iWorld
ZEE5 and Cosmos-Maya sign multi-project deal
MUMBAI: Leading India and Singapore-based animation studio Cosmos-Maya and India’s entertainment super-app ZEE5 have entered into a far-reaching multi-project partnership which will see 250+ episodes of Cosmos-Maya’s content air on the OTT App’s new offering ZEE5 Kids.
The deal will see the exclusive digital premiere of three of Cosmos-Maya’s properties: Guddu (Season 2), Bapu, and Gadget Guru Ganesha. This new agreement brings a total of 500+ episodes of Cosmos-Maya’s content broadcasting on ZEE5 platforms following a previous agreement for 250+ episodes for three other Cosmos-Maya’s series: ViR: The Robot Boy, Eena Meena Deeka and Chacha Bhatija, which have been airing on ZEE5 as part of its library.
With around 11.4 million Daily Active Users as of Dec 2019, the Zee Enterprises’ owned ZEE5 is India’s Entertainment super-app. With ZEE5 Kids, they aim to provide a bespoke amalgamation of entertainment and education content for kids in a safe and secure environment. ZEE5 Kids will also educate parents on the content slate, features, and safety precautions through blogs, stories, challenges, and tutorials.
ZEE5 India programming head Aparna Acharekar said: “Responsible and entertaining homegrown content for kids is the need of the hour and ZEE5 Kids is launching to meet that. It is great working with a partner like Cosmos-Maya, which has captured the imagination of children and has been successful through the years in bringing kids’ content to the masses. With our new offering, we want kids and parents at large to have #NonStopBACHFUN anytime, anywhere.”
Cosmos-Maya CEO Anish Mehta added: “We are delighted to be working with ZEE5. They have been successful in reaching all parts of the country in a very short span of time, and this deal means six of our shows overall will be made available to ZEE5’s viewers in an array of regional languages. All of these are in line with ZEE5’s vision of democratization of content and our USP of ‘Novelty with Relatability’, and we are glad that this move will provide engaging entertainment to children nationwide during this challenging time.”
Guddu chronicles the exploits of the circus lion Guddu, a spin-off character from the Motu Patlu franchise. Bapu is a first of its kind IP inspired by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. Gadget Guru Ganesha is a slice of life buddy comedy set on a quintessential Indian family and beautifully encapsulates the nuances of Indian culture in an entertaining format.
Cosmos-Maya is Asia’s leading kids’ animation studio with 18 series on air globally and a 60% market share of the Indian kids’ content market including two of the country’s most popular children’s shows Motu Patlu and Selfie with Bajrangi.
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iWorld
Epic Company launches unified Epic Studio for films and OTT
Vivek Krishnani to head films business; Samar Khan leads OTT & Television.
MUMBAI: Epic just merged its creative superheroes under one cape because when films and OTT need to fight for attention together, you don’t keep them in separate universes. The Epic Company has launched Epic Studio, a next-generation creative and production powerhouse that unites Juggernaut Productions and Movieverse Studio under a single banner. The move creates a streamlined, scalable platform for premium storytelling across theatrical films, OTT originals, television, digital-first formats and branded content.
Vivek Krishnani has been appointed chief executive officer, Epic Studio (Films), overseeing the theatrical and film business with a focus on culturally resonant narratives across Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati and Malayalam cinema. Samar Khan continues as chief executive officer, Epic Studio (OTT & Television) and retains his role as chief content officer for Docubay and Epic On.
The Epic Company managing director Aditya Pittie said, “Epic Studio brings together our entire creative ecosystem under one unified studio vision. This is not just an integration of verticals, but the creation of a collaborative environment where writers, filmmakers, creators, and brand partners can seamlessly develop and scale stories across formats and screens.”
Vivek Krishnani added, “We are building an audience-focused mainstream film studio committed to delivering fresh, engaging, and innovative stories for both theatrical and streaming platforms.”
Samar Khan commented, “This alignment allows us to approach storytelling with a unified studio mindset. We are building IP under one creative umbrella, with scale and longevity in mind from inception.”
The unified structure eliminates silos, enabling ideas to flow fluidly from concept to screen while adapting to evolving audience behaviour. Epic Studio positions itself as a creator-led ecosystem championing purposeful, resonant storytelling with commercial strength.
In an entertainment landscape where stories now leap between screens faster than plot twists, Epic isn’t just building a studio, it’s crafting a single launchpad where every tale gets the best shot at soaring across every platform.
