Fiction
Balaji Telefilms prepares for its most diversified year, announces plans for Balaji 2.0
MUMBAI: For decades, Balaji Telefilms has shaped how India watches stories. From daily soaps that became national rituals to films that pushed cultural boundaries, the company has never simply followed the market. It has defined it. As the industry enters one of its most decisive years, Balaji is once again stepping forward with clarity, scale and conviction.
Nitin Burman, group chief revenue officer at Balaji Telefilms, lays out how the company is preparing to reshape the content industry. “The groundwork has already been laid,” he says. “What comes next is Balaji 2.0.” For Burman, 2026 is not the beginning of this transformation, but the moment it becomes visible to the world.
At its core, this next phase is about expansion. Not just into new platforms, but into every format where audiences exist. Films remain a crucial pillar. Balaji’s 2026 movie slate is set to be its strongest yet, with multiple titles already locked, including big-ticket releases that will anchor the year. “Cinema continues to be a big focus for us,” Burman notes. “Our film calendar for 2026 reflects that confidence.”
Digital, however, is where the scale truly multiplies. Balaji has five long-format premium shows locked with Netflix, spanning both fiction and non-fiction. These are binge-led, high-quality series designed for global audiences. “This is not something we started planning yesterday,” Burman says. “We have been working on digital for years. 2026 is when the results start showing.”
Alongside this, Balaji has launched Balaji Studios, a strategic move that allows the company to collaborate with independent creators and writers. The studio operates on a global model, similar to leading international production houses. One project with Amazon is already locked, with more in active development. These projects are independently created, platform-commissioned and produced under Balaji’s creative and business leadership. “We want to increase volume and work with new creators,” Burman explains. “That is why the studio model is important for us.”
YouTube has also emerged as a serious content pillar. Balaji has launched its own YouTube originals channel, where it has already released two shows and is rolling out three more. The ambition is to produce six to eight advertiser-funded shows in 2026 alone. Unlike typical short-run YouTube content, Balaji is investing in longer formats, brand integrations and sustainable monetisation. “We have already broken even and made profits on YouTube,” Burman says. “That tells us this model works.”
Beyond entertainment content, Balaji is also building consumer-facing digital businesses. The Balaji Astro Guide app, launched recently, crossed one million downloads within just two months. “That growth has been very fast for us,” Burman says. “We now want to scale the app into something much bigger.”
Another key vertical is Hunar, Balaji’s talent management arm. The company has already signed multiple artists and locked projects featuring them. Hunar will focus on discovering, managing and nurturing talent, while integrating them into Balaji’s content ecosystem across platforms. “We have already locked projects with our artists,” Burman says. “Now the focus is to build Hunar into a strong talent vertical.”
The most keenly watched launch, however, is Balaji’s return to owned OTT with its new app, Kutingg, which is set to launch on 19 January. After regulatory disruptions halted earlier plans, the company is now ready to come back stronger, smarter and more focused. Kutingg is designed around daily engagement and habit creation, summed up in its positioning, “Entertainment ka doze harr roz”. “We want to offer entertainment every single day,” Burman says. “That is the core idea behind Kutingg.”
The programming strategy is sharply defined. From Monday to Thursday, the app will offer daily episodic entertainment, releasing at least two new episodes every day. Fridays are reserved for binge drops, with a limited series of six to eight episodes released in parts. Saturdays will focus on micro-dramas, with a new title released every week. Sundays will feature non-fiction formats such as chat shows. “Every day has a different kind of entertainment,” Burman says. “So the audience always has something fresh to watch.”
Kutingg’s pricing strategy reflects Balaji’s understanding of audience behaviour. A one-day vertical-only trial will be available at Re 1, converting into a Rs 199 monthly plan. Another option offers a week-long trial at Rs 99. The full Rs 199 subscription unlocks both vertical and horizontal content across the app. The positioning is summed up in the app’s tagline, entertainment’s dose.
Technology plays a central role in this ecosystem. Balaji has built a large in-house AI team that handles advanced visual effects and AI-driven production. Much of the work seen in its fantasy and supernatural shows is already powered by this capability. The company has launched an AI-led vertical series, Kaal Nagari, and is now developing a fully AI-generated horizontal series with around 16 episodes. “All our AI work is done in-house,” Burman says. “We see this as the future of production.”
Micro-dramas are another area where Balaji has quietly built dominance. The company currently produces more than 20 micro-drama shows every month for other platforms, making it one of the largest producers in the segment in India.
For Kutingg, one exclusive micro-drama will be released every week. “Micro-dramas are not a bubble,” Burman says. “They are becoming a major format.”
Despite the aggressive digital push, television remains a core business. Balaji continues to deliver top-ranking shows on TV, many of which also dominate connected platforms like Hotstar. As televisions increasingly become connected devices, the line between TV and digital is blurring. “At the end of the day, it is about content quality,” Burman says. “If audiences did not like these stories, they would not be number one.”
Balaji’s confidence comes from history. It revived legacy shows when few believed it was possible. It entered OTT early. It invested in micro-dramas when the format was dismissed. It experimented across genres long before genre-bending became fashionable, from The Dirty Picture and Udta Punjab to mainstream entertainers and bold reports. “We have always been ahead of the curve,” Burman says. “And we will continue to be.”
The philosophy remains unchanged. Balaji does not chase platforms. It follows audiences. “Wherever the audience is, on whichever platform, we want to make content for them,” Burman says.
As 2026 approaches, the focus is firmly on execution. Balaji knows not every initiative will scale equally. “If even three out of the six or seven things we are doing grow big, we will double down on those,” Burman says.
The formats may change. The screens may multiply. But one thing remains constant. Balaji Telefilms will always find a way to entertain.
Fiction
Banijay merges with All3Media in $6.65 billion deal
Marco Bassetti will lead the combined company as CEO
PARIS: Six years after acquiring Endemol Shine at the height of the pandemic, Banijay has struck again. The European production heavyweight is merging with All3Media in a deal that will create a television titan with $6.65 billion in revenue and redraw the contours of a fast-consolidating market.
The combined company will trade under the Banijay name and be owned 50 per cent each by Banijay Group and RedBird IMI, which acquired All3Media in 2024. The transaction is expected to close by autumn, subject to regulatory approvals.
Banijay Entertainment CEO Marco Bassetti, will take the top job at the enlarged group. All3Media CEO Jane Turton becomes deputy CEO. RedBird IMI CEO Jeff Zucker will serve as chairman.
The logic is scale. Broadcasters are commissioning less, streamers are tightening budgets and global buyers are fewer but bigger. Against that backdrop, heft matters. The merged entity will generate roughly $6.65 billion in revenues based on 2024 figures, giving it sharper elbows in rights negotiations and deeper pockets for franchise-building.
“Entrepreneurialism, ambition and creativity” remain core to Banijay’s DNA, Bassetti said, flagging plans to invest more heavily in new intellectual property, live events and emerging platforms. Turton struck a similarly bullish note, pointing to All3Media’s journey from a 2003 start-up to a global supplier of hit formats and high-end drama.
Between them, the two groups control a formidable slate. Banijay’s catalogue spans MasterChef, Big Brother, Survivor, Black Mirror, Peaky Blinders and Deal or No Deal. All3Media’s labels include Studio Lambert, producer of The Traitors and Squid Game: The Challenge; Two Brothers, behind The Tourist; and Neal Street, currently producing the forthcoming Beatles biopics directed by Sam Mendes for Sony.
The back catalogue is equally muscular. Banijay Rights holds some 220,000 hours, while All3Media International adds around 35,000 hours, forming one of the industry’s largest libraries.
Banijay, controlled by French entrepreneur Stéphane Courbit and listed in Amsterdam, counts more than 130 production companies across 25 territories. All3Media operates over 40 labels, with strong positions in the UK, US and Germany. The enlarged group will also lean into live entertainment, building on Banijay’s Balich Wonder Studio, which produced the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, and the Independents.
The deal marks a shift in tone. As recently as October, Bassetti suggested that mergers and acquisitions were not a priority. But the drumbeat of consolidation has grown louder. Mediawan has moved for Peter Chernin’s North Road. David Ellison’s Paramount has agreed to a $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros, with plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount plus. ITV has explored selling its media and entertainment arm to Comcast-owned Sky, though talks have reportedly slowed.
