Network18 to spin off Cell18 as a separate company

By ANINDITA SARKAR
Indiantelevision.com Team

(28 April 2008 3:30 pm)

MUMBAI: Cell18, Network18 group's creative division, is planning to establish itself as a separate company, providing services to clients only outside the network group.

The Cell, Network18's specialist promo and packaging unit, will continue making ad films and promos apart from packaging design for outfits within the Network18 group.

"Cell18 was already working for clients outside the company. However, now with our capabilities growing day by day, we want to establish Cell18 as a separate revenue generating body for ourselves. Hence Cell18 is migrating to become a company," said an official source.

The company will be establishing itself as a creative production house, also specialising in brand design and documentary making.

"For the past few months we have been producing work for the clients of many top line agencies like Lowe, JWT and Mudra.To understand the revenue generating capacity of the creative division, Cell18 underwent an experimental phase during January, February and March during which it clocked Rs 25 million, making a profit of Rs 14 million. Now that we have expanded across the industry, we want to create Cell18 as a creative production company also specialising in brand design and documentary making," added the source.

Cell 18 hopes to excel in competitive pricing. Hence it has installed in-house equipments. It has brought in 12 FCPs, 40 graphic work stations and two online machines-two smokes and one flint. Thus, starting from the pre-production process till the post-production stage, nothing will have to be outsourced, thereby lowering the entire cost of production.

Cell 18 is also venturing into making mobisodes, audio visuals for mobile phones. It will be launching its first mobisode sometime next month.

"Web and mobiles are the new interactive media that need to be exploited immensely to reach out to today's audience. We have already made 20 webisodes (web films) for Pepsi and our latest is the one on IPL's Kolkata Night Riders. Now we will be venturing into making mobisodes and the first one will be launching next month," stated Network18 Group Network creative director Zubin Driver.

Cell 18 has recently finished making a documentary on Gulbarg Museum in Gujrat for social activist Teesta Setalvad.