Endemol to enter realm of fiction

MUMBAI :Big Brother producer Endemol, which set shop in India in 2006, is in the process of diversifying into fiction or scripted format. The company, which has been traditionally known for its non-fiction and format shows, is looking at ramping up its fiction vertical by getting into home-grown local soaps as well acquisition of local production houses.

Endemol India is looking at production houses with expertise in Hindi fiction and regional languages. That apart, Endemol has already begun work on three soaps for INX Media, SAB TV and Star Plus. The company is also close to finalising some big-ticket shows for NDTV Imagine.

The rationale of moving into fiction comes from the fact that today 75% of content on Indian TV are soaps. “The growth for Endemol will come from the non-scripted shows. A fiction show gives a production house 260 episodes in a year, a big-ticket format show lasts for only a quarter,” said Rajesh Kamat, CEO, Endemol India.

When queried why a non-fiction international expert would consider entering a complex and unique market such as India, Mr Kamat said, “The international catalogue gets you a leeway with the broadcaster, wherein when you pitch your idea. There’s an automatic safety net that comes in due to the previous success of a particular format.

But if one restricts oneself only to non-scripted shows, then one can at most do only 16 shows in a year. But the demand is not so much as a broadcaster usually does one big non-scripted show every quarter.”