Hindustan Times (Delhi)

Salman Khan TV, Deepak Dharled Banijay Asia tie up for TV, web

- Lata Jha lata.j@livemint.com

NEWDELHI: Banijay Group, the production house behind reality hits such as

has tied up with actor Salman Khan’s television production house Salman Khan TV to create content across television and web formats.

Banijay last month entered into an equal joint venture with Deepak Dhar, former managing director of Endemolshi­ne India, as part of which he will head the company’s operations as founder and chief executive of the newly created Banijay Asia.

The partnershi­p will see Dhar and Khan generate both fiction and reality shows, across genres.

At Endemol, Dhar was credited with shows such as

and the latter hosted by Khan for several years.

“I am really looking forward to this associatio­n, creating ground-breaking content for India and South-east Asia,” Dhar said in a statement.

“For us to associate with Salman Khan’s production company is an extremely substantia­l partnershi­p. With the emerging shows on the television digital platform, this collaborat­ion will build our presence in India and South-east Asia,” he said.

Banijay’s library spans programmin­g genres with notable formats including crime drama series

and ABC’S reality television programme,

The partnershi­p will ride on the growing TV and overthe-top (OTT) video streaming market in India.

“In the last year or so, the focus for OTT platforms has really shifted from library to original content,” said Jehil Thakkar, partner at management consulting firm Deloitte India. “That in turn, creates great demand for local production houses that can deliver good quality content in time and within budget. That skill is not very common and there is massive opportunit­y for those who can execute it well.”

However, for Khan, there is more to the partnershi­p.

“This country is home to various talented people who don’t get a fair chance to prove themselves. We at Salman Khan TV not only aim to produce engaging content along with Banijay Group but also provide a fair platform to these young and budding individual­s,” Khan said in a statement.

“The employment opportunit­ies I can provide on the film front are limited because I am able to do only one or a maximum of two films each year. However, SK TV has a broader base where we will be coming up with multiple shows across various genres hence generating better employment opportunit­ies for these hidden talents who aspire to make it big,” he added.

 ?? MINT/FILE ?? Salman Khan
MINT/FILE Salman Khan

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