Disney Star Inks Content Deal With Self-Publishing Platform Pratilipi

Bengaluru-based Pratilipi has partnered media conglomerate Disney Star for a multi-series content deal, which will allow the latter to develop multiple new fiction television shows adapted from stories available on the self-publishing platform.

The companies, in a joint statement, said this is the first time when TV series would be adapted and developed from an online self-publishing and audiobook platform. 

Pratlipi claims to have over 10 Mn stories on its platform.

“We have always believed in providing quality content in multiple formats to suit everyone’s needs. Our collaboration with Disney Star is a testament to our continuous commitment to creating multi-format content for a wider audience,” said Ranjeet Pratap Singh, CEO and cofounder of Pratilipi.

Founded in 2015 by Singh, Sankaranarayanan Devarajan, Rahul Ranjan, and Sahradayi Modi, Pratilipi is an Indian language storytelling platform which connects readers and writers in 12 languages, including Tamil, Malayalam, English, Bengali, Kannada, Hindi and Marathi.

The startup also claims to have an extensive readership and listener base of up to 15 Mn subscribers and be home to over 9.5 Lakh writers. The companies said the association between Pratilipi and Disney Star opens doors for writers to envision their stories in various formats.

“Our collaboration with Pratilipi underscores our core belief in empowering writers, which is essential for creating compelling content on both TV and digital platforms,” said Gaurav Bannerjee, head content at Disney+Hotstar & HSM Entertainment Network.

Pratilipi, backed by Tencent, Omidyar Network, WEH Ventures, Times Internet, and Nexus Ventures Partners, among others, has raised a total funding of $80.6 Mn so far. 

In an attempt to increase its presence in different content formats, Pratilipi has made several acquisitions in recent years.

In 2020, it acquired Mumbai-based IVM Podcasts. It also acquired The Write Order in 2021 to expand its repository of original stories. 

Last year, the startup also entered the traditional book publishing market with the acquisition of Westland Publications.

However, on the back of growing expenses, Pratilipi’s net loss more than doubled to INR 196.44 Cr in FY22 from INR 96.19 Cr in the previous year. On the other hand, its operating revenue surged 41.5X year-on-year to INR 7.88 Cr.