ACK Media, an entertainment and education company has acquired a controlling stake in Amar Chitra Katha and the Tinkle family of magazines. Sources put the deal at over Rs 10 crore and the stake was well over 90 per cent.
Anant Pai will continue to be Editor Emeritus and Chief Story Teller for ACK Media, while Samir Patil would take over as chief executive officer.
Samir Patil, said, “If ACK Media can reach out to a fraction of India’s 300 million+ youngsters with content that stimulates the imagination and encourages critical thinking, in ways that complement the formal educational system and contemporary family upbringing, I would consider it a great success.”
ACK Media is planning to tap licensing opportunities that lay in the popular characters and content of the both the popular magazines for different media like television and mobile phones.
The new company will launch with five offerings including Amar Chitra Katha Illustrated Classics, the Tinkle family of magazines, The ACK Online Store, TinkleOnline.com and a set of proprietary characters from the Comics.
The new company has a team of 40 people across editorial, sales, marketing and business development that would develop content and products for education and entertainment and monetise the model.
Speaking on promotional tie-ups, Varun Sud, VP-Sales and Marketing, ACK Media, said, “Our marketing and communication will mainly focus on in-stores. We have tied up with bookstores like Crosswords and Landmark. Within the stores, we will have innovations like bookmarks and other characters displayed to catch the customers’ attention.”
Source: Television Point