Zee Cafè (also known as Z Cafè) was an Indian pay television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. The channel mainly syndicated popular American and British television shows to appeal to the English-speaking population of India. Since April 1, 2026, the channel has been broadcasting popular sports tournaments (such as ILT20) in Hindi and is set to rebrand under the Zee Sports portfolio. The channel was fully transitioned and replaced with Unite8 Sports 1 (Hindi) on 2 June 2026.
History
Zee English was launched in the Indian subcontinent on 15 March 2000, as competition to Star World. Initially free-to-air, the channel was later encrypted as part of the Zee pay-television bouquet. The launch came when Zee TV started opting for digital signals to provide better signal clarity. It launched alongside Zee Movies; ZEEL had signed agreements with MGM, Pearson, Fremantle, Carlton and Passport International."Zee embraces Hollywood", Africa Film & TV Magazine, nº. 26, August-October 2000
The channel underwent a rebranding on 28 March 2005 and was renamed as Zee Café, along with a new logo and promotion deals.
The channel's high-definition feed was launched on 23 September 2015, for a bench test in limited markets and nationwide on 21 November 2015.
The channel ceased its operation as English Entertainment feed alongside its sister channel, &flix, on 31 March 2026. Both of whom were later replaced with Unite8 Sports, serving as Indian home for FIFA World Cup 2026.
International distribution Zee Café launched on Sky in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 15 July 2010. The channel originally served as the Zee's network hybrid channel, used to broadcast shows from a number of its existing channels in India.
On 11 September 2012, it was repositioned as a classics channel, airing re-runs of old Zee TV and Masala TV programming, covering cookery, dramas, horror and mythology. At the same time the channel became free-to-air.
On 10 June 2013, Zee Café UK was replaced by Lamhé, another free-to-air classics channel from Zee.
Programming Former programming
Comedy-Drama A Very English Scandal A Million Little Things The Carrie Diaries The Catch Hart of Dixie Make It or Break It The Mind of the Married Man The Mysteries of Laura No Tomorrow Pushing Daisies Red Band Society Togetherness Ugly Betty Weeds
Drama Agatha Christie's Poirot Agent X American Crime Army Wives The Arrangement The Assets The Astronaut Wives Club Believe Beyond Body of Proof Born to Kill Broken Central Park West Cloak & Dagger Code Black The Collection Criminal Minds Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders Criminal Minds: Beyond Boundaries Charmed City on a Hill Doctor Foster Dexter Dynasty Evil ER Eye Candy FBI Famous in Love The First Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond The Following The Fosters From Darkness The Fugitive Gilmore Girls The Good Fight The Good Wife Grey's Anatomy Gossip Girl Gotham Guerrilla Haven Hostages House of Cards Huge Inhumans In the Dark The Kettering Incident Kung Fu La Femme Nikita Les Misérables Lethal Weapon Lost L.A.'s Finest The Loudest Voice Maigret The Mentalist Mistresses MotherFatherSon Murder in the First Magnum P.I. McMafia Nancy Drew New Blood The Night Manager No Ordinary Family The Originals The O.C. Oz Our Girl Paula Penny Dreadful Penny Dreadful: City of Angels Perception Press Pretty Little Liars Raising the Bar Recovery Road Reign Renegade Resurrection Rizzoli & Isles Rookie Blue Runaways Rush Hour Riverdale SEAL Team Scandal Secrets and Lies The Shannara Chronicles She Spies The Sinner Six Feet Under The Son The Sopranos The Split SS-GB Still Star-Crossed Switched at Birth Taboo Terminator: TSCC Thirteen Time After Time Top of the Lake Training Day The Twilight Zone Twisted Unforgotten Valor The Vampire Diaries War and Peace The West Wing Wisdom of the Crowd Wolf Hall The Young Pope
Reality/other America's Funniest Home Videos America's Got Talent (moved to Colors Infinity) American Idol Chef Vs Fridge Candid Camera Celebrity Family Feud Celebrity Name Game The Chefs' Line The Cut The David Letterman Show Drop the Mic The Ellen DeGeneres Show Fameless Family Food Fight The Gong Show Got to Dance Just for Laughs Gags Keeping Up with the Kardashians Live at the Apollo Love Island UK MasterChef Australia Oliver's Twist Splatalot! Survivor: China Top 20 Funniest The Tonight Show with Jay Leno The Drew Barrymore Show The Late Late Show with James Corden The Titan Games The Toy Box Victoria's Secret Fashion Show World of Dance Wheel of Fortune UK The X Factor
Science Fiction The 100 11.22.63 BattleBots Class Colony (shared with Star World) Counterpart Journeyman Star Trek: Discovery The Whispers
Superheroes Supergirl
Sitcoms 2 Broke Girls 9JKL 18 to Life Aliens in America American Housewife Back to You Better with You The Benny Hill Show The Big Bang Theory (shared with Star World) Community Caroline in the City Carol's Second Act Cougar Town Everybody Loves Raymond Friends Full House The Great Indoors Ground Floor Happy Endings Happy Together Here's Lucy The Hogan Family I Dream of Jeannie Joey Just Shoot Me! The King of Queens Kevin from Work Mad About You Malibu Country Melissa & Joey The Middle Mike & Molly The Millers The Unicorn Mind Your Language Mixology My Wife and Kids The Odd Couple Parks and Recreation Our Cartoon President The Real O'Neals Rules of Engagement Seinfeld Selfie Three's Company Trial & Error Two and a Half Men Unhitched Will & Grace Young and Hungry
Anime Blood+ Death Note Guin Saga Kabutoborg Kurozuka Marvel Anime Blade Marvel Anime Iron Man Marvel Anime Wolverine Ultraviolet: Code 044 Viper's Creed Valkyria Chronicles
Documentary Mayday Zero Hour
See also List of Indian television stations Zee Network
References
External links Zee Cafe Official website Zee Network Zee5