Kaleidoscope, ABP in TV, mobile, content creation partnership

New Delhi, Oct 9 (UNI) Bobby Bedi's entertainment company Kaleidoscope and leading media conglomerate Anand Bazar Patrika (ABP) Pvt Ltd today announced a strategic partnership to produce high class content for films, TV, moble and internet.

ABP, will pump in Rs 20 crore to kickstart Kaledoscope's foray into the new media, primarily focussed at TV and mobile content development, with both the companies drawing from each other's expertise.

''The paradigm of entertainment today has evolved beyond conventional definitions. The new media and digital content is growing in excess of 50 per cent annually, and we naturally want to take advantage of the widening consumer base for technology products,'' Mr Bedi and ABP CEO and MD Dr Pramath Raj Sinha told newspersons after signing the deal here.

Mr Sinha said they create a lot of content in the print sector which could be used for film, telecom and broadcast sector too while working with Kaleidoscope.

''This enterprise is a win-win partnership for both companies.

This marks our foray into entertainment and, with a lot of exciting activities in the pipeline, we anticipate creating a large-scale and value creating venture with Kaleidoscope Entertainment Pvt Ltd,'' he said.

ABP today has 12 premier publications, two 24-hour national news, two leading book publishing businesses, several mobile and internet properties and a radio channel in the offing.

Replying to a question, Mr Sinha said that ABP had no immediate plan to launch any entertainment channel. ''We first want to be experts in creation of content, channel may follow later,'' he added.

To a question about the nature of content for mobile, Mr Bedi said that he will not be reformating his film content for it but creating a fresh content.

He said that with the new venture with ABP, his company becomes the country's first full-capability entertainment content provider.

Kaleidoscope is a leading production house of the country with internationally acclaimed films like Bandit Queen, Saathiya, Maqbool and Mangal Pandey-the Rising to its credit.

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