
Story- Zee5 launched the Zee5 Audience Platform (ZAP), built with audience intelligence firm Saptharushi, on 2 November.
- Advertisers can build audience groups using viewing habits and consented purchase and behaviour signals from partners.
- Zee5 said the model keeps data inside partner systems and fits India's DPDP data protection framework.
Streaming platform Zee5 has launched a new advertising tool called the Zee5 Audience Platform, or ZAP. The platform is powered by Saptharushi, a company that works on audience intelligence and shares data without moving it between firms. Zee5 announced the launch on 2 November 2026.
ZAP combines Zee5's viewing and engagement data with behavioural and transactional signals from participating partners, provided with consent. Advertisers can use these signals to form audience groups based on category relevance, intent and purchase behaviour. Zee5 said the groups can go well beyond basic demographic targeting.
The company said the data stays within each partner's own environment. Partners collaborate by answering consented queries, not by passing data to one another. Zee5 said this approach follows the principles of India's Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) framework. Partner names beyond Saptharushi were not listed in the announcement. One report described partners in quick commerce and digital payments.
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Rewards and new formats
The company also plans to explore reward-led formats built around premium content and sports, including co-branded attention and loyalty rewards. These are meant to give brands more ways to engage viewers than standard advertising.
Tejkarran Singh Bajaj, Business Head, Zee 5 India and AI & Innovation, said the company is aiming for a broader entertainment offer. "With ZAP, we are taking this proposition further through an industry-first approach to audience intelligence and activation," he said. He described a catalogue that spans premium subscription content, the free tier Free 5, sports, children's content, and a range of other programming, from Korean and Chinese dramas to anime, short-form series, news, creator-led content and English movies.
Viewers may see ads targeted using these partner signals. The announcement did not say how this will appear on screen.
Zee5 has not said when ZAP will be available to all advertisers, how many partners have joined, or how it will price the service. The reward formats are described as exploratory, so their timing and details are not yet known.
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