Sony Pictures Network India is shaking things up with innovative changes to two of its flagship reality shows, Shark Tank India and MasterChef India. For its upcoming season, Shark Tank India will move exclusively to the Sony LIV streaming platform, departing from its previous dual presence on television and OTT. Meanwhile, MasterChef India, which was previously OTT-only, will now air on television as well, broadening its reach and appeal.
Adding an exciting twist to its format, MasterChef India will debut a celebrity edition, titled Celebrity MasterChef – Ab Unn Sabki Seeti Bajegi!. Unlike past seasons, which featured home chefs, the new season will bring renowned celebrities into the kitchen. The first trailer, released on December 21, introduces Bollywood choreographer-director Farah Khan alongside celebrated chefs Ranveer Brar and Vikas Khanna as judges.
While the launch date for the new season is yet to be revealed, the show has already secured notable sponsors, including Veeba, Acko, GIs of India, Fortune Chakki Fresh Atta, Bosch, and Vinod, signaling strong anticipation for this revamped format.
The confirmed contestants are Gaurav Khanna, Tejasswi Prakash, Dipika Kakar, Rajiv Adatia, Nikki Tamboli, Archana Gautam, Faisal Shaikh, and Usha Nadkarni.
After six seasons on Star India, MasterChef India moved to the Sony Network in January 2023. While the seventh season was on both television and OTT, the eighth season streamed exclusively on Sony LIV. This was the first time Sony LIV experimented with a digital-only reality show. In 2024, Sony even acquired the Tamil and Telugu versions of the show from Sun Network, and it also streamed exclusively on the OTT platform. However, these regional editions did not elicit a great response from advertisers.
In an interview in 2023, Ranjana Mangla, head ad revenue, Sony LIV, said this shift to digital was a response to evolving viewer preferences.”Digital audiences have a strong affinity for food content, viewing it as entertainment rather than just cooking. This trend is evident across platforms like Instagram and other social media, where food content is prolific,” she had said.
With MasterChef India, Sony LIV was aiming to influence habit formation among its audiences. The cooking reality show aired a fresh episode every day for five days a week from Monday to Friday at 8 pm. This brought the audience to the platform every day. Apart from advertising revenue, the show also helped bring new subscribers to the platform.
Aman Srivastava, head-marketing, Sony LIV, in an interview in January 2024, spoke about MasterChef India’s digital-exclusive strategy. “The show doesn’t dictate its audience. We decide on our shows based on how we would want to bring people onto our platform. There will always be both kinds of shows—digital-exclusive and TV-plus-digital. We are creating new shows, including limited series, under LIV Exclusives. The ecosystem accommodates diverse shows, ensuring a robust presence on both platforms,” he shared.
