Mumbai: BBC Studios, the production arm of BBC group, has emerged as the preferred partner for over-the-top (OTT) platforms to create premium shows. It has partnered with OTT platform Zee5 for its latest release The Broken News directed by Vinay Waikul and starring Sonali Bendre, Jaideep Ahlawat and Shriya Pilgaonkar. “The demand for scripted content on OTT platforms is extremely high right now and we’ve been servicing that demand,” remarks BBC Studios general manager Sameer Gogate.

BBC Studios has gotten off to a strong start to the year with its Disney+ Hotstar series Rudra: The Edge of Darkness marking Ajay Devgn’s OTT debut. Now, it is backing Sonali Bendre’s OTT debut with The Broken News. The studio first partnered with Zee5 for the Telugu-language thriller Gaalivaana directed by Sharan Koppisetty and starring Sai Kumar and Radhika Sarathkumar. The studio will continue its association with Zee5 by building its slate of Hindi originals across genres.

In terms of new projects, the studio is working with Amazon Prime Video for an unnamed project and Voot for Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan season four which has begun filming. It is also expecting the release of Hotstar Special Criminal Justice season three in the coming months.

“We’ve got a fairly busy slate this year and there are a few more projects I can’t announce yet because the OTT platform would like to announce it first,” says Gogate. He reveals that the studio is working on another project with Disney Star.

After a silent period in the TV production space, the studio is returning to work on a upcoming dance reality show. While the studio is mostly working on OTT projects, Gogate expects this trend could change in the next couple of years.  

The Broken News is based on a UK series called Press, created and written by Mike Bartlett. While the original show was written for print media, BBC Studios India adapted the format for the broadcast news industry. “The show (The Broken News) highlights the role of the news producer who is the earpiece of the news editor. There’s a lot of work that went into the writing in terms of visiting news studios, meeting with anchors and catching up with news reports. The story is a reflection of what’s happening in society and thankfully when we pitched it to Zee5, they took it up right away,” recalls Gogate.

In the past, BBC has created the shows What The Love Netflix and Sons of the Soil for Prime Video. It has also worked on Out of Love seasons one and two for Disney+ Hotstar. As subscription driven streamers increase investments in original content in India, they’re on the lookout for production partners who can deliver premium shows that can help them differentiate from the clutter.

“By virtue of being a studio with a strong lineage and brand, we’ve been able to put up big productions that have been successful,” says Gogate. “I’m fortunate to have an experienced team that can mount big shows and handle that pressure which helps me sell more content to OTT platforms.”

Gogate is keen to work with all the subscription OTT platforms in the country including players like SonyLIV, Netflix, HBO Max and Lionsgate Play.