1. Ronnie Screwvala: The TV Entrepreneur of India
Ronnie Screwavala is the man who pioneered organized cable TV in India in 1981. He is also
the man who brought to the Indian Television, its first reality show Saanp Seedhi in 1992 and
the first drama series Shanti- Ek Aurat Ki Kahani in 1994. The show to this day is considered
as one of the best drama series aired on the Indian Television. It had a phenomenal fan
following and was adored by male and female audiences. After the success of Shanti and
Saanp Seedhi, Ronnie Screwvala went on to produce many television shows.
In 1990, Ronnie established UTV Software Communications which was into production and
distribution of movies and television family programs. Ronnie along with his better half Zarina
Mehta entered into television broadcasting with the launch of Hungama children television
channel. The channel with its carefully tailored content became the number one channel for
children in India, surpassing international channles like Disney and Time Warner. Ronnie has
launched many other television channels such as UTV Bindass, UTV Action, UTV World
Movies, UTV Movies, etc.
Today the Indian TV distribution market with a reach of 146 million households is the third
largest in the world. The industry is currently valued at Rs. 20,000 crore. The format and
content of Indian Television has seen tremendous transformation. However, Ronnie
Screwvala who has known the Indian Television audience like none other believes that the
key to successful TV content creation is appeal to the masses and not just the metropolitan
audience. He says that the audience today has access to hundreds of national and regional
channels and the only way to win their interest and attention is to create innovative and
meaningful content. With the growing competition, the channels today cannot take their
audience for granted. He also believes that local adaptations of international television
formats is not what the major chunk of audience want to watch. The creators of television
content must produce original shows that the audience can relate to. Also, India with it's
diverse culture and languages is not an easy market to crack.
From a small cable provider to a media and entertainment emperor, Ronnie has come a long
way. He has changed the face of Televison and film industry with not just innovative content
but also the way in which business is done.