GECs

Big Magic targets young adults with two new shows

Published

11 years ago

August 29, 2015

MUMBAI: With an aim to provide humour and unpredictable content that appeals to the urban audience, Big Magic is coming up with two new male centric shows targeting young adults within the age group of 15 – 30. The first show is called Boyz, which recently went on air, whereas the other show – Pyar Marriage Shhhh (PMS) will begin airing from 7 September.

Reliance Broadcast Network COO Ashwin Padmanabhan said, “We have successfully created a position of our channel in the comedy space. Our new programming content is based in an urban kind of setting.”

What’s more, Big Magic is also planning to launch another three to four shows and short formats in the coming months. “We are working on a talk show format, which is likely to launch in the next three months. We are also getting multiple short formats like Chutki and Shopkeeper, which has become very big already. We have introduced another short format called Mania Ki Dunia. The short-format YouTube content, which already has 20 million views, will also be put on radio, television and online. As we started building comedy as a genre, our effort is to create relevance of this genre across multiple platforms,” he added.

Elaborating the story of new shows, Padmanabhan said, “The theme of Boyz is about three college friends and their crazy experiences of coming out of their comfort zone and discovering life. So it’s a typical college story but like every other boy, they carry the fantasy of not just the perfect job but also the girl of their dreams. Each character is sketched extremely sharply and differently. The show will fill in the gap of urban TV viewing male audience with an edginess that has hitherto been unavailable on television.”

The theme of Boyz captures the target audience who are in a similar phase and hence the youth can relate to it. “This high octane comedy is another innovation in Big Magic’s attempt at strengthening its new positioning in providing edgy and contemporary content,” Padmanabhan added.

Speaking about Pyar Marriage Sshh, Padmanabhan said, “The show has a very interesting plot about three friends and revolves around the crazy things that happens to them. These guys are neighbours who come together and become friends. Every episode shows something new happening in their life.”

Being the only channel that focuses solely on the comedy genre, Big Magic has a clear cut vision to make young India laugh out loud and the programming strategy is based around the same philosophy.

The channel will now also venture into the episodic format. Speaking on the same, Padmanabhan informed, “The story starts and ends with the episodes. It’s just like F.R.I.E.N.D.S wherein every episode is new and different in its own way. A story will not carry forward into the next episode. It’s the kind of content that works with the current generation.”

Following the international format, Boyz will have multiple seasons and each season will have a run period of six months. Following the format, Big Magic has already re-launched Hazir Jawab Birbal, which was earlier named as Akbar Birbal.

Addressing the need gap for male centric entertainment shows, Big Magic took the humour approach to attract its TG. Padmanabhan added, “There’s not much good content available for men on television and that’s why men tend to consume more news or sports. Humour has a wide appeal so, if we present a story from a man’s perspective, the kind of humour gets integrated across the audience.”

Big Magic will be promoting the shows across platform. “Digital is a very key component of marketing strategy. Apart from that, we are also using television channels that are targeting young adults like MTV and Bindass as well as news channels. Along with promotions, we are also doing a whole lot of integration. Funny portions of the content is cut and tweaked for radio. RJs from our networks as well as partner networks are supporting this campaign. In radio, apart from the in-house Big FM, we have also roped in Fever 104 and Red FM as partners,” he informed.

The marketing initiative will cut across major cities like Ahmedabad, Pune, Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai, Kanpur, Lucknow, Baroda and Surat.

The campaign has been developed by Grey Worldwide, whereas MEC is the media buying agency. The digital campaigns are being handled by Resultrix Media.

Throwing light on the research that was done before launching the shows, Padmanabhan said, “From the show perspective, we do a pilot testing, which has been done across some centres in Mumbai, Delhi and other metro cities. On the basis of that, we received good feedback. We are not only testing the shows but are also testing the promos online.”

There was a pre-launch campaign rolled out for Boyz where people were asked to give their feedback on the promos that were uploaded on YouTube.

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GECs

Sun TV posts steady revenue, profit dips amid rising costs

Published

4 weeks ago

February 7, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

CHENNAI: It appears there is still plenty of Sun to go around in the Indian broadcasting landscape, even if a few clouds have drifted across the financial horizon. Sun TV Network Limited, the Chennai-based behemoth that dominates airwaves across seven languages, has tuned into a steady frequency for the quarter ending 31 December 2025. While the numbers show a resilient revenue stream, the company’s latest broadcast reveals a few static-filled spots in its profit margins.

For the quarter in question, Sun TV’s total income climbed by approximately 3.31 per cent, reaching Rs 958.39 crores compared to Rs 927.66 crores in the same period last year. Revenue from operations also saw a healthy bump, rising 4.32 per cent to Rs 827.87 crores.

The real star of the show, however, was domestic subscription revenue, which surged by 8.86 per cent to Rs 472.99 crores. This growth highlights the enduring appetite for Sun’s diverse content, which spans everything from daily soaps in Tamil and Telugu to its burgeoning OTT platform, Sun NXT.

Despite the revenue growth, the picture quality of the profits was slightly blurred by rising costs. Eitda for the quarter stood at Rs 409.79 crores, a dip from the Rs 432.14 crores recorded in the corresponding 2024 quarter.

The profit after tax followed a similar downward trend, settling at Rs 316.44 crores against the previous year’s Rs 347.17 crores. Advertisers also seemed to have switched channels slightly, with advertisement revenues sliding to Rs 291.94 crores from Rs 332.17 crores.

Sun TV isn’t just playing on home turf; its sporting ambitions are becoming increasingly global. The network now owns three major cricket franchises: SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL, SunRisers Eastern Cape in SA20, and SunRisers Leeds Limited in The Hundred (UK).

The foray into British cricket saw the company acquire a 100 per cent stake in Northern Superchargers Limited (now SunRisers Leeds) for approximately £100 million. While these franchises brought in Rs 14.61 crores this quarter, they also incurred corresponding costs of Rs 19.89 crores. Over the nine-month period, however, the cricket business is a major player, contributing Rs 487.64 crores in income.

The company’s bottom line took a minor hit from exceptional items, including a Rs 4.23 crore charge related to India’s new Labour Codes, which consolidated 29 existing labour laws. Additionally, the consolidated results reflect the amalgamation of Kal Radio Limited with Udaya FM, a move that became effective in May 2025 and required a restatement of previous figures.

To keep investors from reaching for the remote, the Board has declared an interim dividend of 50 per cent, that’s Rs 2.50 per equity share. This comes on top of earlier dividends of 100 per cent (Rs 5.00) and 75 per cent (Rs 3.75) declared in August and November 2025, respectively.

With a massive cash reserve and a dominant position in the South Indian market, Sun TV continues to shine, even if the current quarter required a bit of fine-tuning. For now, shareholders can sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

GECs

SPNI hires Pradeep M with responsibility for standards and practices in the south

Published

4 weeks ago

February 3, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India has hired Pradeep M to handle standards and practices for its southern market, bolstering its compliance bench as content rules tighten across platforms.

Pradeep, who has nearly 13 years in the entertainment media industry, takes on responsibility for content standards in a region that is both linguistically diverse and regulatorily sensitive. His brief spans television, OTT, sports and digital platforms.

He specialises in content review and compliance across shows, commercials, on-air promotions and international feeds, ensuring alignment with broadcast, OTT and advertising codes. He has also handled brand approvals and sponsorship integrations for heavily regulated categories—including online gaming, cryptocurrency, NFTs and lottery brands—offering guidance shaped by fast-evolving rules.

Before Sony, Pradeep worked at Jiostar as assistant manager for content regulation from November 2024 to January 2026. Earlier, he spent nearly seven years at Viacom18 Media, rising from senior executive to assistant manager in content regulation between 2018 and 2024. There he served as a key compliance touchpoint for the network.

His career began on the creative side. Between 2013 and 2018, he worked as executive producer on feature films and television shows, gaining hands-on exposure to production. He also had a stint as a non-fiction show director at Star TV Network in 2017. That mix of creative and regulatory experience gives him a dual lens—how content is made and how it must be managed.

As regulators, platforms and advertisers all tighten the screws, broadcasters are investing more in gatekeepers who can keep creativity within the lines. Sony’s latest hire shows where the industry is heading: in the streaming age, compliance is content’s quiet co-star.

GECs

Colors Gujarati rolls out two new shows from 2nd February

Published

1 month ago

February 2, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Colors Gujarati has unveiled two new prime-time shows as part of its push to strengthen culturally rooted storytelling for regional audiences. The channel will premiere the devotional saga Gangasati–Paanbai at 7.30 pm, followed by the romantic family drama Manmelo at 9.30 pm from February 2.

Inspired by Gujarat’s spiritual and literary heritage, Gangasati–Paanbai: Shyam Dhun No Navo Adhyay draws from the timeless bhajans and poetry of saint-poetesses Gangasati and Paanbai, weaving devotion and human values into a contemporary narrative aimed at younger viewers.

In contrast, Manmelo explores love and responsibility across social divides, tracing the lives of three middle-class sisters whose relationships with three affluent brothers reshape their futures. The show delves into ambition, emotional conflict and the realities of married life, offering a layered family drama.

A Colors Gujarati spokesperson said the new launches reflect the channel’s commitment to authentic Gujarati entertainment that blends cultural values with modern storytelling.