ZEE5 elevates Alisha Coelho to AVoD business head
CE DESK 
ZEE5 has elevated Alisha Coelho to AVoD Business Head, entrusting her with the mandate to grow and reimagine Free5, the platform’s advertising-led content universe offering free movies, series, micro dramas, live channels and more. The move marks Coelho’s transition from a primarily content-focused leadership role into a broader business mandate spanning AVoD growth, product and monetisation.
She took up the role in July 2026, after serving as Senior Vice President – Content, India & Global Markets since November 2024. In that position, she managed content acquisition, localisation, publishing, network alliances and merchandising services for ZEE5’s India and international markets, overseeing pipelines processing millions of assets annually across subtitling, dubbing and localisation.
Coelho has been with ZEE5 since September 2022, rising through the ranks from Senior Vice President Content, India to her most recent content leadership role before this elevation. Along the way, she has run movie and series acquisitions worth tens of millions of dollars, pushed data-driven merchandising and integrated AI-led discovery tools into the platform’s product stack.
The promotion comes as ZEE5 doubles down on its free, ad-supported tier to widen the top of the funnel beyond paying subscribers. Free5 is positioned as a key growth lever for the platform, especially as ZEE5 looks to scale micro dramas, live channels and regional content while improving ad yield and user engagement.
ZEE5 turned profitable in FY26, aided by a language-focused content strategy, a stronger slate and UX improvements, with revenue up 53% year-on-year to around ₹14,888 million. Coelho’s expanded remit signals that ZEE5 now sees AVoD not just as a user-acquisition tool but as a core revenue stream that must be managed with the same rigour as SVOD.
