ITV

Category: Film Production

  • Shemaroo Entertainment Ties-up with TikTok and Vigo Video

    Shemaroo Entertainment Ties-up with TikTok and Vigo Video

    MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment Limited, a leading content powerhouse has tied-up with Vigo Video and TikTok. This association will promote Shemaroo’s Bollywood merchandise brand – Yedaz. Yedaz – Bollywood Madness by Shemaroo is the official Bollywood licensing and merchandising rights holder with a presence in more than 15 different categories like T-shirts, coffee mugs, coasters, mobile covers, cushions and other exciting product line-ups, Vigo Video and TikTok apps are renowned for creating, sharing and discovering short user generated videos. Both the apps are leading the top charts of Google Play store and iOS free app charts.

    In the first phase of partnership between Yedaz by Shemaroo and Vigo Video will see the audio and video content of Shemaroo on Vigo Video platform, followed by a presence on TikTok in the next phase. Consumers who login to TikTok and Vigo platforms will have access to a wide array of famous Bollywood dialogues and music from Shemaroo’s library of blockbusters. They can make promotion videos enacting the popular dialogues from epic Bollywood movies. In addition, the Vigo app will be promoted on Shemaroo’s social media and other media assets.

    For all the Bollywood buffs who expect some surprise, Shemaroo will upload  their exclusive and iconic dialogues which will be used as skins by audiences who participate in Yedaz-Vigo contest. The winners of this contest will win exclusive gift hampers from Yedaz along with exciting discounts and offers for purchasing exclusive Bollywood merchandise on Yedaz.com.

  • Eros International profits up in first quarter

    Eros International profits up in first quarter

    BENGALURU: The Sunil Lulla-led Indian film and media company Eros International Media Limited (Eros) reported 25.3 per cent year on year (y-o-y) jump in profit after tax (PAT) for the quarter ended 30 June 2018 (Q1 2018, quarter, period under review) as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter (Q1 2018). Eros reported PAT at Rs 59.95 as compared to PAT of Rs 47.86 crore in Q1 2018. On account of items that will be classified later as a profit or a loss, total comprehensive income more than doubled (up 1.31 times)y-o-y to Rs 100.91 crore in Q1 2019 from Rs 43.56 crore.Calculated simple EBIDTA for the period under review increased 48.6 per cent y-o-y to Rs 93.33 crore (42.8 per cent of operating revenue) from Rs 47.86 crores (24.2 per cent of operating revenue.)

    Eros operating revenue in Q1 2019 declined 16.1 per cent y-o-y to Rs 217.93 crore from Rs 259.62 crore. Total Income declined 18.2 per cent y-o-y to Rs 223.57 crore from Rs 273.36 crore.

    The company says in its earnings presentation that revenues during the quarter were driven by releases of Bhavesh Joshi(Hindi), Meri Nimmo (Digital release), Blackmail (Overseas), Haami (Bengali), Goodnight City (Bengali), Alinagarer

    Golokdhadha (Bengali) and others. Eros released a total of 14 films during the quarter, consisting of 1 medium budget and 13 low budget films  as compared to 5 films in Q1  2018, consisting of 1 High Budget, 1 Medium Budget and 3 Low Budget Films). TV and Others segment included satellite sales of catalogue films to Zee TV and others.

    Eros says that Theatrical Revenues contributed – 30.7 per cent, Overseas Revenues – 12.6 per cent and Television & Others – 56.7 per cent as a percentage of income from operations.

    Company speak

    Eros executive vice chairman and MD Lulla  said: “We have started the year on an excellent note on operational and strategic parameters. Our strategy of a content driven approach reflected in a robust green lighting process enabling us to de-risk our model. Our film content is deeply researched and evaluated for its revenue potential across platforms and markets by our business leaders, due to which we were able to again deliver margin enhancing performance in Q1 2019.

    The new JV kicking in with V. Vijayendra Prasad for Hindi and regional content and Reliance Eros Productions LLP for USD 150 million already in process is bound further boost our content strategy and reflect in our financial performance in the forthcoming quarters. The first quarter was marked by the successful releases of our films which contributed to the overall growth. Our strong slate across languages, active pre-sales and catalogue monetization of our films ‘ library further supported the performance during the quarter. Looking ahead, we have drawn a compelling line-up for the remainder of the year featuring high-potential movies such as Color Yellow Productions Happy Phir Bhaag Jayegi, Anurag Kashyap’s Manmarziyan, the IndiaChina co-productions, Panda by Kabir Khan, trilingual Haathi mere Saathi and multiple other films across languages.

    Lulla further added, “As always, we continue to be a pioneer in industry innovations in catering to the changing tastes and preferences of the audiences. In this quarter, we released Meri Nimmo straight-to-digital on the Eros Now platform. I am happy to share that the film received a tremendous response from the audience and we look forward to launching more such films and originals on the Eros Now platform during the course of this fiscal. Along with it the roll-out of fresh and strong original content, makes us confident that the pace of subscriber addition for Eros Now will further accelerate, going from 50 to 100 cities and almost doubling the subscriber base to 16 million by end of the Fiscal year.”

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by the company

    Total Expenditure (TE) during the period under review declined 32.8 per cent y-o-y to Rs 146.45 crore as compared to Rs 217.81 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

    Films rights costs including amortisation costs in Q1 2019 declined 29.6 per cent y-o-y to Rs 90.15 crore from Rs 128.12 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Employee Benefits Expense in Q1 2019 declined 14.5 per cent y-o-y to Rs 13.54 crore as compared to Rs 15.83 crore in Q1 2018. Other expenses (OE) in the Q1 2019 reduced 63.8 per cent y-o-y to Rs 19.15 crore as compared to Rs 52.84 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Finance costs in Q1 2019 increased 5 per cent y-o-y to in Q1 2019  Rs 19.5 crore from Rs 18.58 crore.

  • IPL powers 21st Century Fox’s international ad revenue

    IPL powers 21st Century Fox’s international ad revenue

    MUMBAI: At a point when Rupert Murdoch’s media empire 21st Century Fox is preparing to sell the bulk of its film and TV assets to Walt Disney Co (Disney), its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings beat analysts’ expectations. The conglomerate’s total revenue was up 18 per cent from $6.7bn to $7.9bn in the April-June quarter thanks to the higher content revenues at the Filmed Entertainment segment and higher affiliate and advertising revenues at the Cable Network Programming and Television segments.

    Talking about the international revenue, Indian Premier League’s (IPL) contribution was mentioned. “Star India secured Indian Premier League’s global media and digital broadcast rights and, aided by the inaugural broadcast of the IPL, further penetration of its Hotstar platform and continued general entertainment growth, nearly doubled its profit contributions year over year,” the company said in a release. International advertising revenue which increased 55 per cent was led by the broadcast of the IPL at Star.

    While analysts were expecting 54 cents in per-share earnings on $7.55 billion in revenue, it earned 57 cents per share after certain items on $7.94 billion in revenue. Though the stock was unchanged following the release, shares of Fox have surged 62 per cent in the past 12 months in last one year.

    “As we move closer to combining our businesses with Disney and establishing new “Fox”, we are convinced that the paths we are creating for our iconic businesses will drive enduring and growing value for our shareholders,” executive chairmen Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch commented after the result. Lachlan Murdoch reiterated that news and live sports will underpin the profile of the new Fox in a call with analysts.

    The cash-and-stock transaction which is predicted to be closed in the first half of next year is awaiting the green light from more than a dozen countries, including China, Russia and regulators from the European Union, after winning approval from US regulators. Fox will retain its TV stations, Fox Business, Fox News and its sports channels after the sell.

    In such scenario, the three segments cable network programming, filmed entertainment, television boosted their revenue, and the first two improved their operating income too. The filmed entertainment unit which saw revenue jump some 27 per cent to $2.3 billion, the surge was driven largely by the success of Deadpool 2. Revenue from the cable division rose 13.8 per cent and accounted for more than half of overall revenue.

    Fox is still now locked in a bidding war with Comcast over the 61 per cent of Sky it does not currently own. While Comcast’s current offer is higher than Fox’s offering, it still has 46 days to revise its offer.

  • Paytm partners with Dharma Productions to launch loyalty card for fans

    Paytm partners with Dharma Productions to launch loyalty card for fans

    MUMBAI: Dharma Productions will be launching an industry-first exclusive loyalty card for its fans. The production house that has given the Indian film industry some of the most iconic films, enjoys an unprecedented fan-following across the globe. 

    The production house has partnered with Paytm which is India’s largest payments company to introduce first-of-its-kind loyalty program will reward their fan family in the country with exciting offers, experiences and tempting discounts. 

    The loyalty card will be exclusively made available through the Paytm app from 3rd July onwards and there is limited availability of the cards.

    Dharma kick-started the year with the blockbuster Raazi along with other movies. Joining the loyalty program will grant fans first access to all Dharma films and they will also be eligible for exclusive Dharma rewards. Fans can buy their loyalty card exclusively on Paytm and get access to various rewards, right from availing a cash-back of upto Rs 1500 cash-back on their films to a trip to movie sets and locations where Dharma movies were shot among other exciting deals.

    Karan Johar said, “We have received unconditional love from our fans over the years and this has indeed been a blessed journey so far. This offering is our way of thanking them.”

    Paytm CFO and SVP Madhur Deora added, “We are excited to grow our relationship with one of the country’s top production houses Dharma Productions as the exclusive Loyalty & Reward Partner for the Dharma Loyalty Card. We have been focused on improving the movie-watching experience with the widest assortment of theatres and novel first-of-its-kind offerings like Cancellation Protect.”

    Paytm Movies is the country’s fastest-growing entertainment ticketing platform. It powers online ticketing for 4800 movie screens in 750+ cities, registering an exponential 500 per cent growth as compared to 2016, the year of launch for Paytm’s movie ticketing and event booking platform. It is aiming to sell over 100 million tickets by end of this year.

  • ZEEL appoints Shariq Patel as CEO of Essel Vision Productions

    ZEEL appoints Shariq Patel as CEO of Essel Vision Productions

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), one of India’s leading media and entertainment companies, has appointed Shariq Patel as the chief executive officer of Essel Vision Productions Ltd. Patel will report to ZEEL MD & CEO  Punit Goenka.

    Along with its other leading businesses, film and television content production have been fundamental business verticals for the media conglomerate, both having immense growth potential.

    Essel Vision Productions produces soap operas, reality TV, comedy, game shows, entertainment and factual programming in several Indian languages. 

    Patel has more than 20 years of experience across various industries spanning financial services, radio, internet, telecom, sports management and films. He has earlier worked with Radio One 94.3 FM as Vice President, Marketing & Station Head, post which he had a short stint with Essel Sports as Senior Vice President, Marketing & Operations – Indian Cricket League. He then moved to Viacom 18 Media as Executive Vice President, (STUDIO18) Production before starting out with his own venture Trigno Media Pvt Ltd. His appointment further enhances ZEEL’s approach in strengthening its films and television content production arms.

    Also Read:

    Zeel numbers up on higher ad revenue in third quarter

    ZEEL CEO Punit Misra says: “We intend to compete fairly”

    ZEEL elevates Atul Das as president – affiliate rev & dist

  • Weinstein Company files for bankruptcy

    Weinstein Company files for bankruptcy

    MUMBAI: The Weinstein Company, producer of movies such as Inglorious Bastards and Lion, has filed for bankruptcy. The move, intended to facilitate a buy-out offer from a private equity firm, came months after ex-chairman Harvey Weinstein has been accused of sexual harassment and assault.

    In a press release, the company said it would be releasing all employees from non-disclosure agreements. After spending months looking for a buyer or investor, it has entered into a “stalking horse” agreement with a Lantern Capital affiliate. Lantern affirmed its commitment to “maintaining the company’s assets and employees as a going concern.”

    Harvey Weinstein, once a big name in Hollywood, has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than seven women. According to reports, he used non-disclosure agreements as a secret weapon to silence his accusers. Company termed its latest move as “an important step toward justice for any victims who have been silenced by Harvey Weinstein.”

    “No one should be afraid to speak out or coerced to stay quiet. The company thanks the courageous individuals who have already come forward. Your voices have inspired a movement for change across the country and around the world,” the statement said.

    The studio produced and distributed critically acclaimed hits including The King’s Speech and Silver Linings Playbook and The Artist as well as TV series such as long-running fashion reality competition Project Runway. 

    Also Read :

    Viu partners Morris Street to launch Hollywood Squares India adaptation

    Hooq to maintain its Hollywood focus in India

  • “A Taj Mahal Love Story” (A film by Madhureeta Anand) announced officially during Justin Trudeau’s visit

    “A Taj Mahal Love Story” (A film by Madhureeta Anand) announced officially during Justin Trudeau’s visit

    MUMBAI: Justin Trudeau announces the first official Indo-Canadian co production titled “A Taj Mahal Love Story”.  The official Canadian announcement was quoted  saying  “True Space Films (Toronto) and Ekaa Films (Delhi) have signed an agreement to co-produce “A Taj Mahal Love Story,” a full-length feature film with a strong woman empowerment narrative. The film will be shot in India with editing and post-production completed in Toronto”.

    While Ekaa Films Pvt Ltd is Director Writer Madhureeta Anand’s company who has written and directed “A Taj Mahal Love Story”, True Space Films belongs to  Anu Vittal , a Canada based producer.

     Madhureeta Anand’s  ‘Kajarya’ received several international accolades before its release in India in December 2015 and subsequently found a home on Netflix.

     “ With the casting process currently going on ‘A Taj Mahal Love Story’ will be shot in Agra in September this year .  The script has been described as path breaking because it has a strong woman centric theme with a unique screenplay that is quirky and strong at the same time.   A lot of the film’s crew will be Canadian and all postproduction will take place there as well.  However the story, actors and locations will be Indian – making this a true Indo-Canadian collaboration.

     Madhureeta Anand is an extremely prolific film writer and director.  She has directed two feature films, written five feature films, directed many documentary films and series, spanning an array of genres. Many of her films have won national and international awards.

      Madhureeta says  “I spent three years researching and writing this script. And so this is a film close to my heart.  Having the Prime Minister of Canada announce it  as a part of the Canadian and Indian government’s joint initiatives is a rare privilege and naturally I’m thrilled. The collaboration with Canada will make this a truly international film and I look forward to crafting it as such.  In today’s world with shrinking box office numbers worldwide, it is imperative that we expand the scope of our films and their audiences. Why limit our films to just Indian audiences? Why not go to people everywhere. But this can only happen if we collaborate internationally and tell our stories to the world” 

    Co producer Anu Vital quotes  “Creative industries are very important to Canadians as culture connectors with the rest of the world . The total contribution of the cultural  Industries is $54.6 Billlion to the GDP of Canada per annum. With this movie we want to tell the story of love with a focus on women empowerment, which is currently a very strong initiative for the Canadian Government as stated by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his women’s round table session in Mumbai on Feb 20th, 2018. We believe that the movie will not just tell a story that connects humanity across the world but will also lead to increasing social and cultural capital of both Canada and India.”

  • Eros Intl’s Deshpande hints at group rejig, likens RIL tie-up to ‘blank canvas’

    Eros Intl’s Deshpande hints at group rejig, likens RIL tie-up to ‘blank canvas’

    NEW DELHI: The Eros group, which includes an India-listed company with the parent Eros International plc. listed on NYSE, will soon start the process of simplifying the organisational structure to realign shareholders interest after an announcement that Reliance Industries Ltd. would be investing in the parent for a five per cent stake, according to a company executive.

    In addition, Eros International will not use the money being put in by a RIL subsidiary into the joint venture with the Indian arm to set up a combined fund of $150 million for content consolidation from India but will fund the JV internally.

    “At the parent level, there is a massive infusion of cash and it is fungible. So Eros International Media Ltd (the Indian arm of Eros International Plc.) will have the resources to do what it is aiming to do. It is a market leader and we are joining hands with one of the biggest players in the business, Reliance Industries. So content consolidation is here to come,” Eros group CEO and MD Jyoti Deshpande told business news channel CNBC-TV18.

    Asked whether Eros International Plc will use the money being paid by Reliance to contribute its share in the $150 million [Rs 500 crore each from the two partners in the Rs 1,000 crore corpus] fund being set up by the RIL-Eros India joint venture, Deshpande clarified: “No. The money that Reliance is putting in is not to be used for this purpose. That is for a different purpose. It [Reliance] is putting money in the parent. The [Eros] group has enough resources of its own to fund this joint venture.”

    She went on to add: “The current cash on parent’s books without Reliance stake is already about $140 million. The parent always gives film advances to the Indian company and the Indian company sells overseas rights, etc. to the parent company. So even without 5 per cent stake, the group already has in excess of Rs 500 crore with it already.”

    According to Deshpande, who will be quitting Eros and formally joining RIL attached to chairman Mukesh Ambani’s office to look after its entertainment business in April 2018, Eros will soon take steps to align all the interests of shareholders, while refusing to comment or commit on any mergers and/or reverse merger with NYSE-listed parent.

    So, if the RIL money will not be pumped into the joint venture by Eros International Plc and kept aside for other purposes, what will the company do with the cash?
    Pointing out that the minority stake signals “beginning of a very long-term partnership”, Deshpande told CNBC-TV18, “At the moment there is no immediate use of the cash except that it nicely brings down the net debt of the group and capitalises our balance sheet quite nicely and gives us flexibility if we need cash during movement of structure, etc. So I think it is firepower that it gives us and it gives us alignment. More than the money it aligns us to a very powerful partner.”

    Pressed further by journalists on timelines of possible restructuring and re-alignment of shareholders’ interest post a JV with RIL, Deshpande said without committing on any mergers, “There has been a lot of talk on the cards that we need to align all shareholders’ interest at one level. Right now it is a stepped kind of structure. So we are actively looking to see what we can do in that respect, where we align all shareholders at one level…All these things are governed by huge compliance, so I am not at liberty to share anything further on this topic. However, what shareholders can take away is that we are actively working towards aligning the interest of all shareholders at one level.”

    Asked about RIL’s investments in another content maker and OTT platform owner Balaji Telefilms and whether the RIL-Eros JV will stop scouting for more partners, Deshpande explained, “I think the industry is quite fragmented and the vision is to try and consolidate it, grow the industry together using Eros’ expertise in the content space. So, the idea is to make all kinds of content…[and] so it is not a limiting kind of a partnership, it is a very blank canvas wide partnership.

    “We want to work with every content maker that is out there— [what] specific plans RIL has, I will be able to share post April. But wearing the Eros hat right now, I think the plan is to make as much compelling content as possible, keep content prices under control, partner and try and grow the market. We are open to all kinds of ideas, all kinds of collaborations [and] not just with content partners, but with other OTT partners. So I think the idea is to put one and one together and make it eleven.”

    Dwelling on the financial performance of Eros International in FY’19, Deshpande, who’s had leadership stints at Star and Zee earlier, said, “I think scale is what you can expect. I think we can grow in the next year by another 15-20 per cent because the slate will expand, we can double the slate with half the money. So I think it is a great outlook, it is a win-win outlook for both companies.”

    Also Read:

    RIL to buy 5% in Eros; cos to set up $150 mn content fund

  • Catch the 1st international Bangla Cinema Carnival, organized by SVF, on Star Jalsha this sunday evening

    Catch the 1st international Bangla Cinema Carnival, organized by SVF, on Star Jalsha this sunday evening

    MUMBAI: SVF, Eastern India’s largest movie production house recently organized an international Bengali cinema carnival in Bangkok with much fanfare. The star-studded, glitzy carnival, held in the Thailand capital, will air exclusively on Star Jalsha this coming Sunday (February 25), a must-watch for anyone who is interested in Bengali cinema. It is yet another first from SVF which ensured that Bengali filmdom finally landed on foreign shores.

    From Dev to Ankush, Mimi to Nusrat and Imon to JeetGannguli, the Tollywood stars, singers and musicians were all there, singing, dancing and milling around, rubbing shoulders with one another. If Shruti Pathak started with the song Shubharambh, Nakash Aziz’s Jabra Fan, Lagnajita’sBasantoEsheGeche and Jeet’sChinteParli Na, had the audience in raptures.

    While Sayantika grooved to superhits like TammaTamma and TuCheezBadi Hai Mast Mast as well as Phoolkoli and Remix Qawali; Nusrat performed on Aayat from the movie BajiraoMastani as well as Ami Je KeTomar’s title track. Yash made the fans go crazy when he danced to the peppy Mon from the movie Total Dadagiri and ThikEmonEbhabe; Mimi was seen dancing to the biggest party numbers of 2017KarGayiChull and Senorita as well as Emotional Saiyaan and Honey Bunny while Ankushchipped in with performances on Shona, Take it Easy and Darling and more

    The first Bengali international film carnival was not just about songs and dances, though. It paid rich tributes to ‘Yesterday Actresses’ such as Suchitra Sen, Supriya Devi, Madhabi Mukherjee, Tanuja, Aparna Sen and Sandhya Roy. The tribute was brought alive by Rituparna Sengupta who danced to the numbers of the films these legendary actresses starred in.

    SVF co-founder & Director, Mahendra Soni said “It’s an attempt from us to take Bengali cinema to international scene by organizing the carnival in the city of Bangkok, something few have thought of before. We are sure that people will enjoy watching this magnificent show on Star Jalsha on Sunday evening. The show will have a red carpet segment from 6 to 7pm, followed by a 4 hour performance based show till 11pm,’’

    Dev brought the house down, dancing to Party Shoes and BhojoGournango (from the SVF-produced Bindass and Challenge), while Rituparna Sengupta danced to numbers like E ShudhuGaner Din and AajMon Chheyeche Ami HariyeJabo, rekindling nostalgia that seeped through the first-ever carnival of its kind.

  • RIL to buy 5% in Eros; cos to set up $150 mn content fund

    RIL to buy 5% in Eros; cos to set up $150 mn content fund

    MUMBAI: Continuing its media march, which is also an indication of further disruptions in the Indian and global entertainment industry, the USD 51 billion Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is all set to acquire 5 per cent equity stake in NYSE-listed Eros International Plc (Eros) and jointly set up a $150 million (Rs 1,000 crore) fund to co-produce and consolidate content from India.

    In the transaction, which is subject to regulatory and other approvals, RIL, through a subsidiary, is looking to pick up the minority stake at a price of $15 per share, representing an 18 per cent premium to the last closing price of the stock. Eros stock quoted at $13.30 on the NYSE at local US time of 16:01:15 on 20 February 2018, having opened at $13.25. RIL closed Tuesday at Rs 919.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

    RIL and Eros International Media Ltd (Eros India) will equally invest in the fund to produce and acquire Indian films and digital originals across all languages, according to a joint statement put out late on Tuesday evening.

    RIL’s investment will also result in some management changes in both the companies. Eros’ group CEO and MD Jyoti Deshpande will be stepping down from her executive role after over 17 years and move on to head the media and entertainment (M&E) business at RIL as the president of the chairman’s office.

    Deshpande will start her role at RIL from April 2018 but will continue to remain as a non-executive director on the board of Eros, while Kishore Lulla will resume his position as group chairman and CEO of Eros, the statement added.

    In her new role at RIL, Deshpande will lead the company’s initiatives in M&E to organically build and grow businesses around the content ecosystem, such as broadcasting, films, sports, music, digital, gaming, animation as well as integrate Reliance’s existing media investments such as Viacom18 and Balaji Telefilms with a view to build, scale and consolidate the fragmented $20 billion Indian M&E sector.

    RIL chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani said, “We are pleased to join hands with Eros, as it will bring further synergies into our plans, making for a win-win partnership. We are delighted to welcome Ms Jyoti Deshpande into the Reliance family and believe that she will not only give wings to our plans but also play a pivotal role in transforming the sector.”

    Lulla elaborated, “I am very pleased that Eros is partnering with RIL in its entertainment journey with several synergies across technology, content and digital with Eros Now. We look forward to collaborating and growing as we continue to make new strides on the digital and content forefronts. I am confident that together, we can make a meaningful difference. Jyoti Deshpande has been an invaluable part of the incredible Eros growth journey and I am confident that she will make a positive impact on the industry in her new role at RIL.”

    Eros International Plc (NYSE: EROS) is a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry that acquires, co-produces and distributes Indian films across all available formats such as cinema, television and digital new media. Eros International Plc became the first Indian media company to list on the NYSE and also runs a fledgling OTT service under Eros Now brand. 

    “I am delighted that RIL has strategically aligned with Eros. My new assignment at RIL will allow me to push boundaries, set new standards of excellence, assemble a world-class young leadership team and adopt a collaborative approach to architect and execute this ambition…but more than anything, I cannot wait to roll up my sleeves,” said Deshpande while commenting on the proposed partnership.

    The Eros and earlier Balaji investments by RIL indicate that Ambani may be investing small in content and distribution companies, but taking big steps towards building an integrated media and entertainment behemoth, an industry observer opined, adding that with the financial muscle that the Ambanis have, the Indian media sector should brace itself for some more disruptions after the Reliance Jio show.

    In the TMT sector, RIL already has investments in media companies like Viacom18 (majority stake), TV18/Network18, telecom company Reliance Jio and a host of other media properties, including magazines and digital ventures.

    Also Read :

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    Reliance Industries buys Balaji Telefilms stake for Rs 4.13 bn

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