Aussie format maker Big Owl Pictures expands into India with Initium Productions deal

Australian format production specialists Big Owl Pictures and India’s Initium Productions have secured an exclusive agreement for the production and distribution of unscripted formats for the Indian market. 

Shaun Murphy

Under the agreement, Big Owl and Initium will launch 25 original formats covering entertainment, dating, food, quizshows, games, reality, sport, transactional and survival, in a multi-year schedule.

The content development deal was initiated by Sean Nicholls at Link Marketing & Management International.

Big Owl Pictures, backed by private equity firms, was launched in Australia in 2022 by the former head of television at Warner Bros Australia, Shaun Murphy targeting international markets for its original IP.

Commenting on the Indian market expansion, Murphy said that the partnership aligned with Big Owl’s extended vision for its format concepts.

He said: “We look at the broader life beyond the TV show, how it adapts to mobile, gaming, creative online community, tourist attraction, live event. Our relationship with Initium is built on bringing original formats to life, through creative business thinking.”

David Premier, co-founder of Initium Productions said the Indian market presents 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.”

Initium Productions, part of Procam International, specialises in live sport, entertainment, augmented and virtual reality.

In 2023, Big Owl brokered a first look deal with BBC Studios covering original factual entertainment  formats outside of Australia, in addition to a commitment to co-develop format concepts through BBC Studios’ global production network.

The BBC is currently globally representing Big Owl’s new food format series, Memory Bites with Matt Moran, which is screening in Australia for SBS Food and SBS On-Demand.