Big Owl Pictures & Initium Productions Partner for Unscripted Formats

Big Owl Pictures Australia and Initium Productions India have formed an exclusive partnership to produce and distribute unscripted formats for the Indian market. This collaboration merges global expertise with local knowledge to create innovative, top-tier content designed specifically for Indian viewers.

The partnership will introduce 25 original, innovative formats across a variety of genres, including Entertainment, Dating, Food, Quiz, Game, Reality, Sport, Transactional, and Survival, over the coming years.

Big Owl Pictures, headed by Shaun Murphy, former Head of Television at Warner Bros Australia, specializes in developing and producing a wide range of unscripted content. Shaun has been behind the success of formats like The Masked Singer, The Bachelor, Celebrity Apprentice, and Dancing with The Stars.

Commenting on the partnership, Shaun Murphy, founder, CEO, Big Owl Pictures said “Each format we have created, we look at the broader life beyond the TV show, how it adapts to mobile, gaming, creative online community, tourist attraction, live event. We look at the afterglow across all of our formats, so our platform partners can share in the world that the IP creates. Our relationship with Initium is built on bringing original formats to life, through creative business thinking”.

Initium Productions, a company within the Procam International group, is a prominent leader in Live Sports & Entertainment, as well as augmented and virtual reality. Procam International has pioneered the running revolution in India with four world-class events, including the Tata Mumbai Marathon. With a diverse portfolio that features partnerships with top brands like Tata, Nykaa, Microsoft, Dior, Airtel, Sony Sports, Disney+ Hotstar, Rajasthan Royals, and Kolkata Knight Riders, Initium has consistently crafted compelling narratives that drive brand success.

On the association with Big Owl Pictures, David Premier, co-founder, Initium Productions expressed “India’s television and OTT landscape has experienced a huge surge, offering boundless opportunities for new-age storytelling. With this collaboration we aim to bring fresh, engaging content to Indian viewers while maintaining the global appeal of Big Owl’s popular formats, to set new benchmarks in the industry.”

The deal was brokered by Sean Nicholls, former President of Octagon Asia Pacific and the current CEO of Link Marketing & Management International (LMI).