The global show

Indian television networks have been having a field day adapting global format shows to suit the tastes of Indian audiences. In the recent past, Freemantle Media’s Pop Idol has been rehashed into Indian Idol, NBC Reality Television’s show The Biggest Loser found its way as The Biggest Loser Jeetega.

Refreshingly, now here’s an Indian production house that has created its own intellectual property in this space. Mumbai-based Optimystix Entertainment India has created two of its own format shows, namely Bathroom Singer, a musical show and Nirvana, a self-improvement show.

Says Sanjiv Sharma, founder and CEO, Optimystix: “Creating homegrown format shows is the next big step in Indian television. We are a creatively-led organisation and the fact that we want to create our own IP in format shows stems from our core competencies.” For its part, Optimystix earned its spurs by adapting international shows such as Let’s Make a Deal (as Khul Ja Sim Sim on Star Plus) and Night Fever (Kismey Kitnaa Hai Dam). That’s given the company the confidence to go it alone.

In Bathroom Singer, contestants from across the country will perform in the sanctity of ‘The Bathroom’, and if they’re selected they get to perform in front of an audience in a studio show. Bathroom Singer will air on Sahara’s ‘Filmy’ channel. Nirvana is a self-improvement show involving 12 seekers, celebrities and ordinary people split into three groups. Each group will meet and live at the ashram (home) of a renowned Indian spiritual guru. Audiences will get a chance to follow their life and experience of living by the code of conduct laid down by the guru.

Not only is Optimystix creating its own IP, it also plans to market those properties internationally. It has tied up with two international format owners to exclusively market their formats in India as well as to take its own shows international.

One of the firms is Zodiak Television, a leading international TV-format distributor based in Copenhagen. Kam Ya Zyaada launched on Zee Television was based on a format owned by Zodiak TV, and adapted for India by Optimystix. The other partnership is with Sparks Network, which is a platform of 13 independent producers from across the globe.

Sharma says Optimystix is the only Asian company in that network. Both Bathroom Singer and Nirvana (the latter has been conceptualised specifically for the global markets) are now in the kitty of Sparks Network. On how the partnership works and the revenue arrangement, Sharma explains that Sparks Network is a major source of catalysing the sales and acquisitions of TV formats across markets as all members enjoy free and exclusive access to other member’s catalogues.

Based on the individual member’s relationships with broadcasters in their home market, the members become each other’s local production counterparts and sales arms. With regard to revenues, the format (IP) creator or owner earns licence fee for the format and the producer in the country for which the format has been selected and being adapted earns production fees.

“For Nirvana, we have received very good response from broadcast networks in US, France and Belgium. We are currently in advanced stages of negotiations for producing this show for a global network for global audiences,” explains Sharma.