Big Owl Pictures & Initium Productions partner to bring unscripted formats to India

New Delhi: Big Owl Pictures Australia and Initium Productions India, have entered into an exclusive agreement for the production and distribution of unscripted formats for the Indian market.

The partnership will launch 25 formats spanning genres including entertainment, dating, food, quiz, game, reality, sport, transactional and survival, in the upcoming years.

Big Owl Pictures, led by Shaun Murphy, former Head of Television, Warner Bros Australia, develops and produces all genres of unscripted content.

Shaun has led formats such as The Masked Singer, The Bachelor, Celebrity Apprentice and Dancing with The Stars. 

Shaun Murphy, Founder and CEO, Big Owl Pictures, said “Each format we have created, we look at the broader life beyond the TV show, how it adapts to mobile, gaming, creative online community, tourist attraction, live event. We look at the afterglow across all of our formats, so our platform partners can share in the world that the IP creates. Our relationship with Initium is built on bringing original formats to life, through creative business thinking”.

Initium Productions, a Procam International group company, is known for live sports and entertainment, as well as augmented and virtual reality. Initium has collaborated with brands including Tata, Nykaa, Microsoft, Dior, Airtel, Sony Sports, Disney+ Hotstar, Rajasthan Royals, and the Kolkata Knight Riders.

David Premier, Co-Founder, Initium Productions, said, “India’s television and OTT landscape has experienced a huge surge, offering boundless opportunities for new-age storytelling. With this collaboration we aim to bring fresh, engaging content to Indian viewers while maintaining the global appeal of Big Owl’s popular formats, to set new benchmarks in the industry.” 

The deal was initiated by Sean Nicholls, former President, Octagon Asia Pacific, and current CEO, Link Marketing and Management International (LMI).