Brands
Banijay acquires global rights to Battleground fitness-reality format
Rusk Media’s digital hit joins global slate as firm bets on sportainment boom
MUMBAI: Banijay Entertainment has acquired the global rights to Battleground, a high-energy fitness-reality format created by Rusk Media, as it sharpens its focus on digital-first and youth-driven content.
The deal marks Banijay’s entry into the fast-growing fitness-entertainment space, blending sport, creator culture and reality storytelling into a format designed for global audiences.
Battleground follows fitness creators competing across three stages, including a signature Fight Club round, as they are divided into teams and pushed through challenges testing strength, endurance, agility and speed. With continuous filming and strategic gameplay led by team mentors, the format leans heavily on drama, alliances and audience engagement to sustain momentum.
The show has already proven its pull in India, clocking over 20 million views and generating 2.5 billion social media impressions in its first season, signalling strong traction among younger viewers.
Banijay Entertainment head of format acquisitions Helen Greatorex said, “Battleground sits at the intersection of creator culture, community fandom and intense sportainment competition. The large-scale athletic battles deliver genuine spectacle, while evolving alliances, rivalries and gameplay bring fresh competitive energy. This is a format with true global potential.”
Rusk Media CEO and co-founder Mayank Yadav added, “Battleground was built as a premium, digital-first format created for scale, consistency and deep audience engagement. Partnering with Banijay Entertainment brings together creative vision and strategic expertise to take the format further globally, while enabling brands to integrate more meaningfully.”
The format now joins Banijay’s expanding third-party portfolio, which includes titles such as Ninja Warrior from Tokyo Broadcasting System, Werewolves from STUDIOCANAL and Dreamspark, All Star Hide and Seek from Troot and Rabbit Films, and musical format 100 co-developed by Park Wonwoo of Diturn Korea alongside Asahi Broadcasting Group Holdings Corporation and Empire of Arkadia. It also includes comedy format You Laugh, You Lose from Yoshimoto.
With Battleground, Banijay is not just adding another format to its catalogue. It is doubling down on a content trend where fitness meets fandom, and where digital-native storytelling is fast becoming prime-time material.
Brands
Aptronix unveils ‘Big & Beyond’ campaign, opens largest store in Hyderabad
Naga Chaitanya, Sobhita front push as retailer expands premium Apple experience
HYDERABAD: Aptronix has rolled out its most ambitious brand push yet with the launch of the ‘Big & Beyond Aptronix’ campaign, alongside the opening of its largest retail store in India.
The campaign features actors Akkineni Naga Chaitanya and Sobhita Dhulipala as brand faces, signalling a sharper focus on aspirational, experience-led retail as the company scales its presence in the premium Apple ecosystem.
At the centre of the rollout is a new 8,000 sq. ft. flagship outlet at Sarath City Capital Mall, now the largest Aptronix store in the country and among the biggest Apple Premium Reseller formats in India. The space is designed to offer immersive product discovery, personalised guidance and integrated service support, positioning the store as more than just a point of sale.
The campaign itself leans into themes of scale, ambition and accessibility, aiming to connect with a younger, increasingly design-conscious generation of Apple users. By pairing celebrity appeal with in-store experience, Aptronix is looking to deepen emotional engagement while reinforcing its premium positioning.
A key pillar remains its ‘Limitless Aptronix Exchange’ programme, which offers customers simplified upgrade paths, transparent pricing and wider access to Apple devices. The initiative has been central to driving adoption by making high-end technology more approachable for a broader audience.
Premium Lifestyle and Fashion founder & owner Sutinder Singh said the new store reflects a long-held belief that Indian consumers should have access to the best Apple retail experience without compromise. He added that the campaign’s celebrity faces mirror the brand’s core values of elegance, ambition and confidence.
Aptronix CEO Meghna Singh said the ‘Big & Beyond’ theme reflects how the company operates, with a focus on building a best-in-class retail experience. She noted that the Hyderabad launch and the campaign together signal Aptronix’s intent to set new benchmarks in the category.
With this dual push of scale and storytelling, Aptronix is not just expanding its footprint but also redefining how premium tech retail is experienced in India.
