BBC Studios sets eyes on regional markets

New Delhi: BBC Studios, the commercial production and distribution arm of the British Broadcasting Co (BBC), is set to expand its presence in the Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and Bengali markets, hinting at a departure from its focus on only Hindi language content.

The firm, which had formed partnerships with platforms such as Disney+Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video and Zee5 , is looking to produce more content in the young adult genre, and will be looking at free streaming options. Known for successful formats like Criminal Justice and Jhalak Dikhla Ja in India, BBC Studios has recently launched new projects such as The Broken News 2 for ZEE5.

“Before the pandemic when the industry had just seen the birth of OTT, there were international formats that were getting picked up, and we could work on existing scripts. Covid allowed us to develop our own slate and start writing for the Indian audiences, instead of just catering to briefs,” Sameer Gogate, general manager, production, BBC Studios India, said in an interview.

While the company doesn’t function as a pure play studio, producing shows, it invests in developing scripts, he added.

BBC adapted British shows such as The Broken News, Criminal Justice and Rudra-The Edge of Darkness in collaboration with Aditya Birla Group’s Applause Entertainment for India, and an original series, titled Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan on Voot, and the 10th season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa for Colors. Besides, it also announced a suspense thriller, 36 Days, partnering Applause Entertainment for SonyLIV, and the second season of The Broken News for ZEE5. That apart, it also produced the Telugu version of Dead Pixels along with Tamada Media for Disney+Hotstar. “These are early days for BBC Studio’s regional journey but we have ambitions to grow in the Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Bengali markets, Gogate said, adding that it was increasingly looking at non-fiction, and OTT and linear television now has an 80:20 ratio.

For linear TV, BBC will only focus on large-format reality shows. “The OTT market will evolve as it undergoes pricing and talent pressures. There are challenges on how to attract premium talent both from film and TV to OTT and the industry is learning the art of writing (long-format series),” Gogate said adding that the emerging genre of young adult dramas is seeing huge demand. A lot of upcoming shows will stream for free as platforms see huge potential in the AVoD (advertising video-on-demand) category, as does BBC.

Furthermore, each platform is learning to focus on specific taste clusters, be it crime dramas or thrillers and approaching production houses like the BBC depending on the content choice to keep customers happy, Gogate added.

Other international production houses operating in India include EndemolShine India (known for Bigg Boss, Khatron Ke Khiladi, MasterChef India), Banijay Asia (known for The Kapil Sharma Show, Tribhanga) and Fremantle India (known for Indian Idol, India’s Got Talent).