GECs
Dubbing a success story
Kishore Bhatt is a happy man!
In 2001, the 50-year old gave up a secure job in State Bank of India for a career in dubbing.
At that time, it looked quite a gamble: the switch from one of the country’s top financial institutions to something which has an uncertain entertainment industry piggybacking it. There were many who wanted to correct him.
Now, as I speak to Bhatt, his ten year old kid proudly lists out names of the characters Bhatt lends his voice to: Beakman, Batman, James of the Pokemon series, Samurai Jack, Uncle in the Jackie Chan animation series…the list goes on.
For Bhatt, the timing was right. This period saw international players including Discovery, The History Channel and National Geographical Channel entering the Indian market. Then, Walt Disney’s arrival in three Indian languages has ensured lot of work from the kids’ channel segment. We have many more international networks knocking the door as well in approximately Rs. 150 million TV language dubbing industry.
The evolution
As per industry estimates, the total dubbed content was of approximately 2,400 hours in the 2003 fiscal. In the current fiscal, Disney alone has 1800 episodes of dubbed content in Telugu and an equal number in Tamil. The channel has already dubbed 1650 episodes of content in Hindi. Taking all the other players into account, the growth pattern definitely shows an upward curve.
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Indranil Ghosh
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“The volume of dubbed content in all segments including broadcasting has gone up. English to Hindi dubbing has gone up over the last two years,” says UTV Post Production and Dubbing GM Indranil Ghosh.
The industry scenario
Dubbing vendors are riding on this wave. UTV, which has a
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UTV‘s dubbing business primarily caters to movies, television serials, documentaries and animation films. Walt Disney, Discovery, Star TV, Nickelodeon, National Geographic Channel (NGC) and The History Channel figure in its clientele. UTV is offering dubbing services to the Walt Disney channels in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu for serials and feature films. According to the agreement with NGC Networks Asia, UTV’s services include translation and transcription of the original English scripts into Hindi and Tamil for both dialogues and lyrics and also for dubbing.
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dubbing business unit, recorded a volume of 733 hours in this period. In the quarter ended December 2004, the company has done 461 hours of dubbing.
Other leading dubbing vendors include VGP, En Sync, Mainframe and Sound & Vision. The boom has given birth to a large number of dubbing organisations, big and small. There are at least 25 small outfits in Mumbai itself. Industry experts find it difficult to give an accurate assessment of the size of the market because of the fragmentation.
“It is a very fragmented market. Apart from a handful of big players, we have many smaller players to take into account,” says Ghosh.
Industry analysts value the market size at an approximate Rs. 150 million with UTV in the lead. The company earned Rs. 34 million from dubbing in the 2003 fiscal and has already touched 24 million for the six months period ended 30 September 2004.
GECs
Pocket FM partners with Indian Open Pickleball 2026
Audio platform joins forces with major tournament to engage young fans.
MUMBAI: Pocket FM just served up a perfect partnership because when audio storytelling meets pickleball’s fast-paced rallies, even the sidelines start listening. Pocket FM, the world’s largest audio series platform, has announced a strategic partnership with Indian Open 2026, one of India’s biggest pickleball tournaments organised by Global Sports in Hyderabad in association with Pickl’Out and Crosscourts Sports Club.
The collaboration brings Pocket FM’s immersive storytelling to one of the fastest-growing emerging sports in India. Pickleball, known for its accessibility, energy and strong community appeal, is rapidly attracting younger, digitally savvy audiences making it an ideal platform for Pocket FM to deepen its cultural relevance.
Under the partnership, Pocket FM will enjoy extensive on-ground and digital visibility throughout the tournament, which begins on 1 April 2026. This includes centre court branding, venue-wide presence, presenting rights for select matches, player lounge branding, team jersey integration, and strong integration across live streaming and social media.
Pocket FM, SVP and global head for brand marketing and partnerships Vineet Singh said, “Pickleball is building a strong connection with young and engaged audiences in India. This partnership allows us to connect with people in a meaningful way through strong on-ground presence and digital visibility.”
Global Sports and Indian Open 2026, founder Hemal Jain added, “Partnering with Pocket FM adds an exciting new dimension to the experience. As a brand that has built deep resonance with young audiences, Pocket FM is a strong fit for the energy and ambition of this tournament.”
The move reflects Pocket FM’s continued strategy of aligning with emerging passion points and building deeper engagement with communities driven by competition and shared experiences.
In a country where sports and stories often collide, Pocket FM isn’t just sponsoring a tournament, it’s turning every rally into a narrative, proving that the best audio moments sometimes happen when the paddle meets the ball.
