New Delhi: Starting with its name, Reliance Big Entertainment Pvt. Ltd has made no bones about its ambition to be one of the largest media and entertainment companies globally.
Sharply underscoring billionaire Anil Ambani’s entertainment ambitions, on 18 May the company announced a splashy entry into Hollywood with a plan to “develop” films with George Clooney’s Smokehouse Productions, Tom Hanks’ Playtone Productions, Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, Chris Columbus’ 1492 Pictures and Nicolas Cage’s Saturn Productions, virtually the who’s who of the American movie industry.
Reliance is exploring around 30 projects, of which it expects eight to 10 to go into production over the next two years. While the production budgets will range from $25 million to $150 million (Rs106.5 crore to Rs639 crore), the company is projecting a revenue stream of at least $1billion through these films. But Hollywood appears to be just one element of the game plan. The company, which was valued at $1 billion after hedge fund investor George Soros invested $100 million for a 3% stake in the company in February, says it is aiming to be a $10 billion enterprise “soon”, according to president Rajesh Sawhney.
Reliance Big Entertainment president Rajesh Sawhney
The bullishness perhaps stems from getting a steep premium from a canny investor such as Soros even before any of the company’s ventures have really taken off in any significant way (Ronnie Screwavala-owned UTV Software Communications, with a much better track record so far, was valued at around $1 billion after Walt Disney invested $203 million to increase its stake in the company from 13.7% to 32.1%, also in February).
Sawhney, however, doesn’t see any incongruity in this.
“In the US, the media and entertainment sector accounts for 10% of the GDP (gross domestic product). The global average is around 6-7%. In India, the sector accounts for a mere 3-4% of the GDP. Clearly, it’s an opportunity that has not been exploited yet,” says Sawhney.
Sawhney’s larger blueprint includes plans for one of the largest broadcast networks in the country, the biggest portfolio of businesses in mobile and Internet gaming, social networking, classified portals, as well as movies and video rental services. And a presence in physical music and video distribution, besides making Hollywood and Indian films.
Sawhney says four to six television channels are likely to be launched before year-end but refuses to elaborate. Meanwhile, a well-known editor of a leading news channel confirms, on the condition she isn’t named, that the company is quite serious and approached her recently to lead their news project.