GECs
Deepak Dhar cracks the code of India’s format future
MUMBAI: You could say he broke into the session with a punchline instead of a headline. “Is everyone awake?” asked Anil Wanvari, founder and chairman of Indiantelevision.com, before inviting the audience to jog in place. What followed was a lively fireside chat with Deepak Dhar, founder and group chief executive of Banijay Asia, that swiftly shifted gears from banter to business, and from formats to the future.
Dhar, often positioned as the sharp commercial mind of India’s format universe, revealed early that the stereotype misses half the story. Before becoming the rainmaker behind blockbuster franchises, he was a director shaping shows such as Laughter Challenge, Popstar, Khatron Ke Khiladi and the early seasons of Bigg Boss. “If the story is not right, there is no business around it,” he said, emphasising that creativity remains the company’s engine.
On whether Banijay Asia is India’s number one production house, Dhar sidestepped rankings but highlighted its vast footprint. The company creates content across seven to eight Indian languages, long and short formats, vertical videos, micro-dramas and premium series. “We produce everything from Bigg Boss to Night Manager, from Kapil Sharma to Trial by Fire,” he said.
The conversation then moved to the shifts reshaping entertainment consumption. Dhar noted that the last three years have forced creators to unlearn and relearn as audiences move across devices and platforms. This has led to new ventures including Creatia, the company’s Asia-focused content arm, and the Banijay Creator Universe, built to merge premium formats with creator-driven ecosystems on Youtube.
Banijay is also expanding aggressively into live events, sports reality and large-scale global experiences. Dhar highlighted the company’s work on Miss World, the India–Pakistan match opening ceremony, and international partnerships with event-design studios that have crafted spectacles for World Cups, Euro Cups and the Olympics.
A clear ambition surfaced repeatedly, to find Indian stories with global potential. Dhar believes India’s moment mirrors the waves previously enjoyed by Korean, Turkish and Scandinavian content. “The next Narcos or Money Heist should really come from India,” he said, adding that Banijay Asia is scouting journalistic accounts, independent stories and bold formats that can travel across continents.
On the fast-growing FAST channel ecosystem, Dhar confirmed that Banijay Asia owns most of its library, including Bigg Boss seasons across languages, and is exploring ways to make them available as connected TV channels.
AI, unsurprisingly, entered the chat. Dhar dismissed fears of displacement and framed generative tools as accelerators. “It will make the human mind faster, more efficient,” he said, confirming that Banijay has already set up a global AI lab and will begin experimenting with GenAI-driven short-form content in India within months.
Micro-dramas are also a focus area, with three shows already in production through the company’s joint venture with Collective Artists. These will be brand-funded and released primarily on YouTube.
In the Asian market, Banijay’s Creatia division is moving quickly with shows such as Race to Space, where one contestant from Thailand will win a chance to board a Jeff Bezos rocket. Other formats, such as My Chef and Grind from Taiwan, have already sold to Thailand and Indonesia and will debut in India soon.
As the session wrapped, Wanvari teased Dhar about shoes gifted by his daughter, a running joke that bookended the chat as playfully as it began. The mood was buoyant, but Dhar’s roadmap was unmistakably serious: diversify, globalise and push Indian storytelling into orbit.
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited has appointed Aparna Ramachandran as EVP and head of network digital, signalling a sharper focus on strengthening its digital and streaming ecosystem.
Ramachandran joins Zee from Balaji Telefilms, where she served as head of digital originals, leading content strategy and production for the company’s digital platforms. She announced the move on LinkedIn, marking a new chapter in her career spanning more than 15 years across media, entertainment and technology.
Her professional journey includes senior roles at Viacom18 Media, Viu, FremantleMedia, Miditech, BigSynergy, BBC Worldwide, CNBC-TV18 and Bloomberg UTV. She began her career in 2005 as a software engineer at Infosys before transitioning into media and digital content leadership.
With experience across streaming media, broadcast television, content development, digital strategy, project management and video production, Ramachandran is expected to play a key role in shaping Zee’s network-wide digital growth and content innovation.
London: Zee Entertainment has launched its flagship Zee TV as a live FAST channel on Samsung TV Plus across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, marking a first for South Asian television in Europe with round-the-clock live German subtitles.
The move takes Zee TV beyond its core diaspora audience and into the German-speaking mainstream, offering dramas, reality shows and family entertainment without subscriptions or language barriers. For FAST platforms, it sets a new benchmark in accessibility and scale.
Amit Goenka, president, international and digital businesses at Zee Entertainment, said the launch marked a turning point in the company’s global strategy.
“Zee TV Germany is a flagship launch and a defining moment in our journey to make entertainment truly borderless. By going live on Samsung TV Plus with 24/7 German subtitles, we are breaking language barriers and setting a new international benchmark for FAST streaming,” he said, adding that the partnership reflects Zee’s ambition to lead the FAST revolution through innovation and technology.
The rollout builds on the strong regional presence of Zee One and Zee5, both of which have cultivated loyal audiences across the DACH markets. The live FAST model now closes long-standing access gaps, particularly for younger diaspora viewers and first-time German-speaking audiences.
Samsung TV Plus said the partnership deepens its content portfolio in the region. Benedict Frey, country lead DACH and Benelux at Samsung TV Plus, said the addition strengthens its South Asian offering while widening appeal.
“Launching flagship Zee TV on Samsung TV Plus brings even more premium South Asian entertainment to our customers. Making this content available with live German subtitles is a meaningful step in serving diverse audiences and enriching the viewing experience,” he said.
Samsung TV Plus is Samsung’s free ad-supported streaming service, offering hundreds of live channels and on-demand titles across Samsung TVs, Galaxy devices and smart monitors.
Zee already commands a strong digital following across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with social platforms engaging hundreds of thousands of viewers. The live FAST launch is expected to amplify reach and drive appointment viewing at scale.
Zee TV is now available exclusively on Samsung TV Plus in Germany on channel 4210. With this launch, Zee TV Germany becomes the group’s ninth channel in Europe.
The signal is clear: FAST has gone mainstream—and Zee has arrived early, translated and ready to scale.
MUMBAI: Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network has formally adopted a new corporate identity, rechristening itself Aqylon Nexus Limited after receiving clearance from the ministry of corporate affairs.
The company has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the MCA has approved the change of name, with effect from January 23, 2026. The update was disclosed in compliance with Regulation 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements Regulations, 2015.
Confirming the approval, the company said the ministry had cleared the transition from Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Limited to Aqylon Nexus Limited following the necessary regulatory process.
Aqylon Nexus said it has begun the formal exercise of replacing the old name across statutory filings and regulatory records. The broadcaster added that it is coordinating with relevant authorities and departments to complete the transition.
Under Section 12 of the Companies Act, 2013, the MCA has directed the company to continue displaying its former name alongside the new one for a period of two years.
Founded in 1994 and based in Mumbai, the company has been a long-standing presence in India’s television and content ecosystem. The rebrand reflects a repositioning effort as the media and entertainment sector undergoes rapid consolidation and structural change.
The legacy name remains on paper—for now. The business, however, is clearly turning the page.
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