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Balaji Telefilms, the production banner helmed by Ekta Kapoor, has entered a strategic partnership with YouTube to roll out five original shows totalling 200 episodes, marking one of the most significant moves yet by an Indian TV powerhouse into premium digital-first content.
The tie-up brings together Kapoor's decades of storytelling instincts with YouTube's distribution muscle. Under the deal, Kapoor will retain creative control and intellectual property ownership across the slate, while YouTube handles global distribution and monetisation through advertising and brand partnerships.
The lineup blends legacy titles with new offerings: a second season of Haq Se, a fourth season of Kehne Ko Humsafar Hai, and a new series titled Phir Pyar Ki Yeh Kahani Suno, alongside additional projects still in development. All shows will be produced in 4K and made available to a global audience.
The move is a bet on shifting viewing habits, as Indian households increasingly watch YouTube on connected TVs rather than traditional broadcast. The platform says it reached more than 75 million Indians aged 18 and above on connected TV screens in April alone, and Comscore data cited by YouTube ranks it the top platform by CTV reach in the country as of May.
Kapoor called the partnership an opportunity to build emotional connections with audiences at scale, framing her approach to storytelling as rooted in feeling rather than format. Gunjan Soni, YouTube India's managing director, positioned the collaboration as proof that television's future lies in marrying big-screen production values with the flexibility of on-demand viewing, adding that the platform aims to keep opening new distribution and revenue paths for creators.
The shows are set to premiere across the festive season, with updates and behind-the-scenes content to roll out via the @TheIndianKDrramas YouTube channel.
The partnership underscores a broader trend of Indian entertainment companies bypassing traditional broadcast and streaming gatekeepers in favor of direct-to-platform deals with YouTube, which has been aggressively courting premium scripted content to cement its living-room presence against streaming rivals.