Bigg Boss top revenue generator for Banijay Asia, says CEO Deepak Dhar

BY Aditi Gupta

The reality show Bigg Boss, renowned for its intense drama, high-profile celebrity contestants, and the gripping format of confining participants in a house under constant surveillance, stands out as one of India's most discussed television programs. It also ranks as the highest revenue generator for its producers, Banijay Asia and Endemol Shine India, said Deepak Dhar, Group CEO and Founder of the production house.

After a stronghold in Hindi and regional content market across India, Banijay Asia has announced its collaboration with the US-based Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA) to produce a reality show that will showcase a nationwide hunt for one ordinary Indian citizen who will journey into space on a future Blue Origin New Shepard mission.

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SERA’s spaceflight program will offer citizens from across the world six seats on a future mission of New Shepard, Blue Origin’s reusable suborbital rocket. The mission will fly the selected astronauts on an 11-minute journey past the Kármán line (100 km), the internationally recognised boundary of space.

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During an exclusive chat with exchange4media, on the sidelines of the announcement, Dhar also spoke about how TV and OTT viewers have evolved and how their content demands are being catered to by the production house which has only grown bigger with unscripted shows like Bigg Boss and many others.

On being asked about the highest revenue-generating show for their production house, Dhar said it is Bigg Boss.

“Bigg Boss is getting bigger and bolder with every new season. The Marathi Big Boss, currently running, is almost three times the slot average. It's an advertiser's delight and it is doing very well,” he said.

Talking about how the rise of OTT has influenced their content strategy and the evolution of TV and digital audiences, Dhar said, there's a strong market for both linear television and OTT platforms.

“There is still a strong market for linear TV. There's also a huge market for OTT. There's been a demand in the last five to six years on the streaming side of the platform. There's a huge demand for regional content and I think we are the only producers who deliver content in Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Bangla, Marathi and Hindi. So, we see a lot of opportunities. And for us, we are catering to both sides of the spectrum,” he said.

He further said that the new reality show, which is expected to be on air early next year in a series format, in collaboration with SERA, will engage people on both platforms.

“We are catering to linear traditional broadcast television and we are catering to the streaming side of the world as well. And for us, this format goes across both. This (the new show) is something that I am 100% sure people would engage on an OTT platform and would engage on a linear broadcast as well.

“And for us, the appeal is to make this very entertaining and mass. So, we are obviously meeting with like-minded partners to see what's the resonance for an idea like this and what's their vision to really land this on a certain platform,” he said.

Talking about the collaboration with SERA and the show, Dhar said that with this show he is expecting to reinvent the reality format.

“Our starting point is the fact that I personally want to reinvent the unscripted reality game. I've lost track of how many seasons of Big Brother and Fear Factor and MasterChef and Temptation Island and Survivor that we've done. We want to really tell a new, new, new narrative style and a new narrative format. It's very big and bold in its appeal and its ambition, and that's what is exciting all of us here,” Dhar said, adding that the show format is unique and exciting.

The new format show will capture the drama, disappointment, and joy as the shortlisted individuals participate in various challenges that test their mettle and readiness for space travel, said the producers of the show, adding that the show will culminate in the selection of a final winner who will have the opportunity to become one of the first Indian citizens to travel into space.

“At Banijay Asia, our mission has always been to explore new horizons in storytelling. We’re embarking on an unprecedented journey with SERA to create a reality format that transcends the ordinary,” Dhar said.

Sharing her views on the same, Mrinalini Jain, Group Chief Development Officer, Banijay Asia and EndemolShine India said, "Partnering with SERA is a testament to our quest to find inspiring stories to narrate in the most innovative formats. We will pioneer an innovative and inspirational format by blending the thrill of reality television with the awe of space exploration. This will be a game-changing format showing every step of the journey from selection to space.”

Sharing his excitement about the collaboration, SERA Co-Founder Joshua Skurla said “SERA is founded on the principle of making space accessible to all. Our mission is to inspire and enable individuals from all backgrounds to explore the cosmos, fostering a new era of discovery and understanding. This partnership with Banijay Asia will bring space- and science-related content to a diverse audience. We look forward to their innovative approach to transform this historic endeavor into a movement that will not only inspire millions but also cultivate a global dialogue on the future of space exploration.”

Banijay head also shared that at this point, the total revenue of the production is split equally between reality and fiction.

“At one point, I was skewed heavily towards reality because of the nature of Big Brother and Fear Factor and Masterchef. But now, that's one part of us. But the other part of us is also Night Manager, Good Wife, House, Monk, Suits and Tourist and a whole lot of other new formats and original Indian shows that we develop as well. So over time, I think it's 50-50,” he told e4m.

Banijay owns a diverse portfolio of successful formats and shows across different genres and markets. While "Bigg Boss" is a major contributor to its revenue, the company's overall revenue comes from a range of other popular and profitable shows as well.

Banijay Asia & Endemol Shine India have delivered many hit and scripted adaptations, including The Night Manager and The Trial, alongside successful originals like Aarya, Dahan, Matsya Kaand, Bombay Begums, and Trial By Fire. The companies are also behind strong non-scripted productions including MasterChef, Big Boss, Temptation Island, and Into the Wild with Bear Grylls.

Recently, Banijay Asia, part of content powerhouse Banijay Entertainment, inked a deal with Sony Pictures Television, the global television production and distribution company, acquiring format rights to produce Indian remakes of five of its popular international scripted series.

Tags : Deepak Dhar Bigg Boss Banijay Asia