Baba Arts Ltd is a media and entertainment content business that has spent two decades trading in the intellectual property rights of films, television serials and digital content - buying, producing and licensing stories across every screen that will play them. Incorporated in 1999 and renamed in 2004, the company has always been a lean, debt-free operation run by the Tanwani family, and it is now in the middle of a complete ownership handover to Skybridge Interactive LLP, a technology-driven gaming and digital entertainment firm that intends to keep the existing business running while bringing in new digital capabilities. The recurring approach is simple: acquire or create content rights, then monetise them across as many platforms and formats as the market will bear - from satellite television to YouTube channels to music streaming - without ever taking on debt to do it.
Business segments
Two engines that feed each other - a content-rights trading desk that buys and sells film and television IP, and a digital media arm that builds its own catalogue of music and video for streaming platforms - both run from the same lean, debt-free balance sheet.
1. Trading in film and television rights: the core IP merchant
The company buys, sells and licenses the intellectual property rights of films and TV shows - theatrical, satellite, digital, remake and music rights - earning revenue when control of those rights passes to a buyer.
- A rights trader, not just a producer - the company deals in a bundle of separable rights including World Rights, Satellite Television Rights, Cable TV Rights, Remake and Dubbing Rights, Music Rights and Internet Rights, and it earns income both from selling those rights and from producing its own content.
- Revenue recognised on transfer of control - for most sales, revenue is booked at the point in time when the customer takes control of the rights; for internet or web series produced for broadcasters, revenue is recognised over the life of the contract.
- Inventory is copyrights, not physical goods - the company carries its film and television IP on the balance sheet at the lower of cost or net realisable value, with under-production content valued at actual cost incurred; when a film is released, sale proceeds are first deducted from the production cost, and any remaining cost stays on the books until the rights are fully exploited.
- An 18-to-24-month production cycle - because film production takes roughly a year and a half to two years from start to revenue, all inventory, advances and related assets are classified as current, reflecting the operating rhythm of the business.
2. Digital media content and music: the streaming catalogue builder
The company produces and acquires recorded music and digital video content, then licenses it to streaming platforms or publishes it on its own YouTube channels - earning a share of advertising revenue or a one-time assignment fee.
- Licensed to every major streaming platform - the company places its audio and video content on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, JioSaavn, Amazon Music, Wynk, Gaana, Bollywood Hungama and Resso, earning a variable share of the advertising revenue each platform generates from it.
- Own channels, not just third-party platforms - it launched its own digital music channels - “Baba Films,” “Baba Beats” and “Baba Devotional” - and acquired television shows like “Mere Sai” and “Suryaputra Karn” to publish on its “Baba Devotional” and “Baba Gathayein” YouTube and Facebook pages.
- Perpetual sale or ongoing licence - for recorded music, the company either assigns rights permanently, recognising revenue immediately when control transfers, or licenses them for a fixed period and recognises revenue as usage reports come in from the platforms.
- Building a catalogue asset - with over 100 songs recorded by May 2022 and more under production, management views the music business as a way to accumulate a library of content that can generate revenue over time.
Group structure and partners
The company has no subsidiaries, no debt and a single material partnership - a profit-sharing arrangement with a related distribution firm that places its content on digital platforms.
- No corporate web - the company has no subsidiaries, no associate companies, no holding company and no investments in any other firm or partnership.
- A related-party distribution partner - Graceland New Media LLP, in which the son of the former Chairman holds a 34% stake, acts as an aggregator and distributor of the company’s entertainment content under a profit-sharing arrangement where the company keeps 70% to 80% and the LLP takes 20% to 30%, decided case by case.
- IP buying and selling with the same partner - the company also acquires and sells film, web series and TV serial rights to Graceland New Media LLP.
- Ownership in transition - the founding promoter has agreed to sell his entire 74.67% stake to Skybridge Interactive LLP, a gaming and digital entertainment firm, which will hold 99.99% of the company once the open offer closes; the only remaining public shareholder will hold 0.01%.