Endemol India, Eros International Pact for Film and TV Content

NEW DELHI – Endemol India and Eros International Media announced a strategic alliance which will involve an investment of about $20 million (rupees 1 billion) to produce three films. The alliance also includes the partners producing original television programming. Endemol India has already successfully produced local versions of hit international formats such as Big Brother and Fear Factor. Endemol India is a 51:49 joint venture between Endemol BV and CA Media, the Asian investment arm of The Chernin Group (TCG) backed by Peter Chernin.

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Eros International is a leading producer and distributor of Indian films which include recent hits like English Vinglish and Vicky Donor. Eros recently diversified into television via a joint venture with HBO Asia. The partners plan to launch two new premium advertising-free movie channels, HBO Defined and HBO Hits, in India. This first ever exclusive alliance also provides for the development of both HBO’s existing formats for India as well as the creation of original content for the Indian television market and international distribution.

The Endemol-Eros three film deal includes an action comedy which will be a remake of a South Indian blockbuster, an original romantic comedy (the first to go into production later this year) and a comic caper. Earlier, Endemol India forayed into film production by acquiring the South Indian remake rights of hit Hindi thriller Kahaani (produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures).  On the television front, both partners plan to develop properties owned by Endemol and Eros for television.

 “After successfully producing content for some of the biggest format shows in the country, we are expanding our portfolio to films and are delighted to partner with leaders in this space. Through this association, we look forward to making a mark on the big screen as well,” said Endemol India CEO Deepak Dhar.

“We are really excited to be partnering with Endemol India. We both are IP driven companies and Eros having been market leaders in the filmed entertainment arena, while film co-production has its natural synergies, we will also create original high quality compelling television content as digitization takes Indian television into the premium subscription phase. The alliance is founded on the coming together of our respective core competencies in film and television,” said Eros International executive director Jyoti Deshpande.