Endemol looks to drive season-based shows

After full-fledged TV-show production, it says finite shows are more profitable

Yudh, Sony Entertainment Television's (Sony's) new serial, will mark not just Amitabh Bachchan small-screen fiction debut. It could also seal Endemol's reputation as more than a format-based production company.

The Dutch format and production house is hoping to fortify its identity as a production house with capabilities across genres and regions. It is banking on finite but high profile TV shows to drive profitability and prove its production chops.

Endemol had entered India eight years back, it brought the stand-up comedy format in the form of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. The show which was aired on Star India's erstwhile second GEC, Star One (relaunched as Life OK in 2011), went on to have four seasons and launched comedy artists like Sunil Pal, Raju Srivastav and Kapil Sharma.

Endemol's forte since its entry has been format-based shows. It followed its debut with shows like Bigg Boss (the Indian adaptation of Big Brother) and Khatron Ke Khiladi (Indian adaptation of Fear Factor), both currently on Viacom18's flagship GEC Colors.

However, now the company intends to position itself as a full-service production house.

Deepak Dhar, MD and CEO, Endemol India says, "We are known as a format house and its fine since our success has come from popular reality shows. But now, we are also focusing on the fiction part. We want to be a production house with interest in national and regional GECs. Whether it is adapting an international format to Hindi GEC or regional GEC or developing concepts for fiction content, we are confident of doing it efficiently."

To customise its formats better, Dhar says Endemol chooses the anchor, of the reality format-shows with great care - Akshaye Kumar, known for its on-screen stunts, for the inaugural season of Khatron Ke Khiladi and Salman Khan, who has the spunk to host a bold show like Bigg Boss.

Some of the fiction shows it has done so far are Mile Jab Hum Tum (Star One), Sabki Ladlee Bebo (Star Plus) and Geet - Hui Sab Se Parayi (Star One). In 2012, CA Media, founded The Chernin Group, picked up 49 per cent stake in the company. The following year, Endemol India achieved the milestone of producing 1,000 hours of content annually across fiction and reality content. It now has associations with close to nine channels in Hindi and regional GEC space.

Regional play
Endemol is also increasing its regional focus. It started with taking Bigg Boss to Kanannda and Bangla television. Apart from Bigg Boss, it has two more reality formats on regional TV - Deal Or No Deal (on Sun TV) and Money Pound Drop (Surya and Udaya). Endemol will be making shows in six regional languages this year.

Dhar informs, "This is a strategy that we have deployed internationally as well. If a format has done well in a region, we look at how it can be moulded to similar regions. We plan to explore more in the regional space. We have two new formats lined up, both are reality concepts - Your Face Sounds Familiar and One versus Hundred."

Film production is the next frontier for Endemol, and it has already made a start with Anamika, produced in Tamil and Telegu, followed by Traffic, a co-production with Fox Star Studios. "We have also acquired the rights to the movie Warrior. We will be building our infrastructure and capabilities in film production over the coming years. Films allow you to retain the IP (intellectual property). In case of non-fiction, there is no problem since we own the international IPs. But fiction-show IPs rest with the broadcasters in India. (i) Yudh is an exception where the IP will lie with Endemol and Saraswati Productions, the co-producers of the show," says Dhar.

Television production houses for both fiction and non-fiction content have been under duress for four to five years since the commissions from the broadcasters have dropped. The networks have tightened the purse-strings following less ad spends on GEC shows due to a drop in ratings. Though Endemol still owns the IP for its international format shows, it too has been affected.

Dhar says, "In case of fiction, you have to build on volumes. Only then can a property become profitable. Another way to go about it is get finite high-decibel shows like reality shows or limited-episode fiction like Yudh. These provide scope for season-based formats. Going by the response to Yudh, we may plan a second season," says Dhar.

Apart from homegrown content like the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer that launches on Sony on July 14, Endemol has acquired the rights to two overseas fiction shows - the Dutch serial Pinozza and the American thriller series The Killing (recently aired on Star World) for India.