Multi Screen Media (MSM) has been taking lessons in cricket. The network has learnt to cover its flanks even as it strides ahead. It has the ultimate trump card in Indian television ? the broadcast rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL) ? the Twenty20 cricket tournament which has emerged as the country?s biggest sporting and entertainment extravaganza. The sixth season of the tournament saw more than 100 brands led by title sponsor Pepsi lining up at MSM?s gate with analysts estimating that the network would have clocked ad revenues worth R900-950 crore by the time the tournament ended. But that has not made MSM complacent as it shifts gears and leaps on to new projects and devices to keep the audiences coming in for more. Its sports channel Sony Six which aired the IPL tournament for the first time this year, recently won the exclusive broadcasting rights for the European qualifiers to UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup across the Indian sub-continent. Earlier this year, the network entered into a strategic tie-up with Eros International Media, India?s biggest movie production company. The network has created a new wing called MSM Motion Pictures which is collaborating with Eros International for film project Bajaatey Raho. It has also recently taken the plunge into the digital space with the launch of its multi-platform video-on-demand service, Sony Liv where viewers can watch their favourite shows online and across devices. And now, to cap it all, the network has signed on Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan for a daring new fiction series on its flagship channel Sony Entertainment Television (SET), popularly known as Sony. The show will be produced by Bachchan?s own production house Saraswati Creations, in collaboration with production company Endemol India. Film maker Anurag Kashyap, touted to be India?s Quentin Tarantino, will be involved with the creative direction.

This is a noteworthy development because Bollywood A-listers have embraced game show formats grudgingly enough and have steered completely clear of television serials. The common perception is that you are damaged goods if you?ve taken on a television serial.

Ad film maker Prahlad Kakar who owns Genesis Films says Bollywood actors have been known to sidestep interesting television plots. ?This is crazy because television minimises risks. Television has an alternate source of revenue, which is advertising and sponsorships. You could reach millions of viewers on a single night of television while you would need at least a week of box office run to reach the same number of people in cinema,? he says. Kakar adds that he had once offered Bollywood actor Vidya Balan the chance to do a female lawyer?s part in a television series. But the actress turned it down. Once Bachchan takes the plunge, it is likely that there could be a mindset change. ?After all, Bachchan himself emerged out of bankruptcy because of game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC),? remarked Kakar. MSM?s approach is the right one, but the Indian broadcasting industry has been a slow starter in monetising an obvious source of revenue, as per Kakar.

One more Bollywood star has been heeding Kakar?s advice. Actor Anil Kapoor is bringing the Indian adaptation of hit

US television series 24 to Colors, the Hindi GEC of Viacom18, where he will play

the lead role. The shoot has started on ground and the show is expected to debut on Colors in a few months. Zee TV is airing a weekly documentary reality show called Connected Hum Tum with Bollywood actor Abhay Deol as the host.The show went on air from June 2.

Endemol India which is partnering with MSM for the new television series with Bachchan states that it is one of the biggest developments for the television business. Deepak Dhar, managing director and chief executive of Endemol India, said that the show will have an ingenious script, great production values and the inmitable style of Anurag Kashyap. He says, ?The project started with an original idea from Endemol India, that we thought would change the way India saw television. We approached Bachchan with the story idea of a finite TV series knowing that he has always been a game changer for television. We knew that if he agreed, then his talent and persona would take this show to another level. Once Bachchan green-lighted the project, we got on board the creative genius of Anurag Kashyap. Known for his vision, creativity, his inimitable style, Kashyap further refined the story and the script and took over as creative director for the project,? he said.

For the record, Sahara One had taken a big punt on Karishma – The Miracles of Destiny starring actress Karishma Kapoor in 2003. The show lasted over 262 episodes but did not cut much ice with the audience. ?There have been other fiction shows (with big stars), but I wouldn?t like to comment on the past. They were done in a different format at a different time,? says Dhar. ?This show is an original story done made with a fresh approach unlike anything that has been seen on Indian television before. This show will be shot on the same scale as a feature film and mostly on outdoor locations.?

NP Singh, chief operating officer,

MSM said that Amitabh Bachchan has been one of the first big stars to grace

the small screen on a non-fiction project and that?s worked out beautifully for

everyone involved. ?Our show could spark off a new trend of big stars entering fiction projects on television, assuming that

there is the right fit for the right star. We?ve invested a lot in this show. But if you have the right content, it can be easily monetised,? he said.

Kakar points out that television means big business overseas. ?Band of Brothers was a successful mini-series for a

television audience. It was produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. You take a long-running saga, shoot it like a feature film and split it into parts. But Indian broadcasters, who?ve been totally risk averse, are used to producing poor quality half-hour serials?episodes of which are shot over a week, or even daily. The scripts are of poor quality and have predictable themes,? he said.

Man Jit Singh, chief executive of MSM, promises that the Bachchan fiction show will reinvent the television space. ?Sony has always been instrumental in innovating and creating numerous milestones for the Indian entertainment industry. It has been our constant endeavour to create clutter breaking and novel content for our viewers and the new show reiterates our philosophy,? he said.

A rival broadcaster, who did not want to be named, however, was skeptical about the success of the new Bachchan show. He said that MSM had been forever relegated to number four position, except when the IPL was playing, or when KBC was on. ?They?ve made big bang investments in programming earlier as well which haven?t delivered returns. In 2009, they announced five television shows with Yash Raj which didn?t cut ice with the audience. The shows were supposed to be contemporary and quite unlike the family dramas that play on Hindi GEC. But that experiment backfired badly. They had to scrap the shows in the end,? he said.

The Indian media and entertainment industry stood at R82,000 crore in 2012, as per the 2013 Ficci-KPMG report on the industry. The television business grew from R32,900 crore in 2011 to R37,000 crore in 2012. The big four in the broadcast industry are Star India, Zee Network, TV18 and MSM. Zee Network has revenues of R4003 crore and operating profit of R992 crore. TV18?s broadcast revenues (includes Viacom18) are in the region of R1,699 crore while operating profits are in the region of R112 crore. Star India and MSM are not listed companies, but analysts say that Star India as a network should have revenues of R5000 crore yearly, while MSM could be in the region of R2000-2500 crore.

To be sure, Man Jit Singh defends MSM?s strategy. ?We want to consolidate our strength of having two of the top five Hindi general entertainment channels and want to provide advertisers the single largest network of Hindi general entertainment. In addition, we continue to buy the

best movies for our movie channel. Our music channel Sony Mix continues to innovate and differentiate itself in a crowded space. While our sports channel Sony Six is establishing itself as a destination where the young can get a combination of sports and entertainment, our English entertainment channel AXN is a leader in its category. We are working on consolidating AXN?s position still further. Focusing on our core business is a key growth strategy,? he said.