Ishara TV

About Ishara TV

Ishara TV is a Hindi-language general entertainment television channel owned by The Epic Company, the broadcasting business of IN10 Media Network. Launched on 1 March 2021, the channel entered the Hindi GEC genre with a slate of five original shows spanning mythology, crime, thriller and family drama, under the slogan Zindagi Ka Nazara. Positioned as a progressive, differentiated alternative to the established pay Hindi GECs, Ishara TV was IN10 Media's flagship entertainment channel and the foundation of a Hindi entertainment bouquet that later expanded to include Nazara TV. The channel has since been rebranded as Epic Parivaar, and its programming combines original fiction with acquired library serials across family drama, mythology, romance, thriller and crime genres.

Launch and Early Positioning

IN10 Media Network announced the launch of its Hindi general entertainment channel Ishara in February 2021, with the channel going on air from 1 March 2021 across all major DTH and cable networks in the Hindi-speaking market. The launch was the culmination of plans developed before the COVID-19 pandemic, which had delayed the company's multi-genre channel expansion by six to seven months. Prior to Ishara, the network had launched the kids channel Gubbare and the Bhojpuri movie channel Filamchi Bhojpuri.

Ishara was positioned as a channel for "New India", with content described as progressive in nature and aimed at celebrating the inherent ability of Indians to celebrate life through its ups and downs. The channel's launch proposition emphasised diversity and unity through different genres, with uniqueness in characterisation and narratives, promising audiences an unparalleled experience on Indian television. Aditya Pittie, managing director of IN10 Media Network, framed the launch as part of the company's mission to provide superior content across genres and platforms, noting that the GEC genre is the largest in the broadcast ecosystem.

The Five Launch Shows

Ishara TV debuted with five original shows, developed with production houses including Hats Off Productions, Peninsula Pictures, Juggernaut Productions and Keylight Productions, and featuring recognisable faces from Indian television. The launch slate comprised the mythological show Paapnaashini Ganga, telling the story of the life of Maa Ganga as a divine saga of dedication to humanity, starring Aakriti Sharma; the crime thriller Faraar Kab Tak, inspired by real-life cases of absconding criminals and hosted by Atul Kulkarni; the romantic thriller Agni-Vayu, about a charitable doctor and a broken lover brought together by divine intervention, starring Shivani Tomar and Gautam Vig; the family drama Humkadam, which broke the stereotypes of the typical saas-bahu dynamic with the story of two diametrically opposite personalities, headlined by Gurdeep Kohli and Bhumika Gurang; and Janani, an emotional saga of a mother's journey of reinvention after a traumatic life-altering experience, starring Supriya Pilgaonkar.

This five-show launch lineup was designed to offer a clutter-breaking mix of genres from day one, spanning mythology, crime, romance and family drama. Janani's story of a dependent woman becoming a successful independent person was presented as a narrative of female courage in a male-dominated world, while Humkadam offered a fresh take on the saas-bahu template with two women finding common ground despite their differences.

Ownership and Management

Ishara TV was launched by IN10 Media Network, an independent broadcaster backed by Anand Mahindra that also operates channels including Epic TV, the infotainment and knowledge channel, ShowBox, the Hindi music channel, Gubbare, the kids channel, and Filamchi Bhojpuri. The network is spearheaded by managing director Aditya Pittie, who articulated an ambitious plan for the channel to break even within 18 months of launch, while acknowledging that the timeline depended on market conditions and execution.

The network has since reorganised its broadcasting business under The Epic Company, which now owns the channel. Under this structure, Ishara TV's sister channels include Epic TV, Epic Bhojpuri, Epic Kids, Epic Music and Epic Bharat, forming a diversified bouquet spanning infotainment, regional entertainment, kids, music and Hindi GEC content. The channel's programming is also available for streaming on EPIC ON, the network's digital platform.

Pay Channel Strategy and Pricing

Unlike many of the newer Hindi GECs that launched as free-to-air channels on DD Free Dish, Ishara TV entered the market as a pay channel, priced at Rs 5. It was offered as part of the network's Apna EPIC Value Pack, priced at Rs 7 from 1 April 2021, having been available at Rs 2 for all IN10 Media channels in the initial phase. This pay positioning placed Ishara in direct competition with the established pay Hindi GECs of the big four broadcasters: Star Plus and Star Bharat of Disney Star, Zee TV and &TV of Zee Entertainment, SET and Sony SAB of Sony Pictures Networks, and Colors of Viacom18.

The pay strategy was a bold bet, given the vice-like grip of the big four on the Hindi GEC market and the growing dominance of free-to-air channels in the Hindi-speaking market ratings. IN10 Media banked on differentiated content backed by aggressive distribution and marketing to carve out market share in the pay segment, a challenge that industry observers noted would test the network's execution capabilities.

Subsequent Original Programming

Following its launch slate, Ishara TV expanded its original programming with new fiction properties. In 2022, the channel introduced the comedy Bhabhi Ke Pyare Pritam Hamare, broadening its genre mix beyond drama and mythology. In 2023, it launched the crime show Pyaar Mein Savdhaan and the crime series Crime Files, which premiered on 30 September 2023, deepening the channel's investment in the crime genre that had been part of its identity since the launch show Faraar Kab Tak. In 2024, the channel added the mythological show Mata Ki Mahima, returning to the mythology genre anchored by Paapnaashini Ganga at launch.

This original slate, while modest compared to the daily output of the major networks, demonstrated the channel's commitment to commissioned fiction across comedy, crime and mythology, genres chosen to differentiate Ishara from the romance-and-family-drama heavy lineups of its competitors.

Acquired Programming

Alongside its originals, Ishara TV built a substantial library of acquired shows, drawing on classic and popular Hindi serials to fill its schedule. Acquired series have included the mythological shows Karmaphal Daata Shani, which joined the lineup in October 2024, and Jai Shri Krishna, added in November 2024, alongside Baal Krishna, Jai Hanuman, Maa Shakti and Santoshi Maa. The channel has also aired the epic serials Ramayan and Uttar Ramayan, the family dramas Chotti Bahu, Kaajjal, Kaisa Ye Pyar Hai, Mere Sai - Shraddha Aur Saburi and Naaginn, the comedy Shrimaan Shrimati, the period drama Siyaasat, the historical Rabindranath Tagore Ki Kahaaniyan, the culinary show Raja Rasoi Aur Andaaz Anokha, the devotional Tyohaar Ki Thaali, the family drama Shubh Laabh - Aapkey Ghar Mein, the comedy Yam Kisi Se Kam Nahin and the classic Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai.

This acquired library strategy is characteristic of newer and smaller GECs, which use proven library content to provide viewing volume while original productions build the channel's exclusive identity. The mix of mythology, family drama and comedy in the acquired slate complemented the channel's original programming across similar genres.

Rebrand to Epic Parivaar

Ishara TV has been rebranded as Epic Parivaar, with the new name reflecting the channel's position within The Epic Company's portfolio. Under the Epic Parivaar identity, the channel continues as a Hindi-language free-to-air general entertainment channel, with programming spanning family dramas, mythological shows, romantic serials, thriller and crime serials. The rebrand aligns the channel's identity with the Epic master brand that also encompasses Epic TV and the network's other channels, presenting a unified family of channels to viewers, distributors and advertisers.

The rebranding represents the channel's evolution from its 2021 launch as a pay GEC under the IN10 Media Network banner to its current position as a free-to-air Hindi entertainment channel within The Epic Company. The core programming proposition, a mix of original fiction and acquired library serials across family, mythology, romance and crime genres, has carried through the transition.

Distribution and Digital Availability

At launch, Ishara TV was made available across all major DTH and cable networks with comprehensive coverage of the Hindi-speaking market, and internationally through varied service providers. The channel's availability on DD Free Dish at various points in its history gave it access to the free-to-air audience base that drives much of Hindi GEC viewership. As a free-to-air channel under its current identity, the channel reaches viewers through DD Free Dish, DTH operators, cable networks and multi-system operators.

The channel's content is also available for streaming on EPIC ON, the network's digital platform, extending its reach to viewers who prefer on-demand viewing. This television-plus-digital availability reflects the network's strategy of making its content accessible across linear and streaming platforms.

Market Context and Competition

Ishara TV entered one of the most competitive segments in Indian television. The Hindi GEC genre is the largest in the Indian broadcast ecosystem, dominated by the big four broadcasters with their flagship pay channels, and increasingly contested by a growing roster of free-to-air channels including Dangal, Dangal 2, Shemaroo TV, Zee Anmol, The Q and the network's own sister channel Nazara. The FTA segment's rise, driven by DD Free Dish's rural reach, reshaped the competitive dynamics that Ishara faced after its 2021 launch.

Within this landscape, the channel's differentiated-content strategy, spanning mythology, crime, comedy and progressive family drama, was designed to give it a distinct identity. Its evolution into Epic Parivaar as a free-to-air channel reflects the broader industry shift toward the FTA model for newer Hindi GECs seeking mass reach in the Hindi-speaking markets.

Key Facts

Ishara TV is a Hindi general entertainment channel owned by The Epic Company (IN10 Media Network), launched on 1 March 2021 under the slogan Zindagi Ka Nazara and now rebranded as Epic Parivaar. Its five launch originals were Paapnaashini Ganga, Faraar Kab Tak, Agni-Vayu, Humkadam and Janani, developed with production houses including Hats Off Productions, Peninsula Pictures, Juggernaut Productions and Keylight Productions. The channel's managing director at launch was Aditya Pittie. Its programming spans family dramas, mythology, romance, thriller and crime serials, available on television and the EPIC ON streaming platform. The official website of the parent company is epiccompany.com.