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  • Shruti Bhargava returns to Republic Media Network as national branded content head

    Shruti Bhargava returns to Republic Media Network as national branded content head

    MUMBAI: Shruti Bhargava has officially commenced her new role as the national head of branded content and associations at Republic Media Network. In her announcement on LinkedIn, she expressed her gratitude, stating, “Thank you Hersh Bhandari for your unwavering support and for the opportunities to help me grow in the professional journey.”

    With over 15 years of extensive experience in the media industry, Shruti Bhargava’s career reflects remarkable growth and versatility.

    She has held significant leadership roles, including general manager – north at Republic World since January 2024, overseeing operations and advertising revenue across platforms. Prior to this, she served as regional head – north & east India at Goldmines Telefilms, managing advertising revenue for diverse television channels. Between April and December 2022, she was general manager at Republic World, spearheading branded content initiatives and campaigns.

    Earlier, as deputy general manager at Republic Media Network Sales, she led the North India business for Republic TV from June 2021 to March 2022.

    Bhargava’s career also includes senior manager positions at TV Today and HT Media Ltd, where she managed advertising sales and marketing strategies across radio, television, digital, and print media, cementing her reputation as a well-rounded leader in the industry.

    Bhargava’s academic background includes a Bachelor of Technology in computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and a master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Additionally, she has participated in significant initiatives such as the International Antarctic Expedition as a Climate Force Ambassador.

    As Bhargava steps into this new chapter at Republic Media Network, her vision is set on strengthening brand partnerships and creating impactful content that resonates with audiences across the nation.

  • Disney to take 70 per cent stake in Fubo via Hulu + Live TV merger

    Disney to take 70 per cent stake in Fubo via Hulu + Live TV merger

    MUMBAI: In the enchanted realm of acquisitions, The Walt Disney Company has long been the master storyteller, weaving tales of strategic mergers and blockbuster stakes. With 20 acquisitions averaging $8.71 billion each, Disney has shaped industries and redefined entertainment. Its canvas stretches across four countries, with key brushstrokes in India and the United States. But as the curtain rises on 2025, the entertainment giant pens its boldest chapter yet.

    Disney is acquiring a 70 per cent majority stake in Fubo, the sports-centric streaming platform, and merging it with Hulu + Live TV. This landmark merger will create a new public entity under the Fubo name, poised to challenge the virtual MVPD throne. The deal not only fortifies Disney’s streaming empire but also redraws the map for how audiences consume live sports and entertainment.

    Stay tuned—Disney’s magical kingdom of streaming just got a lot more competitive
    From L to R: Disney executive vice president and head of corporate development Justin Warbrooke; Fubo co-founder & CEO David Gandler

    The combined platform will bring together 6.2 million subscribers across North America, offering a robust catalogue of live sports, entertainment, and broadcast content. The current Fubo leadership team, led by co-founder and CEO David Gandler, will manage the merged operations.

    Speaking on the merger, Gandler said, “We are thrilled to collaborate with Disney to create a consumer-first streaming company that combines the strengths of the Fubo and Hulu + Live TV brands. This combination enables us to deliver on our promise to provide consumers with greater choice and flexibility. Additionally, this agreement allows us to scale effectively, strengthens Fubo’s balance sheet, and positions us for positive cash flow.”

    Disney executive vice president and head of corporate development Justin Warbrooke added, “This combination will allow both Hulu + Live TV and Fubo to enhance and expand their virtual MVPD offerings, providing consumers with even more choice and flexibility. We have confidence in the Fubo management team and their ability to grow the business, delivering high-quality offerings that serve subscribers with the content they want and offering great value.”

    The deal also resolves the litigation between Fubo and Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD). As part of the settlement, the three media firms will pay $220 million to Fubo. Disney will also extend a $145 million term loan to Fubo in 2026.

    The agreement includes a new carriage deal allowing Fubo to create a “sports and broadcast” service featuring Disney-owned properties such as ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, and ESPN+.

    Upon regulatory and shareholder approvals, the merged entity will be governed by a board of directors, with Disney appointing the majority. Gandler will retain his role as CEO and serve on the board.

    The companies aim to leverage synergies through flexible programming, innovative offerings, and enhanced marketing strategies, setting a new benchmark in the streaming industry.

    With this merger, Disney and Fubo seek to deliver  value to subscribers by combining Hulu + Live TV’s expansive content portfolio with Fubo’s sports-centric programming. This merger also strengthens Fubo’s balance sheet and positions the platform for sustainable cash flow and operational growth.

    The first ball in this high-stakes streaming game is expected to roll once all approvals are finalised, opening a new chapter in virtual MVPD offerings.

  • Enterr10 Television appoints Harshad Wadadekar as director, syndication & partnerships

    Enterr10 Television appoints Harshad Wadadekar as director, syndication & partnerships

    MUMBAI: Content licensing and syndication runs through his veins and it is a skillset he has developed over the past 12 years of his career in media and entertainment. Harshad Wadadekar  is continuing in that space, the only difference being that he will be doing it at the Manish Singhal promoted Enterr10 Television – the company which runs the No 1 Indian Hindi TV channel – as director – syndication & partnerships.

    Wadadekar’s career encompasses significant roles in leading media organisations. He cut his teeth in the content licensing and syndication business at the Vivek Lath-Jimmy George owned GoQuest Media (June 2013-August 2022) where he rose to become general manager. He followed that with short stints at Sony Pictures Networks (August 2022-Septemebr 2023) and Shemaroo Entertianment (September 2023-January 2025. In the beginning of his career, Harshad  worked a few months each at various companies like Indian Magic Eye, Reliance Entertainment, B4U Television either in production or assisting the syndication teams for Hong Kong Film Art.

    Wadadekar holds a bachelor’s degree  in mass media &  production management and a master’s degree in business administration and a PGP in  media and communication. 

    “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as director – syndication & partnerships at Enterr10 Television,” Wadadekar announced on Linkedin.

  • Abhishek Bachchan joins as co-owner of European T20 Premier League

    Abhishek Bachchan joins as co-owner of European T20 Premier League

    MUMBAI: In the sprawling galaxy of Bollywood, where stars burn bright and fade faster, Abhishek Bachchan’s journey has been anything but conventional.

    Born to the towering icon of Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek’s life was destined to be compared, scrutinized, and, at times, unfairly dismissed. While his cinematic exploits didn’t always light up the box office, his off-screen ventures have cemented his reputation as a savvy entrepreneur with a penchant for turning opportunities into gold.

    The “failed” actor narrative has followed him like a shadow, an unwelcome companion on a path littered with average box office returns and harsh critics. But Abhishek, the perennial underdog, quietly chiseled away at his destiny, crafting a legacy that his detractors couldn’t ignore.

    Today, with a net worth of Rs 280 crore, he has proven that success doesn’t always need a film camera—it can shine just as brightly in the boardroom, the stadium, or even a luxury car showroom.

    When Bollywood failed to give him the box-office accolades his lineage seemed to promise, Abhishek found his calling elsewhere. His ventures now span real estate, sports, and even luxury automobiles, painting a portrait of a man who refuses to be boxed in by societal expectations.

    Among his prized investments are two champion teams across two of India’s most beloved sports. Chennaiyin FC, his Indian Super League (ISL) football team, is valued at Rs 29.8 crore, a testament to the growing popularity of football in cricket-crazed India. On the other hand, his Pro Kabaddi League team, valued at Rs 100 crore, exemplifies his eye for high-growth opportunities in sports.

    As if his track record wasn’t impressive enough, the son of Bollywood royalty has now added another feather to his entrepreneurial cap—a stake in the European T20 Premier League (ETPL). This ICC-sanctioned cricket extravaganza, set to debut in July 2025, promises to bring a fresh flavor to the gentleman’s game with teams from cities like Dublin, Edinburgh, and Amsterdam.

    It’s a savvy move for the man who seems to have an uncanny knack for betting on winners, whether it’s a Pro kabaddi team, a football club, or now, a cricket league poised to capture Europe’s imagination. And this latest venture comes just in time to capitalise on the ICC’s official recognition of the league, adding another layer of prestige to the tournament and, of course, to its newest co-owner.

    Bachchan expressed his excitement, saying, “Cricket is not just a sport; it’s a unifying force that transcends boundaries. With cricket being included in the 2028 Olympics, its popularity will further surge. I’m humbled and excited about this unique collaboration between the cricket boards of Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands. This is just the beginning. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and let the games begin.”

    The league’s interim working group, featuring representatives from the participating cricket boards and strategic partner Rules Sport Tech, has led the development of ETPL. This group is tasked with creating a dedicated administrative entity to oversee tournament operations.

    ETPL chair & Cricket Ireland CEO, Warren Deutrom welcomed Abhishek’s involvement, stating, “We are delighted to welcome Abhishek Bachchan as a co-owner of the ETPL. His passion for sports and entrepreneurial acumen align perfectly with our vision of elevating European cricket’s profile.”

    The tournament will commence with six franchises, with matches reaching audiences in key markets like Europe, India, Australia, and England. ETPL director, Priyanka Kaul highlighted, “Abhishek’s enthusiasm for this initiative has been invaluable. This collaboration is set to inspire young talent and provide a platform for European cricket on the global stage.”

    The ETPL has partnered with KPMG for strategic financial advisory, ensuring transparency and robust governance. Ravi Rajan Group founder, S Ravi emphasised the league’s commitment to financial integrity, stating, “Transparency and due diligence are at the core of the ETPL.”

    Cricket’s global reach continues to expand, with 34 of 108 ICC members based in Europe. ETPL director, Saurav Banerjee remarked, “Our goal is to establish cricket as a major sport in Europe, leaving a legacy for players, fans, and stakeholders.”

    A formal launch event will soon unveil franchise ownership details, team branding, and the players’ draft process. With backing from leading media partners, the ETPL is set to captivate cricket enthusiasts worldwide, offering unparalleled entertainment and fostering new talent.

    Key highlights of ETPL

    1    Dates: 15 July – 3 August 2025
    2    Teams: Dublin, Belfast, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Edinburgh, Glasgow
    3    Global Reach: Europe, India, Australia, England
    4    Partnerships: ICC sanction, Rules Sport Tech, KPMG advisory
    5    Focus: Talent development, fan engagement, financial transparency

    Critics may still label him a failed film star, but Bachchan’s story is one of quiet defiance—a refusal to be pigeonholed by the weight of his last name or the expectations of an industry that thrives on comparisons.

    Today, as the ETPL prepares to roll out its maiden season, the spotlight is once again on Abhishek. But this time, it’s not as a Bollywood star struggling to escape his father’s shadow. It’s as a visionary entrepreneur who’s carving his own path, one smart investment at a time. 

  • Sony Pictures Networks India hires southern market expert Rajaraman Sundaram as head content strategy

    Sony Pictures Networks India hires southern market expert Rajaraman Sundaram as head content strategy

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India or Culver Max Entertainment has hired veteran television executive Rajaraman Sundaram as head content strategy. One wonders what one should read into this hire by CEO Gaurav Banerjee.

    Rajaraman has had deep exposure to the southern markets having worked at Vijay Television for almost 11 years in two phases January 2011-March 2006 and April 2009-January 2015. On both occasions, he was in the finance department.

    He was  given charge  of Asianet between December 2017 and September 2021 first as executive vice-president strategy (south) and then as business head. He was given the responsibility of Colors (Tamil) between September 2021 and July 2023.

    Rajaraman was then lured back to Disney Star India to work in the country manager India’s office between August 2023 and November 2024.  In between, the qualified chartered accountant worked with NDTV Imagine for two years (May 2007-April 2009) as vice-president finance. Then he had a stint at Hathway Cable & Datacom as chief operating officer -video business between April 2015 and December 2017.

    A question that needs answering is: in his new role, has Rajaraman been hired  to take Sony into the southern regional language market? Or is he being brought in to help Gaurav Banerjee  build the fictional slate of Sony Entertainment Television?  

    Gaurav Banerjee  and his core management team know it. And he is not telling. As yet. 

  • European T20 Premier League gets ICC nod

    European T20 Premier League gets ICC nod

    MUMBAI: There’s one more international T20 cricket league coming the way of fans of the willow. And it’s coming from where else, Europe, the one bunch of cricket playing nations,  that had been left out of the action. so far. 

    Called the European T20 Premier League  (ETPL) it is to be held from 15 July to 3 August 2025. The league got the sanction from cricket’s global ruling body the International Cricket Council on 4 January.

    The ETPL is a privately-owned franchise tournament with a unique twist – it is a partnership between three cricket nations – Ireland (Cricket Ireland), Scotland  (Cricket Scotland) and the Netherlands (Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Bond – KNCB). This collaborative approach gives the ETPL  a true European feel and will feature the best talent from those three nations playing alongside some of the best talent from around the world.

    The three cricketing boards  had tried to put together a tournament called the Euro T20 Slam in March 2019 but it had failed to take off. Not even one season was held. Hence, the trio are being a lot more careful now. They have put together an interim working group with a representative from each of them, strategic partner Rules Sport Tech, on behalf of the funding partners,  to guide decision making and oversee the  creation of a new administrative body to run the event. Cricket Ireland  chief executive Warren Deutrom has been elected chair of the interim working group. 

    Said  Deutrom:  “We are delighted to confirm the ICC sanction of the ETPL and agreements are now in place across the joint venture partners. This is an important day in the development of the event, as it effectively fires the starting pistol on work around three important areas – franchise ownership, broadcast and the player draft. These are exciting times for cricket in Europe, and for local cricket fans, as we showcase some of the best cricket talent from Europe and around the world.”

    A formal launch of the tournament and further details will be provided in due course, he added. 

  • UFO Moviez promotes Siddharth Bhardwaj as CEO digital cinema

    UFO Moviez promotes Siddharth Bhardwaj as CEO digital cinema

    MUMBAI: UFO Moviez, a network for in-cinema advertising and digital cinema distribution, has announced change at the top.

    Siddharth Bhardwaj, currently the group CMO and national sales head, has been promoted to chief executive officer of the digital cinema business. A qualified mechanical engineer with an MBA in marketing, Bhardwaj brings over 28 years of experience across various industries. Since joining UFO Moviez in 2012, he has been instrumental in establishing the company’s advertising revenue and advocating for cine-media as a preferred platform for impactful advertising.

    In his new role, Bhardwaj will oversee the company’s digital cinema business, focusing on leveraging competitive advantages to drive growth. He will continue to report to UFO Moviez executive director & group CEO Rajesh Mishra.

    “Siddharth’s experience and strategic acumen have been instrumental in shaping UFO Moviez’s success over the years,” said Mishra. “His elevation to CEO of the digital cinema business reflects our confidence in his ability to lead the company into the next level of growth. I am certain that under his leadership, UFO Moviez will continue to innovate and deliver value to all our partners and stakeholders.”

  • Reliance Industries: a subsidiary change

    Reliance Industries: a subsidiary change

    MUMBAI: Network18 Media & Investments informed the Bombay stock exchange on the evening of 31 December that Viacom18 India had ceased to be its subsidiary on 30 December and become a direct offshoot of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).

    This, it said,  happened when RIL converted 24,61,33,682 compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) held by it in Viacom18 into 24,61,33,682 equity shares. Post this conversion, RIL’s equity holding in Viacom18 went up to 83.88 per cent and 70.49 per cent on a fully diluted basis. Network18 ended up with 16.12 per cent of Viacom18’s  total equity share capital and 13.54 per cent on a fully diluted basis. On 14 November, RIL had informed  the exchange that its stake in Viacom18 was at 70.49 pr cent on a fully diluted basis following its acquisition of Paramount’s 13.01 per cent stake (on a fully diluted basis) in it for Rs 4,286 crore. 

    AS per the BSE regulatory filing, Viacom18 was a material subsidiary of Network18 with nil turnover and a net worth of Rs 26,928.17 crore (representing 90.39 per cent, of the annual consolidated net worth of  Network18) for the financial year 2023-24.

    Network18    received     intimation     from     Viacom18     on 30 December at 7:46 p.m. regarding the allotment of equity shares to RIL pursuant to conversion of CCPS.

    The shareholders of Network18 had earlier approved this change of ownership.

    With this transition, Viacom18 will now operate under RIL control.

  • From Zee to the Sun, Pankaj Rathod joins as broadcast operations & eng head

    From Zee to the Sun, Pankaj Rathod joins as broadcast operations & eng head

    MUMBAI: He’s decided to take a trip to the Sun – the Sun TV  Network that is. Pankaj Rathod has hopped on to  Sun TV as the head broadcast operations & engineering (Sun Neo | Sun Marathi | Sun Bangla). He joins Sun after nearly 13 years with Zee Entertainment Enterprises where he ended up as director- content operations, metadata syncing & publishing (Zee5) and music monitoring.

    Prior to Zee, he  was employed in three organisations for a year and some months each. First was with FoodFoodTV where he was head: scheduling/ sales ops/ traffic / presentation. Then he was head: operations & inventory planning at Mediasys Solutions. Third, he was manager sales operations at 9X  and 9XM.

    Before this he ventured into Siemens Information Systems where he offered broadcast TV solutions to television channels for a couple of years. A long five year run at  Sony Entertainment Television  resulted in him being promoted to sales coordinator, group executive – revenue management. He worked there for five years. 

    The BA in Economics’ first job  in media was with Mid-Day Publications where he ended up as senior media executive in the advertising department after four years.

    Expressing his happiness at joining Sun TV Pankaj said: “I have got the opportunity to build my expertise in broadcast operations (presentation, traffic & sales ops), inventory planning & management and evaluating & implementing – broadcast management system (BMS). My exposure in the print, broadcast and digital media has made me appreciate the nuances of the industry as a whole.” 

  • Copyrights registrar grants copyright society status to Indian screenwriters rights body

    Copyrights registrar grants copyright society status to Indian screenwriters rights body

    MUMBAI: It took four years  and a little more to come through, but it finally has. The Screenwriters Rights Association of India (SRAI) has got the go-ahead from the registrar of copyrights Unnat P Pandit on 30 December to operate as a copyright society under the Copyright Act, 1957.  What that means is that it can collect royalties for dramatic works  and literary works associated with dramatic works.  

    This means good news for story writers, scriptwriters, dialogue writers of television shows , OTT shows and films. They  can now look forward to a future where they can get royalties for their works.

    In fact, the Screen Writers Association (SWA)  and its members were made aware  of this through minister of commerce Piyush Goyal’s office which posted the SRAI certificate on social media late in the evening of 30 December.

    The request for the registration was made to the  registrar of copyrights (which falls under the department for promotion of industry and internal trade  which in turn is a body under the commerce ministry) on 4 November 2020 by SRAI’s chairman Anjum Rajabali with Vinod Ranganathan as the CEO and veteran writers like Saket Chaudhary, Kamlesh Pandey, Rajesh Dubey, Vipul Shah, Mohammed Badiuzzaman (Zaman Habib), Javed Akhtar and Juhi Asheesh Malhotra as members of the governing body, according to documents available with indiantelevision.com..

    The SRAI is a section 7 company and was set up in February 2016.

    For the writing community, however, this is probably the first step of many to follow.

    “What will follow are negotiations between the SRAI and the platforms  – whether OTT or broadcasters or producers – on the rate of the royalties,” says an industry source. “How long this will take will depend on how reasonable both sides will be. However, when an agreement is reached, it will be succor for the writing community which has been deprived of royalties unlike their counterparts in other parts of the world.”