iWorld
Ambani talks about RIL’s media & entertainment empire
MUMBAI: When one of India’s richest billionaires starts talking about what most consider as a small media & entertainment business, juxtaposing it against the Rs 300,000 crore he generates out of oil and gas, it’s a statement of how much it has come to mean to him.
At the RIL AGM on 1 September chairman Mukesh Ambani outlined the scale of Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL’s) M&E business.
“We own 58 channels the highest number by an Indian company and we are aggressively investing in it along with global leaders such as Viacom, CNBC, CNN Forbes, and A+E Networks,” he said with aplomb.
11 of these channels are overseas but they are Indian and catering to the diaspora globally. Network18 contributes 21 of these in the form of news channels reaching out national and regional viewers, in 18 states and 11 languages. The entertainment and infotainment TV business it has set up in partnership with global majors such as Viacom and A+E has 26 channels.
“Our television network reaches out to more than 500 million viewers every month, that is two out of every five Indians,” he explained. “Colors is amongst the top two channels in India, while Nick and MTV are top players in their genres.”
He was pretty kicked up about the reach of online websites under the Network18 umbrella. “They attract over 27 million unique visitors every month which is the largest in India,” he exclaimed.
He also spoke about the fact that online shopping and ticketing sites such as bookmyshow have got the highest traction in the country.
iWorld
Banijay Asia’s The 50 tops OTT charts with 8.1 million JioHotstar views
Reality competition becomes most watched show on JioHotstar in debut week.
MUMBAI: Fifty contestants walked into a palace, but millions of viewers showed up for the drama. Reality competition The 50, produced by Banijay Asia, has emerged as the most watched show on JioHotstar, clocking 8.1 million views in its debut week. The figure, reported by Ormax Media, places the show at the top of the OTT viewership charts and marks a strong opening for the digital reality format.
Adapted from a popular French format, The 50 brings together 50 personalities from television, digital platforms, music and reality shows inside a grand palace setting. Over the course of a 50 day competition, participants form alliances, compete in unpredictable tasks and navigate eliminations as the field steadily narrows.
Guiding the game is a mysterious figure known as The Lion, an unseen game master whose voice introduces twists, challenges and strategic turns throughout the show, adding an extra layer of suspense to the contest.
What distinguishes The 50 from typical reality competitions is its audience driven prize structure. Instead of the winner taking home the final reward, the prize is awarded to one of the winner’s registered followers through the show’s dedicated app. The mechanism effectively turns viewers into participants, allowing fans to have a direct stake in the outcome.
The contestant lineup features a mix of television actors, reality stars and digital creators, including Karan Patel, Urvashi Dholakia, Divya Agarwal, Mr Faisu and Dushyant Kukreja, each bringing their own fan following to the show.
With its blend of celebrity personalities, strategic gameplay and interactive viewer participation, The 50 has quickly carved out a strong foothold in India’s digital entertainment landscape. Its 8.1 million views in the opening week underline the growing appetite for large scale reality formats designed specifically for OTT audiences.
