iWorld
Voot Select to stream latest episodes of Shark Tank – Season 11
MUMBAI: Shark Tank – Season 11 will stream exclusively in India on Viacom18’s OTT platform Voot Select on 25 April, followed by the Indian-television premiere on 18 May, airing Monday to Friday at 9pm, only on COLORS INFINITY.
Yes, the Sharks are circling and they’re hungry for more in the latest season of multi-Emmy-award-winning reality show Shark Tank. Over ten glorious seasons, Sharks – Kevin O’Leary, Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec and Daymond John, have invested millions of dollars from their own capital, resources and expertise into ideas, concept-products and people, transforming them into booming moneymakers. The latest season will see them swim deeper in search of game-changing and clutter-breaking pitches that can be taken to the next level and turned into lucrative businesses.
Commenting on the multi-platform premiere for one of the most-popular business-reality shows, Ferzad Palia, head – Voot Select, youth, music and English entertainment, Viacom18, said: “We introduced India to Shark Tank when we launched Colors Infinity, and the show has amassed a huge fan-following, despite being a business-reality show. Establishing itself as one of the most-watched shows on the channel, viewership for it has been constantly growing with every new season. While continuing to serve our loyal television viewers, we are now taking the show to an even larger audience base by showcasing it first on our OTT platform – Voot Select as part of our digital-first strategy. This multi-platform approach will essentially serve as an impactful interplay for us, expanding our audience profile to include digital-first patrons.”
Appearing individually in various episodes as guest judges alongside Sharks – Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John and Kevin O'Leary will be founder-CEO of Stitch Fix, Katrina Lake; founder & CEO of KIND, Daniel Lubetzky; international tennis champion & founder of Sugarpova, Maria Sharapova; and co-founder & CEO of 23andMe, Anne Wojcicki.
Some of the pitches to watch-out for on Shark Tank – Season 11:
Tadah!: A falafel inspired frozen culinary business that donates 25% of its profits to non-profit organizations advocating for social change.
Beardaments: Founder Jason McOmber, came up with the idea of ornaments for beard after a few drinks at a Christmas party, and turned it into a $600,000 company. Looking to expand, he’s now in the Shark Tank.
SlumberPod: Initially none of the Sharks were biting into the pitch for SlumberPod – a cover that can be put over a travel crib to give babies a dark place to sleep. Shark Robert Herjavec exclaimed that “It’s A Tent!”, but the profitability of the business led the Sharks to reconsider.
Just the Cheese: A snack startup that made Sharks Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner come back with an offer after going out earlier, only to counter a royalty offer made by Shark Kevin O’Leary.
‘The Yard’ milkshake bar: Made in a mason jar and decorated with a variety of sweet treats, this product created a three-way battle between Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner and Mark Cuban for a stake in the company.
Get ready to witness some of the craziest concepts turn into the lucrative business prospects on Shark Tank – Season 11, streaming exclusively from April 25 on Voot Select; and airs Monday to Friday from May 18 at 9pm only on COLORS INFINITY
iWorld
Anirudh Ravichander and Universal Music India join forces to take South India’s sound to the world
The composer behind 13 billion streams launches Albuquerque Records with UMI as its exclusive global partner
MUMBAI: Universal Music India has struck an exclusive partnership with Albuquerque Records, the freshly minted independent label of singer-composer Anirudh Ravichander, in a deal that bets big on South India’s booming pop and hip-hop scene going global.
The arrangement, announced on 17 March, will see Universal Music India handle future pop and hip-hop releases by Anirudh himself, as well as artists signed to the new label. A first release is already in the pipeline for April, featuring Anirudh.
The numbers behind the man are hard to ignore. Debuting in 2012 with the viral sensation “Why This Kolaveri Di”, Anirudh has since clocked over 13 billion audio streams across more than 770 tracks, cementing his position as the No.1 South Indian artist on Spotify by total streams. His fingerprints are all over some of the Tamil film industry’s biggest musical moments, from Hukum and Vaathi Coming to Arabic Kuthu and the A23 Theme.
But Albuquerque Records is a different beast. Built for the non-film space, it is designed to nurture independent talent and champion the next wave of Indian pop voices. “Universal Music India’s leadership in pop and hip-hop made them the natural partner,” said Anirudh. “I’m excited to take independent voices to audiences around the world.”
Universal Music India’s chairman and CEO Devraj Sanyal was equally effusive. “Anirudh represents the future of Indian music, bold, original, and with enormous potential,” he said. “Identifying transformative talent is our superpower, and this partnership reflects that belief.”
Sanujeet Bhujabal, managing director of Universal Music India, framed the deal as more than a distribution play. “Albuquerque Records represents Anirudh’s bold artistic vision in the world of pop and hip-hop,” he said. “True to his legacy of innovation, this partnership is set to establish yet another landmark creative space, this time for the emerging world of iPop and beyond.”
For Universal Music India, the deal deepens a long-running push into South India’s four key language markets: Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu. The label already has regional imprints, film partnerships with Maddock Films and Excel Entertainment, and a growing non-film roster. Landing Anirudh, arguably the south’s most bankable music brand, is a statement of intent. South Indian music has the streams. Now it is coming for the world.
