B Saikumar, Ronnie Screwvala partner for digital media venture in India

B Saikumar, former Group CEO of Network 18, has donned the entrepreneur hat partnering with one of India’s visionary thought leaders Ronnie Screwvala. The duo has come together to create a digital media company in India, that they believe will cater to a new age audience. Based out of Mumbai, in its first phase, the venture aims at launching a digital brand that will offer multigenre, multilingual content across video, audio, text and other formats.

The investment envisaged is an outlay of up to INR 150 crore across two phases – while the first phase would be largely focus at home, the platform will evaluate newer geographies and verticals subsequently.

The venture, with Mr Saikumar as Managing Director, has also roped in Former Chief Operating Officer of Network18, Ajay Chacko, as its Chief Executive Officer.

“We are truly in a digital era where a premium must be put on content consumption patterns for ‘screenagers’. We have to not only evolve new business models around mobile consumption but also understand the need for multilingual digital content in India. Our endeavour is to build a worldclass team and product for India that will combine entrepreneurship with scale,” commented Mr Saikumar.

The venture has embarked on a global search for talent in creative, product and technology functions across entertainment, current affairs & infotainment spaces.

Digital media across the world has surpassed traditional broadcast television, radio and print as the primary choice of consumers and marketers. With over 300 million internet users in India, and around 200 million of these using mobile, the market is slated to become the world’s third largest digital media market. This is expected to get a further boost with the government’s Digital India plan and the launch of pan-India broadband services by existing operators and well capitalised new players.

The world is witnessing a range of digital-first media brands and companies generating stickiness, impact and value across markets and this venture aims at becoming a large, valuable Indian digital media company with a footprint across geographies and content spaces.

Mr Screwvala has been credited with building some of India’s most valuable media businesses across various verticals and genres — from cable & broadcast to animation & gaming, and motion pictures.

Mr Saikumar has been instrumental in taking Network18 from a single channel company to a USD 1 billion plus enterprise. As Group CEO of Network18, he oversaw the group’s wide range of interests from news and entertainment broadcast to distribution & digital content and commerce. He also served on the boards of Viacom18, Indiacast, A&E18 and Bookmyshow.com among others. Prior to Network18, he had worked with the Times Group.

Mr Chacko completed a decade-­long stint at Network18 and was the COO of the group in his last held role. He played a pivotal role in the launch of many of the group’s flagship brands across print, TV and digital. He was also responsible for consolidating the group’s financial and strategic position and providing direction to the Network’s digital content assets. Prior to Network 18, he had worked with IL&FS, Sharekhan.com as part of its start up team and Indian Express Group.

Via Digital Market Asia Mobile

Copenhagen INK

Lars is the owner of Copenhagen INK and is an experienced and passionate marketer with a proven track record of driving business impact through innovative commercial marketing initiatives.

You may also like...