GECs
Sony’s Kutumb switches to new avatar
MUMBAI:Sony’s ace in the pack has donned new robes.Kutumb, the love-hate saga that started in late October last year, has relaunched in a fresh format. After the protracted relationship between the chief protagonists Pratham and Gauri came to a happy end last week, the serial started a new story this Monday with the lead actors playing out different roles. Their names however remain the same – Pratham and Gauri.
The idea,” says Sony’s on air programming director Anupama Mandloi, “is to explore different aspects of the man-woman relationship without stretching any one story for too long.” This, the Balaji show attempts to do by retaining the now recognizable faces of the actors but by infusing a fresh storyline – the life of which will be decided by the ratings. Although Kutumb, along with Balaji sibling Kkusum continue to remain channel drivers for Sony helping it to retain a strong presence on the 9 – 10 pm timeband, the channel believes it was time for Kutumb’s family to move on. In the latest ratings released by market research agency AC Nielsen TAM Media, the show in fact ranked number 32 in the top 100 shows across C&S households with a TVR of 3.49, only slightly behind top Sony show Kkusum, which ranked 27 with a TVR of 3.8.
Mandloi is not worried that the loyal following of Kutumb might be weaned away to other channels due to the drastic change in storyline. The scene shifts to college life, with Pratham playing a cheeky teenager who doesn’t much believe in eternal love, while Gauri turns into a bespectacled, conservative girl who thinks its love that makes the world go round. The theme song has been suitably changed although the tune remains the same. Mandloi believes that any show that wants to live a long life will need to re-invent itself to succeed in these trying times.
Kutumb version 2 has however not been marked by much publicity, except for the promos run on the channel for the last two weeks. The publicity is to be built up over the next few weeks, as the viewer catches on to the new story, say channel officials.
GECs
EPIC Company unifies all brands under single EPIC identity
IN10 Media rebrand aligns TV, digital and films into one ecosystem
MUMBAI: The EPIC Company, formerly known as IN10 Media Network, has announced a sweeping brand consolidation, bringing its television channels, digital platforms and content IPs under a single identity, EPIC.
The move is aimed at simplifying the company’s structure while creating a more connected content ecosystem spanning television, digital and films. By aligning multiple verticals under one umbrella, the company is looking to present a sharper, more cohesive face to both audiences and partners.
As part of the transition, several channels have been rebranded to align with the EPIC identity. EPIC will now operate as EPIC TV, while Nazara becomes EPIC Bharat, Filamchi is now EPIC Bhojpuri, Gubbare transitions to EPIC Kids, and ShowBox is reintroduced as EPIC Music. Ishara will continue under the identity EPIC Parivaar, maintaining its core positioning.
The company has also refreshed EPICON, its streaming platform, to reflect a more unified and modern brand experience. The overhaul is designed to improve content discovery and create a seamless experience across platforms.
This consolidation follows the recent launch of EPIC Studio, a unified production arm that brings together Juggernaut Productions and MovieVerse Studio, as the company expands its footprint across films, OTT and television.
The EPIC Company managing director Aditya Pittie said, “As our scale has grown, it has become important to simplify how we operate and how we present ourselves to the ecosystem. This consolidation gives us a clearer, more future-ready structure to partner, invest, and build at scale, while ensuring that for viewers, the experience is more seamless and intuitive.”
With the rebrand, The EPIC Company is positioning itself as a platform-agnostic content network, focused on scale, simplicity and integrated storytelling. By bringing everything under one banner, it is aiming to make its content universe easier to navigate and harder to ignore.
