Disney+ Hotstar India Content Chief Reveals Growth Strategy

EXCLUSIVE: Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions has entered into a strategic content partnership with fellow Indian production house, Sikhya Entertainment, founded by Guneet Monga.

Tara Karajica On Tuesday, on the eve of the opening of Belgrade’s Beldocs Film Festival, festival director Mara Prohaska Markovic sent her condolences to the families of those killed in two mass shootings in Serbia in recent weeks, including one in Belgrade. After a minute’s silence, Prohaska Markovic presented the films that will screen in the 16th edition of the festival, which runs May 10-17. The festival opens with Mladen Kovačević’s “Another Spring,” about the 1972 smallpox epidemic in Yugoslavia, and will close with a film about Serbian rapper Dalibor Andonov Gru, “Gru Is Here.”

India Amarteifio is all everyone is talking about after the debut of Queen Charlotte on Netflix.

Naman Ramachandran Indian studio Excel Entertainment has promoted business head Vishal Ramchandani to the newly created position of CEO. An MBA by qualification, Ramchandani joined Excel in 2008, in the marketing division. In 2013, he was entrusted with the duties of heading the division, where he spearheaded award-winning marketing campaigns for films such as “Fukrey,” “Baar Baar Dekho,” “Gold” and “Gully Boy.” In 2018, Ramchandani was elevated to the position of business head. In this role, he played a pivotal role in transforming Excel Entertainment from a creative production house to a studio that self-funds, markets and distributes its films. Under his leadership, the company’s distribution business diversified with the K.G.F. franchise, which became a nationwide blockbuster. He was also instrumental in Excel expanding into different verticals such as a talent division and co-production deals, as well as facilitating new media ventures.

EXCLUSIVE: With the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike underway, and guilds around the world expressing solidarity, issues surrounding writers and the way they’re compensated have become front and center of a global conversation. 

EXCLUSIVE: In February, we told you a second season of The Night Manager is finally under way for the BBC and Amazon, and we can now confirm Disney+ Hotstar is readying the next part of the Indian remake.

Naman Ramachandran The next decade will belong to Indian stories, according to Sushant Sreeram, country director of Prime Video India. Sreeram was delivering a keynote at the ongoing FICCI-Frames 2023 convention in Mumbai. “The coming decade belongs to Indian stories, with streaming enabling expansion of linguistic palette and content diversity,” Sreeram said. The executive also highlighted the impact of streaming services on the Indian media and entertainment industry, noting their role in taking Indian stories to a global audience. “By offering convenient and easy access to the finest Indian content, OTT [streaming] players have made Indian entertainment accessible to viewers worldwide,” Sreeram said.

Naman Ramachandran The Indian media and entertainment industry grew 20% to reach INR2.1 trillion ($26 billion) in 2022, 10% above pre-pandemic 2019, according to the annual EY report released during the ongoing Frames conference in Mumbai, organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The report collates data from television, digital media, film, animation and VFX, out of home media, live events, music, radio, online gaming and print. Overall, the M&E sector is projected to grow 12% to reach $28.6 billion in 2023, the report says. While television remained the single largest component of the M&E sector in 2022 with a valuation of $8.6 billion, it shrank 1.5% from 2021 levels, despite advertising revenues growing 2% to reach levels just behind 2019. The reason for the shrinkage is that subscription revenue continued to fall for the third year in a row, reducing 4% due to a reduction of five million pay-TV homes and stagnant average revenues per user. Linear TV viewership declined 7% over 2021. Television is projected to grow slightly to $8.8 billion this year.

Naman Ramachandran Indian media and entertainment company IN10 Media Network has launched its film division, MovieVerse Studios. The film studio aims to “produce fresh and engaging content in Hindi and regional languages that connect with theatre-going audiences and those on streaming platforms,” the studio said in a statement. The studio has revealed a diverse slate across genres. These include an action survival rescue drama based on a true story in partnership with Bake My Cake Films, helmed by Sandeep Leyzell and Shobhna Yadav, which has hit films like “Batla House,” “Dasvi” and the upcoming “Tehran” to its credit. It will be directed by Umang Vyas (“Ventilator,” “Dear Father”).

Naman Ramachandran India is the fastest growing market market in the world for giant streamer Netflix and Monika Shergill, VP, content, for the country, has a clear plan to keep the trajectory going. “A healthy streaming business, according to us, has to be built on the strong fundamentals of engagement, where we are doing very well, and revenue and profit as a global service. We are a profitable service – in many of our markets, we are on the path to profitability,” Shergill told Variety. Earlier this year, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos had said that content watching grew by 30% last year in India and revenue grew by 25%. In a subsequent earnings call, Sarandos addressed the importance of pricing in India, saying: “We’ve got to get pricing and the main payment methods right.”

Naman Ramachandran India’s official entry to the 2023 Oscars, Pan Nalin’s “Last Film Show,” and Rima Das’ acclaimed 2017 festival favorite “Village Rockstars,” are amongst the films screening at the inaugural Nirvana – Festival de la Culture et du Cinema Indiens. Taking place in Saint-Tropez May 26-28, the festival will also screen Shubhashish Bhutiani’s 2016 Venice winner “Hotel Salvation” and Rajat Kapoor’s “RK/RKAY” (2022). On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, the director’s cut of the international version of Ketan Mehta’s freedom fight themed “The Rising” (2005) will be screened. Indian filmmakers Sundaram Tagore, Deepa Sahi, Surina Narula and Sanjay Bhutiani will speak at a roundtable on Indo-French cinema.

Hank Azaria has previously expressed his regret for playing the character Apu in The Simpsons, with a stereotypical Indian accent. 

Naman Ramachandran Indian streamer Sony LIV and production house Applause Entertainment have extended their existing partnership with two new series and renewals for four more. Among the new series, “36 Days,” produced in association with BBC Studios India is a suspense thriller, directed by Vishal Furia, featuring an ensemble cast including Neha Sharma, Purab Kohli, Shruti Seth, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Amruta Khanvilkar, Sharib Hashmi, Shernaz Patel, Faishal Rashid, Chahat Vig and Kenneth Desai. “Kafas” (“Cage”) is a social drama series starring Sharman Joshi, Mona Singh, Vivan Bhathena, Preeti Jhangiani and Mikail Gandhi in lead roles and directed by Sahil Sangha.

Viacom18 have revealed a multi-year agreement making JioCinema India’s new streaming home for HBO, Max Original and Warner Bros. content from May. The WBD content had previously been carried on the Disney-owned Star TV platform. But the deal with Star expired at the end of March. WBD sources have confirmed that, except for a handful of shows licensed to third parties, HBO content has been absent from Indian airwaves since the beginning of the month. The new deal is another major victory for Mukesh Ambani, one of India’s richest and most politically influential businessmen. His Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is behind Viacom18 and the JioCinema streaming platform, as well as India’s dominant cellular phone and broadband internet providers.

Warner Bros Discovery has signed a multi-year licensing deal with Viacom18 under which its JioCinema service will become the new streaming home of HBO, Max Original and Warner Bros content in India starting next month. 

Naman Ramachandran Internationally sourced programming and stories placed alongside local content could be a solution to bring audiences back to Indian cinemas, a high-powered panel debated. The panel was part of Indiantelevision.com’s annual industry event, The Content Hub, that recently concluded in Mumbai. Mayank Shroff, head of film distribution at Cinepolis, the Indian division of Latin American exhibition giant Cinepolis, said that while footfalls were back to 85% of pre-pandemic days, an innovative approach is required to bring the rest of the audiences back. Shroff pointed to the success of Makoto Shinkai’s anime film “Suzume,” which accounted for 20% of the Cinepolis box office over the past weekend and “Evil Dead Rise,” which also pulled in decent numbers, both in the face of stiff competition from Eid holiday release “Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan,” starring superstar Salman Khan. Shroff also said that there was demand for Korean films and K-pop concerts, notably by BTS, streamed into cinemas live or as recordings. He added that that the international content was working in their original languages in the metropolises and can be customized into local languages for release in tier 2 and 3 centers.

Naman Ramachandran DocuBay, the international documentary streaming service from India’s IN10 Media Network, has launched an original slate with six feature-length documentaries. “Monogamy Disrupted” and “Water Mafia” produced by Vice Studios India, delve into the lives of those who identify as polyamorous and the sinister effects of water mafia across socio-economic classes, respectively. “Bad Toys Inc.” developed by G.O.A.T Studios showcases how sex toys are elevating the perception of pleasure across cities and towns in India while “B.P.O (Bogus Phone Operators),” developed by Nirvaan Entertainment, tells the story of how an organized gang of confidence tricksters defrauded thousands of U.S. citizens of millions of dollars, shocking the law and order authorities in India and the FBI.

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, Music Rocío Guerrero, global head of Latin music at Amazon Music, has collected many professional accolades over her career. If there’s a power list of women in the industry, she’s on it. Latin leaders? She’s there, too.

Naman Ramachandran A galaxy of senior Indian content creators shared their insights on burning topics dominating the local landscape. They were speaking at at Indiantelevision.com’s annual industry event, The Content Hub, in Mumbai on Tuesday. At the Content Creation: No More Formulas panel, Shobha Sant, head of content alliances at Jio Studios, broke down the process behind the selection of its 100-title slate. Sant said that the selection was the result of five years of very a definite plan in terms of understanding audience segmentation and what people are watching.

Naman Ramachandran Shooting has resumed for the third season of hit series “Aarya” at Jaipur, western India, locations. The producers have revealed a teaser. An adaptation of Dutch show “Penoza,” where a woman has to join a mafia gang and avenge her slain husband, the series is headlined by former Miss Universe and top Bollywood star Sushmita Sen, for whom season 1 was a triumphant comeback after a five-year break due to illness. She plays the title role of Aarya Sareen, a fierce mother who has to keep her family safe from the world of crime. The first season was nominated for best drama series at the International Emmy Awards. The Hotstar Special is produced by Endemol Shine India and Ram Madhvani Films and will stream soon exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar.