iWorld
Studio9 enters OTT with Jazz City, a high-stakes espionage drama
Set against the backdrop of the Bangladesh Liberation War, the ten-episode Sony LIV series marks a bold first move for TV9 Network’s premium production arm
CALCUTTA: A Park Street jazz club. A reluctant spy. Calcutta, 1971.
Studio9, the premium content arm of TV9 Network, has arrived on India’s mainstream OTT stage with exactly the kind of prestige drama it has been promising, and Jazz City, now streaming on Sony LIV, is a bold opening statement.
The ten-episode historical espionage series follows Jimmy Roy, played by Bangladeshi star Arifin Shuvoo, the owner of a Park Street jazz club who is pulled from comfortable detachment into the dangerous underground of the resistance movement. When Indian intelligence officer Sinha, played by Shantanu Ghatak, conscripts him into the world of spycraft, Calcutta’s most glamorous nightspot becomes a covert nerve centre for spies, revolutionaries, war journalists and refugees.
The series was created, written and directed by Soumik Sen, whose previous credits include the acclaimed OTT series Jubilee and the feature film Gulaab Gang. It is produced by Studio9 in partnership with StudioNext, with creative producer Arpita Chatterjee helming the complex multi-location shoot spanning West Pakistan, East Pakistan and Calcutta. Cinematographer Pratik Parmar’s recreation of 1970s Park Street is complemented by an original soundtrack composed by Arka Mukherjee, Diptarka Bose and Soumik Sen, blending jazz with Rabindra Sangeet to evoke the cultural tensions of the era. The ensemble cast includes Sauraseni Maitra, Sayandeep Sengupta, Shreya Bhattacharya, Shataf Figar, Tanika Basu, Aniruddha Gupta, Amit Saha and Alexandra Taylor.
The reviews since its March 18 launch have been warm. IWMBuzz praised the show for conjuring an atmospheric noir world in which the jazz club becomes “an ambiguous sanctuary, simultaneously a refuge and a crucible of danger”, while singling out Shuvoo’s ability to blend charisma with world-weariness. NewsBytesApp called it “moody, politically charged, and artistic”, adding that Shuvoo’s performance makes it an engaging watch and that Park Street itself gradually becomes a crucial character.
Sen is unapologetic about his ambitions. “Jazz City is my love letter to Bengal’s untold post-Independence saga,” he said. “Delivering this under tight timelines without a single compromise on creative excellence has been thrilling. It’s proof that bold Bengali storytelling can command global stages. Studio9’s backing has unleashed our most ambitious work yet.”
Chatterjee echoed the mood. “Jazz City on Sony LIV marks Studio9’s entry into prestige OTT content,” she said. “It is our statement of intent: world-class narratives rooted in cultural truth, executed with precision. Our recent Asian Television Award for Fan and Fanatics showed what we are capable of. Jazz City is another testament to our growing capabilities.”
That award, a best documentary programme win at the 30th Asian Television Awards in Singapore, gave Studio9 a timely credential ahead of this debut. The production house is also in post-production on Duologue with Barun Das, Season 4, featuring Sourav Ganguly, Vijay Amritraj, Lothar Matthäus, Bianca Balti and Aamir Khan, set to premiere on Jio Hotstar.
Bengali-language storytelling has long punched below its weight on national and global platforms. With Jazz City, Studio9 is making the case that it need not.
iWorld
Streaming boom crosses 200 million as India shifts to sustainable growth
From content bets to CTV rise, industry leaders map streaming’s next phase
MUMBAI: India’s streaming story has entered a new chapter, and this time it is less about land grab and more about staying power. At a panel on the evolving streaming economy, industry leaders agreed that with subscriptions crossing 200 million and revenues surging, the focus has decisively shifted to sustainable growth, smarter content bets and sharper partnerships.
Moderator EY partner Raghav Anand, set the tone by pointing to the sharp jump in paid subscriptions, driven by a mix of sports, bundling and improved distribution. The result is a fast-maturing ecosystem where subscription revenues are beginning to complement, and in some cases rival, advertising-led growth.
For Amazon Prime Video Svod business India director & head Shilangi Mukherji, the past decade has been about balancing choice with clarity. “It’s not an either-or market anymore,” she noted. “There is space for everything, from television to ad-supported streaming to subscriptions. The real win is when they all grow together.”
At the heart of this growth lies a simple trio: selection, value and convenience. Content remains king, but not in isolation. Platforms are now curating vast libraries that blend originals, rentals, and third-party services, all under one roof. The aim is to create an ecosystem where viewers do not need to hop between apps to find what they want.
Content itself is also evolving. Mukherji highlighted that nearly half of Prime Video’s viewership comes from outside a show’s home region, underlining the collapse of traditional language silos. Stories are no longer “regional” but increasingly pan-Indian, with talent and narratives travelling seamlessly across states.
Franchise-building has become another cornerstone, with a majority of shows designed for multiple seasons. The goal is not just to attract viewers but to keep them coming back, turning series into long-term cultural touchpoints rather than one-off hits.
On the production side, Hungama Digital Media managing director & CEO Neeraj Roy, described an industry that is both resilient and recalibrating. While the pandemic accelerated content consumption and discovery, it also reset market dynamics. Pre-sales have softened, satellite revenues have tightened, and the easy money phase of digital deals has cooled.
“The honeymoon is over,” Roy said candidly. “Now, content has to prove itself. If it works at the box office or with audiences, everything else follows.”
This shift, he argued, is pushing creators towards greater discipline. Fewer projects are being made, but with sharper focus on quality and audience appeal. At the same time, global exposure to diverse content, from Korean dramas to Malayalam cinema, has raised the bar for storytelling across the board.
Another quiet transformation is unfolding in how content is consumed. While mobile remains the primary gateway, especially for payments and discovery, connected TVs are fast becoming the preferred screen for long-form viewing. Mukherji described this not as a battle of devices but as a “force multiplier”, with platforms tailoring plans for mobile-only users, living room viewers and multi-device households alike.
The monetisation playbook is also widening. Beyond subscriptions and ads, platforms are experimenting with rentals, bundled offerings and commerce integrations, building layered revenue streams that cater to different stages of the consumer journey.
Looking ahead, both panellists pointed to global ambition as the next frontier. Mukherji emphasised taking Indian stories to the world through deeper localisation, calling content India’s soft power. Roy, meanwhile, stressed the need for investment in infrastructure, skills and, crucially, transparent data systems to guide creators with better insights.
If the first phase of India’s streaming boom was about scale, the next will be about substance. And as the industry settles into this new rhythm, one thing is clear: the real streaming wars may be over, but the race to win viewers’ time has only just begun.
