afaqs! news bureau
Media

ACK Media launches The Ideas Box

The Ideas Box is a business model aimed at creating children's fiction and non-fiction shows

ACK Media, the brand under which Amar Chitra Katha, Tinkle and Karadi Tales exist, has launched The Ideas Box. This is a new business model in TV and film content production. It is a content creation and activation company for "kids and families".

The two founding partners of this new venture, Anil Sanjivan and Sudipta Dhruva have several years of experience in developing content strategies that connect with kids.

The new company will specialise in fiction and non-fiction shows, large-scale school contact programmes, and films that leverage ACK Media brands. It will also develop new shows and characters that can be distributed through broadcast, as well as other ACK Media platforms like comics, DVDs, and online services.

Sanjivan, founder and managing director, The Ideas Box has spent over 20 years in the advertising business, running large Indian and multinational brands, such as Kimberly Clark Lever, Raymond, Femina and Killer Jeans, to name a few.

He has vast experience in the field of ideation and creation with his stint at agencies such as O&M, where he was the vice-president and then president of Speer (which was acquired by O&M); and Enterprise Nexus, where he was executive director and a board member. Before turning entrepreneur, his last engagement was as the vice-president and business head at Miditech, one of India's largest television production houses, famous for renowned reality shows like Indian Idol, Fame Gurukool, K for Kishore and lots of award winning documentaries.

Dhruva's last engagement was as the head of the Kids vertical at Miditech. Prior to that, she founded and ran Different Strokes, an event management firm specialising in kids' events. She has spent all her professional life working with kids and schools, in the space of ideation and creativity.

Speaking at the launch, Dhruva says, "In a very short time, we have created a small but dedicated team that is excited about producing the highest quality content and experience for kids. We are in multiple discussions with GECs and kids' channels and already have two shows in production, which we will announce at a later date."

Sanjivan adds, "We are looking to grow aggressively by developing 'brick and mortar' assets that can help us deliver better quality shows at lower costs and also in offering innovative business models to the broadcaster like syndication and AFPs, besides commissioned programming"

Samir Patil, CEO, ACK Media says, "The Ideas Box represents a critical element of our long-term vision of being a leader in animated and live-action content production. We will make significant investments in the venture to develop differentiated production capabilities and leverage all our sales channels to offer a unique 360 degrees model to our partners."

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com