The corporate is seeking to rework itself from a distribution-focused streamer right into a full-stack leisure firm with a sharper deal with franchise-building, unique content material and technology-led storytelling.
Talking after taking full possession of the enterprise, Jain stated the transfer to a founder-led construction would assist speed up development plans that have been earlier constrained by international priorities.
He indicated that his position has additionally advanced from largely operating operations to now overseeing long-term funding selections as the corporate scales up spending on content material, AI infrastructure and franchise creation. Whereas he acknowledged that streaming stays a capital-intensive enterprise with lengthy gestation intervals, he didn’t point out any speedy plans to lift exterior funding.
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Lionsgate will proceed to personal and function its movie and tv distribution enterprise throughout India and Southeast Asia.
Over time, Lionsgate has invested an estimated $100 million in its streaming operations within the area.Below a multi-year settlement, Lionsgate will proceed licensing the Lionsgate Play model and supply entry to its movie and tv catalogue, enabling the corporate to proceed scaling its operations within the area.
“Some issues have modified, some haven’t, and a few will now speed up,” Jain informed ET, including that a number of international media corporations are reassessing the place they deploy capital and administration bandwidth. “We reached some extent the place enterprise priorities and shareholder priorities have been totally different, and each views have been legitimate in their very own approach.”
Jain stated Lionsgate Play would proceed to retain its deal with motion, crime and thriller content material focused largely on the 20-45 age group whereas sharply scaling up investments.
The corporate plans to greater than double its annual film slate from round 50-60 movies final yr to over 100 titles this yr. The corporate clarified that content material from Lionsgate Studios kinds solely a small a part of its general catalogue, with programming sourced from a number of international studios and manufacturing homes, together with ITV, BBC, Millennium Media and AGC Studios.
The corporate can also be renewing its deal with Indian originals after pausing productions final yr amid shifting international priorities. It has resumed investments in Hindi movies in addition to regional cinema, together with Tamil and Telugu content material.
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On the core of the brand new technique is a plan to construct a big mental property portfolio spanning content material, know-how and distribution.
“We’re regularly reworking right into a deeply IP-led, multi-platform firm,” Jain stated, including that the enterprise would more and more monetise content material throughout streaming, theatrical releases, tv, YouTube, gaming and different codecs.
Jain stated the corporate has already constructed its whole know-how stack in-house and is now growing an AI-led studio and manufacturing workflow, positioning synthetic intelligence as a device that democratises manufacturing budgets relatively than changing creativity.
“AI will not be going to interchange something. It is going to turn out to be an extension of the prevailing ecosystem,” Jain stated. “What it does is enable us to inform tales that we could not in any other case have been capable of inform.”
Among the many initiatives at present beneath growth is a superhero universe spanning comics, movies, sequence and gaming, backed by 4 Nationwide Award-winning administrators.
Regardless of intensifying competitors from deep-pocketed international and home streaming giants, the corporate stated it’s not seeking to compete straight with mass-market platforms reminiscent of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and JioHotstar. As an alternative, it plans to deepen its positioning amongst premium younger grownup audiences.
Jain stated the corporate at present has round 5 million paying subscribers and is focusing on 15 million over time.
“Our positioning could be very clear. We cater primarily to the 20-40 male-skewed viewers,” he stated, including that the corporate stays targeted on premium storytelling relatively than chasing scale at any value.
The corporate additionally plans to develop internationally in Southeast Asia, which it sees as a promising streaming market.
Whereas a number of streaming providers are more and more adopting hybrid advertising-supported fashions, Lionsgate Play stated it intends to stay subscription-focused for now, arguing that promoting could not align with its premium model positioning.
In keeping with Tofler information, Lions Gate Play LLP, which operates Lionsgate Play in India, reported a 57% decline in internet loss to Rs 26 crore in FY25, whereas working income fell greater than 7% to Rs 75 crore.
Commenting on the broader streaming trade, Jain stated the market had moved past the aggressive “land-grab” section the place movies have been recovering prices even earlier than launch by streaming offers.
“The section of subsidisation is over. The economics are actually returning to what they need to be. Make good cinema and make your cash,” he stated.