Loud music, heavy drumbeats and cheerleaders – these are the innovations that Reliance ADAG introduced to the world of cricket during the Twenty20 World Cup. Following the success of the format, the Reliance – ADAG group is now foraying into organising large format live events through its group company, Adlabs Films. The event management company will be launched under a new banner ‘Big Live’. However, the company is yet to christen the event management venture. Through this initiative, the group will directly get into competition with biggies like Wizcraft, DNA Networks, Arclights and others. Sources disclose that company is investing upwards of Rs 500 crore to launch the event management company.
Senior company officials, who did not want to be quoted said, “Big Live is already into live open space in sports. We have done some shows but we will be launching a holistic event management company under the Big Live banner. And, that will not only manage sports events, but also entertainment events. Arjun Singh, director Big Live, is already ideating the whole business. However, Reliance is also looking for somebody who can spearhead the event management company. It will take another six months before we can officially launch the event management company.”
Industry sources disclose that the group has already started signing celebrities like Aman Ali Bangash, Zakir Hussain, and many child artists. According to the arrangement with these celebrities, the company will share a percentage of its profits from all the events organised throughout the year. The company is currently spending time on research and development in designing new formats in the event management space.
Big Live is most likely to organise sports events rather than managing sports personalities. The company is not willing to bid for a T20 team at IPL being organised by BCCI as reported earlier. Analysts say that at this juncture, it is a good opportunity for ADAG, as this segment is gaining popularity. Analysts also say that the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, including the opening and the closing ceremonies of the event, can create a lucrative scenario for ADAG. However, the group will have to scale up its sports entertainment to a large extent in order to be a deserving contender for getting the rights to hold events.