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Vikatan Group’s B Srinivasan on TV-OTT dynamics, air time barter model, first digital-only daily soap
MUMBAI: Tele-Wise Tamil witnessed a one–on-one conversation between Vikatan Group managing director B Srinivasan and Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari which brought out interesting facts on the journey of Vikatan Group. The duo also discussed the company’s road ahead in the Tamil market.
The group creates content for various streams from television to YouTube and has its own YouTube channel with 10 million subscribers. The company is also looking forward to cater to the audiences in Tamil Nadu through OTT platform.
Taking the audience through the journey of Vikatan Group, Srinivasan said, “It has been 29 years since I joined. After the launch of Sun TV it took us around five years to gain the courage that we had lost in 1993. That time I decided at least to produce if I am unable to start a satellite channel. We were having our own fiction and that was the bread and butter of Ananda Vikatan. We have had the best creators working for us so we thought it was a natural extension to enter into production. We started in 1998 with a weekly serial called Akshaya.”
“We had an interesting journey; we consistently worked with some of the best channels in the industry. Daily soap is not easy to come by, it is tough to bring out the cassette at the end of the day and since the last three years it has become six days a week. 26 episodes a month is not a joke,” he commented.
Talking on the presence of Vikatan’s content on digital platform, Srinivasan said, “Since 2011 we are on YouTube as well. Today across fiction and non-fiction we have around 10 million subscribers on our YouTube platform. We crossed 150 million views last month. Today we got into a place where we can produce content beyond television. We are in talks with a couple of OTT players and trying to understand how it works since it is nothing like television.”
Wanvari mentioned that apart from Doordarshan and Sun TV, most producers operate on a commission model, then why did they choose the air time barter model. “In 1998, Sun was the dominant player in the television market and it had air time commission model, they did not have commissioning model at that time. That gave us one of the biggest advantages of creative independence and I can guarantee that none of the producers today have that. Creative independence is cherished a lot by our creators today,” replied Srinivasan.
Tamil TV is under-indexed compared to the share of viewing it gets, sharing his views on the impact of the same on Vikatan Group, Srinivasan said, “The market is rough but we have been having an amazing relationship with our advertising clients and they know us from different days. There is a trust that we have been able to build in the market.”
He further said, “Because of the market dynamics we have not been able to make money always but we have been able to supplement our presence through YouTube.”
Wanvari also inquired whether Vikatan Group would be opened to get commissioned from the broadcaster. To which Srinivasan replied, “I would rather get commissioned in the OTT space than on the television because our product will make lot of money with the kind of IPs we have.”
Going further he said, “The OTT space is completely different. On television, the investment that is required in a single episode can run into almost Rs 1 crore. So, that is something that we wouldn’t want to go ahead with.”
The group also shared his plan to produce the first digital daily soap for YouTube. Srinivasan said, “We have been fortunate enough to be the first producer commissioned by YouTube to produce the first digital daily soap and that’s likely to come out in the next few months.”
“There are going to be digital avatars of the characters. There will also be digital interaction which will lead to the storytelling and those will lead to the social interaction. That’s how the story will pan out. It’s a 120-episode series which will air from Monday to Friday,” explained Srinivasan.
If the show does well then it would be the first daily soap which will be told exclusively on YouTube. Srinivasan is hoping to get the interest of advertisers on the same and also plans to come back with seasons of the show.
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
