Balaji Telefilms has struck a partnership with YouTube to launch five original shows, spanning 200 episodes, marking a significant digital-first push for the production house.
The slate blends returning favourites with fresh titles: Haq Se Season 2 and Kehne Ko Humsafar Hai Season 4 will return, alongside new project Phir Pyar Ki Yeh Kahani Suno and other shows currently in development.
Under the deal, Ekta Kapoor will steer creative direction and retain full IP ownership, while YouTube handles global distribution and monetisation through advertising and brand partnerships. All shows will be shot in 4K, built as digital-first productions but with television-grade production values, and made available to audiences worldwide on the platform.
Ekta Kapoor, Joint MD, Balaji Telefilms, said storytelling has always been about forging emotional connections that outlast the screen, and framed the YouTube partnership as a fresh chapter to reach global audiences as viewing habits increasingly shift toward the platform.
Gunjan Soni, Managing Director – India, YouTube, said the future of television lies in serving digital-first audiences who want both big-screen quality and on-demand flexibility, positioning the partnership as a step toward making that vision real, powered by Kapoor’s instinct for emotional storytelling.
The tie-up signals a broader shift in how legacy Indian content studios are rethinking distribution — moving beyond traditional TV and OTT bundles to platforms like YouTube that offer built-in global reach, flexible monetisation and direct audience access, without studios having to cede ownership of their intellectual property in the process.
