ZEE Network is set to launch a 24-hour movie channel in Russia in September that will telecast Indian films dubbed in Russian.

The company in March had launched a 24-hour channel in Bahasa language in Indonesia, taking its international channel portfolio to 17, in addition to the 25 services it telecasts within the country, said Mr Subash Chandra, Chairman, ZEE Telefilms Ltd, in an interview to Business Line.

Earlier, addressing the Madras Management Association, he said of his various foreign language forays: "Films are the best medium to spread our culture." On today's TV programming, he said the stories and themes, though fetched high TRPs, did not reflect the present state of society. "ZEE is consciously making an effort to change programming," he told this newspaper later. A recent experiment was introducing one hour-long serial formats, which, Mr Chandra said, does pull in viewers. "It seems to be working as people are liking it," he added.

Commenting on ZEE's better showing in the viewership sweepstakes for its various shows, Mr Chandra said that "certain" things catch the attention of viewers and get them to watch programmes. "And, also, quite often, viewer fatigue from competition forces them to try others," he said. He was bullish on the growth of direct-to-home television in the country. "There will be a drastic change in the DTH business in one year," he said.