ACK Media, which has the rights to Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle Magazine, has now acquired a controlling stake of more than 51 percent in Chennai based Karadi Tales, report the Hindu and AnimationXpress. Karadi Tales creates audio-video content for children - around 45 titles of rhymes for toddlers, mythology and stories from the Panchtantra, Jataka Tales etc. Karadi Tales will continue to operate as an independent company, and the two entities will share sales, marketing and distribution networks.

The deal will help ACK Media enter the home video space, though there’s no mention whether ACK plans to take Karadi’s content to other platforms. Both companies have a similar customer base, and seems to me that ACK Media is trying to piece together a larger local content play and may be selling the idea of scale to individually smaller companies...perhaps even sharing equity in exchange for growth. In the process, they’re adding competencies - like they did for animation and gaming by acquiring Quietmen (now Katha Studios). However, readers should bear in mind that terms of these deals have not been disclosed, and this is just one possibility of many.

Anyway, here are some animated videos I found from ACK Media on YouTube:
-- Shikhari Shambu: one, two and three
-- Suppandi: one and two

• ACK Media To Invest $15-20 Million In Developing And Monetizing Content Across Platforms
• ACK Media Acquires Amar Chitra Katha And Tinkle For Monetization Across Media