CANNES: Barely has Mipcom 2013 taken off and Star India seems to have sprung a huge surprise on buyers gathered at Cannes.
It’s Koffee with Karan, being served hot and fresh at the world’s largest content fest before it returns to screens back home.
That’s not all. The network is equipped with a host of other series and thousands of films from its library, and is particularly betting big on the epic saga - Mahabharat - which is already on air on Star Plus since 16 September.
Star India’s ammo includes the thriller series Savdhan India and Humne Li Hai...Shapath from sister channel Life OK’s portfolio as well as Arjun which is currently being telecast on the network.
Star India vice president Ashutosh Mordekar exults: “While we are looking at selling the Mahabharat format to countries which look at it as mythology, there is also a huge chunk of countries which think of it as a costume drama coming from India and are interested.”
So Star India also plans to position Mahabharat, a la Korean costume dramas that are very popular with global audiences.
“We are looking at tapping central and eastern Europe, Russia and the CIS region. We are hoping for a good Mipcom this year,” says Mordekar.
Having succeeded in selling Life OK’s Devo Ke Dev... Mahadev to Mauritius and Eastern Europe, the network is looking at expanding the market base of the hit series.
Nach Baliye, India’s Dancing Super Star and Channel V’s teenage crime series Gumrah are among the other show formats the network is looking to license this year. Star India will also hunt for new formats for Life OK as well as its new channel Star World Premier HD.
About the propensity for Video on Demand (VoD), Mordekar says: “In India too, there is a huge shift from linear TV to non-linear and to VOD and we are also looking at creating content to occupy that space. We are coming up with branches to fulfill the VOD need of our viewers.”
So while it’s early days at Mipcom, indiantelevision.com will keep a watch out for deals cracked in markets the channel plans to tap.
