MUMBAI: Greymatter Entertainment's non-fiction format The Remix was nominated for best non-scripted entertainment at the International Emmy's Awards 2019. The show is the first Indian non-fiction content which has been recognised at various international markets for its unique and differentiated format. The company founded in 2009 has successfully created five IPs for the global market- The Remix, Street Stars, Head or Tails, Sunset to Sunrise and The Cafe. After the success of the non-scripted format, Greymatter is now willing to try its hand in the drama genre.
In an interaction with Indiantelevision.com, Greymatter Entertainment's founder and CEO Chandradev Bhagat and co-founder and director Payal Mathur Bhagat reveal the roadmap of the company for the next three years. The company is eyeing 30 to 40 per cent revenue growth every year with the help of cross-genre content and global appeal.
Chandradev Bhagat believes that Indian content has the capacity to resonate with the world. India is the story that the world is recognising overall; it’s the right time for India’s original stories to travel because the global market is now willing to gratify and hear them. "At present, India’s content creation is on the growth track but we are at the beginning of creating higher quality content," he adds.
He says, "We are deeply working on collaborating with people in India and overseas. We are a young company and we haven’t reached mega heights, but the idea is to be scalable and sustainable. We are also deeply invested in building scripted drama series and are also in discussions with some OTT platforms for limited episodes. We have already created a biopic drama for Discovery. The joy is in creating content across genres and for various platforms.”
Chandradev Bhagat believes that The Remix was recognised globally because of its innovative, differentiated format and concept which is in sync with the way music is being produced, created and consumed in the current time.
He is also very proud of holding the IP rights to The Remix. He says, "It is the only Indian IP that is travelling the world otherwise most of the times, we bring IPs from around the world. Indian IPs travelling around is our passion and ambition. It’s a matter of pride for us and for Indian content creators as well that an Indian IP is getting recognised at the global space. We should continue to do more of that as Indian content generators."
Payal explains the innovative elements that made show unique and acceptable globally. She says, "There are a few key elements to the shows. Firstly, the show is a re-imagined or recreated version of the original popular music track. We give freedom to the contestants to recreate the track and add their skin to it. With this the audiences get to hear the new version of their favourite track. The format also helps to resonate with both older as well as younger generations. Secondly, every performance is created like an act. We added a lot of thought and effort behind creating a visual experience. The third element is the 'behind the scene' part of the show. With that, audiences get to see the joy of creating the track."
The show was launched on Amazon Prime Video in 200 languages and this was one of the reasons why the show was able to reach a wider audience across the world. With it being behind the paywall, more effort was needed to attract viewers. Greymatter is looking into producing the third season as well now.
Greymatter Entertainment's Street Stars is also distributed internationally; last year it was premiered in Russia and also won an award there. "We are hoping to take the format to different countries. We are in discussions with various platforms in India, Europe and other countries as well. The show is about identifying street talent and it has good digital layers to it to make it engaging. The show has good traction and we want to take it to multiple countries. The show is a great example which can do well on both platforms - OTT and TV,” he says.
Greymatter Entertainment is among the few companies that create their own IPs, distribute them and manage to monetise. Some of the other shows include Mid Wicket Tales on EPIC channel and a short format for NBA. "The journey is worthwhile when the world recognises the work and we are happy to be awarded in India, Asia in different parts of the world for our work," comments Bhagat. The company is currently working on Champions Boat leagues on Star Sports and other four regional channel.
Chandradev Bhagat is aware of the changing content consumption trends. “Young audience binge-watching content is a trend now; digital has many genres and formats. OTT has broken the myth that only short format will work on OTT. I think the excitement is in digital and there is more demand compared to television. It is an exciting time for creators."
Adding to that Payal says, "The line between TV and OTT are blurring, people are consuming lots of television content on also digital. I think the platform will be irrelevant in future and content will be more important. The distribution of content is essentially the game and there is enough space and room for co-existence of TV and OTT."
"One big change that I have observed is that there are a lot more genres to explore. Earlier, we could not go very niche into the content but now we have the opportunity to produce content for different age groups, target audiences and with different requirements. This is possible because there is the ability to serve every audience almost individually. Content is getting tailor-made to suit the audience’s requirement," she says.
The duo also shared its thoughts on what needs to be done to meet the global standard. "We are a price-sensitive market, creators and people who monetise content have to find smarter ways of engaging with viewers and delivering the need," Bhagat says. Payal adds that we need to catch up in the niche content category which caters to specific individuals’ needs.
