Tag: Robin Philip

The Content Hub 2024 – New Content Trends

Mumbai: The eighth edition of The Content Hub Summit delved into the ever-changing world of content creation. With the consolidation of platforms, creators face new hurdles in gaining visibility, maximizing revenue, and maintaining creative freedom. The event explored the remarkable theatrical success of Indian cinema and unraveled the secrets behind its unprecedented profits, with a critical eye towards its sustainability.

The esteemed panel of industry leaders has shared their expertise on adapting to the shifting landscape, tackling daily challenges, and envisioning the future of production.

The session was moderated by HitFlik film director & CCO Saurabh Varma which includes panelists: Inspire Films Ltd founder & managing director Yash A Patnaik, Dangal Play head Akshat Singhal, writer & director Soumik Sen, Geophil managing director Robin Philip, producer Monisha Singh Katial, GSEAMS producer, creator Kartk D Nishandar and Pratilipi co-founder & CEO Ranjeet Pratap Singh.

Verma kicked off the discussion by highlighting the future trend of regional content, to which Katial emphasised its growing popularity beyond traditional markets. She noted the increasing viewership of South Indian movies in the Hindi belt, signaling a promising avenue for content creators.

Nishandar echoed this sentiment, stating the importance of creating content within budget constraints while adapting to changing trends. Success, he argued, lies in the ability to evolve with the times and cater to shifting audience preferences.

Singh drew parallels between his platform and a modern-day version of Disney, emphasizing the power of storytelling to transcend barriers of format, language, and geography. In a landscape inundated with content, he stressed the challenge of identifying what resonates with audiences.

Sen stated the importance of audience engagement, stating that creativity thrives on interaction and connection with viewers. In an era of abundance, where choices abound, creators must actively seek to engage their audience rather than passively expect their attention.

Philip shed light on the global perspective, highlighting the significance of international distribution in monetizing Indian content. He urged industry players to aggressively position themselves for global licensing opportunities, viewing it as a lucrative avenue for revenue generation.

Singhal gave more importance to regional content as according to him, focusing more on niche content meaning where people can relate themselves in their daily life, can give an immense boost to the storytelling narrative.

Patnaik gave succinct framework for content success: invite, engage, involve, and entertain. He told the importance of consistency, drawing parallels with the enduring popularity of US sitcoms characterized by their extensive episode count.

The session wrapped up with each panelist expressing a high level of optimism regarding the future of content.

May 10, 2024
Geophil acquires multiple Turkish drama series for Indian market

Mumbai: Geophil, the global co-production and distribution studio based in Dubai and headed up by MD Robin Philip, announce the acquisition of multiple Turkish drama series for distribution in India from major Turkish producers including Calinos Entertainment, Inter Medya, and MediaHub.

Notable titles acquired include popular Turkish digital series Ilk Ve Son (English title: Deeply) from Calinos Entertainment (romantic drama focusing on the relationship of a young couple through their divorce a decade later), Aşk Laftan Anlamaz (English title: Love Doesn’t Understand Words) from Inter Medya (workplace romance between the owner’s son of a large fashion company and an employee) and Kirik Hayatlar (English title: Broken Lives) from MediaHub (romantic drama focusing on the sacrifices a couple make to stay together in spite of a mother willing to do anything for power). Additional titles acquired include Broken Destiny, Last Summer, and Aziz.

Over the last year, Geophil has become a leading destination for premium Turkish content for Indian broadcasters. With their unique expertise in Turkish entertainment, Geophil has been able to source the most relevant and exciting content to audiences across the region, with more deals to be announced in the coming weeks.

In addition to their distribution business, Geophil recently announced GlobalSphere Studios, a joint venture with Turkish media company MediaHub, focused on co-producing premium Turkish drama series. Alaca, the first series under the GlobalSphere brand, premiered to international buyers at MIPCOM 2023.

Geophil MD Robin Philip stated: “Geophil is committed to working with the best Turkish distributors and studios to source series that captivate Indian audiences. Leveraging our content expertise in Turkiye, MENA, and Asia, we carefully select shows we believe will succeed, especially as certain themes in Turkish programming strongly resonate with Indian viewers. As we further expand our global co-production efforts, we’re proud to serve as a leading hub for Turkish content consumption throughout India.”

May 7, 2024
Geophil’s Robin looks to build co-production slate

Mumbai: There have been many who’ve tried and failed. But this is not deterring young television executive Robin Philip from doing so once again. The managing director of Geophil is quite gung-ho about building a strong co-production portfolio between Indian and international studios and between international ones.

In a conversation with Indian Television founder, CEO & editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari, Philip revealed that “Geophil started as book publishing and distribution house based out of Mumbai. They had ambitions to grow in the media space beyond the print format and that’s where I joined about a year back after my stint with the Indian broadcaster – Zee. I had the honour in working with them in multiple geographies including in Asia Pacific and middle east and then with the OTT platform name Viu which is owned by a Hong Kong-based PCCW.”

He further went on to say about what exactly Goephil does and how it bridges the gap between co-producers, “At Geophil, our vision is to actually take the entire bandwidth of co-producing content to a different level. We know that over the last year or so we have a lot of players who are trying to come together, join forces and co-produce. However, there isn’t a very organised way of doing it. So the vision is that, with the advent of OTT and the fact that people today, anywhere in the world are interested in watching content beyond their languages. We want players to look beyond licensing as a means of feeding their consumers with foreign content and only using the originals or the production platform for creating content locally. The only reason why I say an Australian platform will not produce content in Turkey is because they are unaware of how to work with the producer in Turkey or they don’t want to take care of 100% of the course. So that’s where we come in, we make sure that we come with the local experience in the market anywhere in the world where we give you the comfort that we get you the story. We will make sure that you know the timelines and the budgets in which the production is going to happen. The good thing is we will bring other co-producers who have similar interests in very different part of the world to join hands with you such that the producers together co-own the IP, get to air it in their own region and at the same time, monetise from markets, that are a lot of interest to them such that in a happy scenario, you are the content owner, you have a good ROI on your investment plus you created content which is an original which is going to not stay with you for two years or five years which happens with a licensing deal, but for life. This in a nutshell, is what we do. So we call ourselves the bridge between producers, platforms, investors, anybody who wants to kind of be part of the ecosystem of co-production.”

To listen to the entire conversation, watch the video:

January 15, 2024