News Headline

BBC & Pact outline policy framework for BBC Studios

Published

10 years ago

December 22, 2015

MUMBAI: The BBC has entered into an agreement with the British trade association Pact regarding the BBC Studios proposal.

The proposed policy framework will “strengthen the UK production sector and bring substantial benefits in terms of opening up new commissioning opportunities to competition.”

BBC director of strategy and digital James Purnell says, “We welcome the agreement reached with Pact. Creative competition is in the best interest of audiences and BBC Studios is an essential part of the BBC’s future.”

Pact CEO John McVay adds, “Pact is pleased that we have been able to negotiate a progressive agreement with the BBC that will result in even more competition at the BBC for the best programmes regardless of who makes them. This will build on the success of the WOCC and ensure BBC licence fee payers continue to enjoy the best of British.”

The new charter and agreement will set out a policy framework for the relationship between BBC Public Service, BBC Studios and BBC Worldwide. The proposal is that the agreement should include a set of guiding principles for how BBC Studios, as a commercial entity, should operate, and its relationship with the BBC Public Service. Additionally, there should be no cross-subsidy from BBC Public Service to BBC Studios; a separation between the finances and operations of BBC Public Service and BBC Studios; and fair transfer pricing.

The proposal also states that there should be an “arms’ length commissioning, with commissions offered to BBC Studios subject to the same range of published tariffs and terms as are available to external producers.”

BBC Studios will receive new commissions, creatively tendered established/returning series and the opportunities afforded by de-commissions, following fair and transparent competition with third party producers.

The BBC Board would set out methodologies and processes for meeting the above principles prior to BBC Studios being launched as a commercial entity. Additionally, BBC Studios will be set up and operated to ensure compliance with State Aid requirements.

As was previously set out, the BBC Studios proposal will exclude Network TV commissioned content for children’s, current affairs and sport. For current affairs, the BBC proposes to reduce the current in-house guarantee on eligible hours from 50 per cent to 40 per cent and extend the independent guarantee from 25 per cent to 40 per cent, creating a 25 per cent swing when these two changes are added together. For children’s, the BBC proposes to reduce the in-house guarantee on eligible hours from 50 per cent to 40 per cent and extend the independent guarantee from 25 per cent to 40 per cent. The BBC proposes that these changes are phased-in over a two year period from the new charter. For sport, the current in-house and independent guarantees would remain unchanged. Content made by BBC Studios, as a commercial entity, would not count as “in-house” and therefore would not count as part of in-house quota.

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iWorld

Netflix celebrates a decade in India with Shah Rukh Khan-narrated tribute film

Published

7 days ago

January 31, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Netflix is celebrating ten years in India with a slick anniversary film voiced by Shah Rukh Khan, a nostalgic sprint through a decade that rewired how the country watches stories. The campaign doubles as both tribute and reminder: streaming did not just enter Indian homes, it quietly rearranged them.

Roll back to 2016 and television still dictated schedules. Viewers waited weeks, sometimes months, for favourite films to appear on prime time. Family-friendly filters narrowed options further, and piracy often filled the gaps. Then Netflix arrived, softly but decisively, carrying a catalogue of international titles rarely seen in Indian theatres and placing them a click away. Old blockbusters and new releases suddenly coexisted on the same digital shelf.

The platform’s real inflection point came in 2018 with Sacred Games, a breakout series that refused to dilute India’s grit for global comfort. Audiences embraced its unvarnished tone, signalling readiness for stories that did not need box-office validation or censorship compromises. What followed was a steady procession of relatable narratives. Competitive-exam anxiety fuelled Kota Factory. College relationships unfolded in Mismatched. Everyday pressures, not grand spectacle, proved bankable.

Language barriers thinned as foreign series arrived with Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubbing, expanding viewership beyond urban English-speaking pockets. Marketing mirrored the shift. For global releases such as Squid Game, Netflix leaned on regional creators and influencers to localise buzz and make international content feel native.

The library widened beyond fiction. Documentaries stepped out of festival circuits into living rooms. Stand-up comedians found scale. Established filmmakers, including Sanjay Leela Bhansali with Heeramandi, embraced the platform’s long-form canvas. Subscriber numbers swelled to 12.37 million in India, according to Demandsage, and behaviour followed suit. Late-night binges became routine. Friday release rituals loosened. Watch parties turned solitary screens into social events.

Economics demanded adjustment. Early subscription pricing carried a premium aura that deterred many households. Over time, Netflix recalibrated plans to align with Indian spending sensibilities, conceding that accessibility is as critical as content. To extend momentum around marquee titles, the platform also experimented with split-season releases, stretching anticipation and watch time.

The anniversary film, narrated by Shah Rukh Khan, captures the linguistic shift that mirrors the cultural one: from “Netflix pe kya dekha?” to “Netflix pe kya dekhein?” The question moved from recounting the past to planning the next binge. In ten years, Netflix morphed from foreign entrant to familiar fixture, exporting Indian stories abroad while importing global ones home. The remote no longer waits; it chooses, clicks and moves on. In the streaming age, patience is out, playlists are in, and the next episode is always one tap away.

Brands

Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board

Published

7 days ago

January 31, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

Gurugram: Delhivery’s boardroom is being reset. Deepak Kapoor, chairman and independent director, has resigned with effect from April 1 as part of a planned board reconstitution, the logistics company said in an exchange filing. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive of FMCG major Marico and an independent director on Delhivery’s board, has also stepped down.

Kapoor exits after an eight-year stint that included steering the company through its 2022 stock-market debut, a period that saw Delhivery transform from a venture-backed upstart into one of India’s most visible logistics platforms. Gupta, who joined the board in 2021, departs alongside him, marking a simultaneous clearing of two senior independent seats.

“Deepak and Saugata have been instrumental in our process of recognising the need for and enabling the reconstitution of the board of directors in line with our ambitious next phase of growth,” said Sahil Barua, managing director and chief executive, Delhivery. The statement frames the exits less as departures and more as deliberate succession, a boardroom shuffle timed to the company’s evolving scale and strategy.

The resignations arrive amid broader governance recalibration. In 2025, Delhivery appointed Emcure Pharmaceuticals whole-time director Namita Thapar, PB Fintech founder and chairman Yashish Dahiya, and IIM Bangalore faculty member Padmini Srinivasan as independent directors, signalling a tilt towards consumer, fintech and academic expertise at the board level.

Kapoor’s tenure spanned Delhivery’s most defining years, rapid network expansion, public listing and the push towards profitability in a bruising logistics market. Gupta’s presence brought FMCG and brand-scale perspective during a period when ecommerce volumes and last-mile delivery economics were being rewritten.

The twin exits, effective from the new financial year, underscore a familiar corporate rhythm: founders consolidate, veterans rotate out, and fresh voices are ushered in to script the next chapter. In India’s hyper-competitive logistics race, even the boardroom does not stand still.

MAM

Meta appoints Anuvrat Rao as APAC head of commerce partnerships

Published

7 days ago

January 31, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

SINGAPORE: Anuvrat Rao has taken charge as APAC head of commerce and signals partnerships at Meta, steering monetisation deals across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp from Singapore. The former Google executive, known for launching Google Assistant, PWAs, AMP and Firebase across Asia-Pacific, steps into the role after a high-growth stint as chief business officer at Locofy.ai.

At Locofy.ai, Rao helped convert a three-year free beta into a paid engine, clocking 1,000 subscribers and 15 enterprise clients within ten days of launch in September 2024. The low-code startup, backed by Accel and top tech founders, is famed for turning designs into production-ready code using proprietary large design models.

Before that, Rao founded generative AI venture 1Bstories, which was acquired by creative AI platform Laetro in mid-2024, where he briefly served as managing director for APAC. Alongside operating roles, he has been an active investor and advisor since 2020, backing startups such as BotMD, Muxy, Creator plus, Intellect, Sealed and CricFlex through a creator-economy-led thesis.

Rao spent over eight years at Google, holding senior partnership roles across search, assistant, chrome, web and YouTube in APAC, and earlier cut his teeth in strategy consulting at OC&C in London and investment finance at W. P. Carey in Europe and the US.