Can Anand Mahindra's IN10 succeed in the crowded GEC space?

The MD of IN10 Media talks about the new launch, the distribution plans and the road ahead.

It is fair to say that the last time a large media network launched a Hindi pay general entertainment channel (GEC) in India, it bombed. Discovery Jeet was rolled out by infotainment giant Discovery Network in 2018. The goal was to attain scale. The channel shut down last year (2020).

Owned by Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra and the Pittie Group, IN10 Media Network has jumped into the crowded sea of experienced and established giants. The network has launched a GEC, called Ishara, which will now compete with the likes of Star Plus, Zee TV, Colors Sony TV, &TV, Star Bharat, etc. The goal is to have a market share in the biggest genre. 

IN10 Media was earlier co-owned by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries (RIL) and media veteran Mahesh Samat. It used to run a channel, called Epic, which aired mythological shows. Epic was positioned as the mythology channel of India. In 2016, Anand Mahindra, through his family business, bought Ambani's stake as well as that of Samat, who is now with the Walt Disney Company. Pittie Group's Aditya Pittie is now at the helm of IN10 Media as managing director. 

The network now operates Epic, which has now been positioned as an infotainment channel; music channel Showbox; and Bhojpuri movie channel Filamchi. The network recently entered kids genre, with Gubbare, as well as the GEC category (Ishara). IN10 Media also has a digital presence in the form of Epicon and Docubay. 

According to sources in the organisation, Aditya Pittie has set a target for the team, which is to compete with Star Bharat, &TV, and be at the number six slot, at least. He, however, has not revealed the strategy. 

In an interview with afaqs!, he talks about the new launch, the distribution plans and the road ahead.

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