Mumbai: The longest-running global TV market MipTV kicked off on Monday. Major international production companies, distributors and buyers showcased their ‘wares’ at the industry event that includes programming such as drama, documentary, kids, and factual formats.
Last year’s edition of MipTV took place virtually and there is a bit of excitement about returning to the on-ground festival this year, according to the industry. The trade event that is held in the Palais de Festivals in Cannes, France brings together a rich conference programme, matchmaking events, and a dedicated co-production marketplace for international producers, buyers, commissioners, and distributors.
This year, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Docubay (IN10 Media Network) and GoQuest Media Ventures are attending the event on the buyers’ side whereas IndiaCast, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, One Life Studios, and IndianTelevision.com are attending on the exhibitor’s side.
As per media reports, Zee Content Sales, the licensing and distribution arm of Zeel, is bringing 40 new shows launched over the last two years to the marketplace. Zee’s lineup includes Bollywood films such as "Sooryavanshi," "Sanak," "Squad," "Uri – The Surgical Strike," "Rashmi Rocket" and drama series such as “Bhagya Lakshmi,” “Kundali Bhagya,” “Kashibai Bajirao Ballal” and “Baker’s Table.”
On the buyer’s side, IN10 Media Network senior AVP acquisition and syndication Adita Jain said, “We are excited to meet our colleagues from the industry after two years. This year we wish to expand our content offering by 2X through content partnerships.”
IN10 Media Network operates several TV channels and OTT platforms. It operates a factual entertainment streaming service called ‘Docubay’ and a recently launched kids’ entertainment channel called Gubbare.
“We are looking to engage with new emerging aggregators and studios to find a home at our OTT platform, Docubay, for their latest releases. We are also hoping to renew existing partnerships and sign a few new ones,” said Jain.
“We also hope to find the latest and innovative kids animation series for our kid’s channel – Gubbare. We are very keen to showcase anime, slapstick comedy, chase and adventure series,” she added.
Post pandemic, Jain remarked that documentaries that find favour with audiences are the ones that are about world leaders, technology, electric cars, digital currencies, e-commerce, sports and adventures, and world politics. She will also be attending the session on ‘Factual and Documentary Trends’ on Monday presented by K7 Media.
Recently, broadcasters have started developing unscripted shows based on a range of international formats and adapting them to suit Indian viewers. The most successful example is “Shark Tank India” televised on Sony Entertainment Television which is based on a TV format developed by Nippon TV called “Dragon’s Den.” Last year, Zee Tamil had launched the show “Survivor” based on the popular CBS unscripted series of the same name. This year, Viacom18 is launching a bold new unscripted format with “The Inventor Challenge” on its English entertainment channel Colors Infinity based on the American series “Everyday Edisons.” In the previous year, it had launched a reality series “The Big Picture” helmed by actor Ranveer Singh as the host that was based on a format owned by British production and distribution company ITV Studios.
TV production accounts for 97 per cent of the content in India at 1,55,820 hours of content produced annually excluding 400,000 hours of news bulletins, as per FICCI-EY media and entertainment Report 2022. This is followed by 2512 hours of OTT content and 1972 hours of film content.
