MAM

AXN turns on the heat with hot’n’wild auditions

Published

22 years ago

September 11, 2004

MUMBAI: The beauty and the brawn were out in force on Saturday at Velocity in southern Mumbai as AXN kicked off auditions for its Hot n Wild Contest. 63 shortlisted aspirants to the title auditioned from the city over the weekend.

The channel is searching for India’s hottest and wildest couple which will anchor a reality based show on the channel. Through the contest the channel is aiming to extend its 11 pm band beyond the television sets.

The channel claims to have received over 5000 entries across the country from places like Gaziabad, Baroda, Hyderabad and Nagaland since launching the contest on 24 June. Next week, the auditions travel to Delhi and Bangalore. The finale is scheduled to take place on 4 September in Mumbai.

On Saturday, a ramp was put in place and contestants strutted up and down trying to project the desired persona in front of cameras and the judges – model Milind Soman, choreographer Achla Sachdev and AXN VP marketing Gregory Ho. To maintain the level of consistency in the judging parameters, Soman and Sachdev will remain on the panel for the entire duration of the contest. In addition to the catwalk and photo shoot, participants had to field questions from the judges.

The winners are (L to R): Rohit Chopra, Deepica Sarma, Salil and Parmita Katkar

It was not as wild as Mumbai promised, thought. Although the second round held only 11 shortlisted candidates, the goings on were sluggish at times and the flow inconsistent, thanks probably due to some technical delays. Also, there tended to be a kind of sameness in the questions being asked. Not surprisingly, most of the girls dressed in skimpy outfits were either aspiring models or were already in the business doing small time stuff. Most were looking for a break in television. The guys’ backgrounds were more diverse – ranging from a couple of engineers to an aspiring filmmaker. Rohit Chopra, Deepica Sarma, Salil and Parmita Katkar were the ones who finally made it to the selected four.

AXN plans to create one-minute vignettes for each of the eight designated contenders which will air on the channel every day from 16 August. Viewers can vote for who they think is the hottest couple through SMS at indiatimes’ 8888 facility. Provisions will also be made for online voting.

The judges (from L to R) Milind Soman, Achla Sachdev, Gregory Ho

Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on the initiative, Ho said, “The Hot n Wild programme band has seen our channel share grow by 30 per cent in the 11 pm slot. As far as our contest is concerned, while looking good is one criterion, it is not enough. The person must be able to relate to the camera. Therefore we have two monitors next to us so that we can keep a close eye on the participants’ looks, screen presence, behaviour. Also the person should fit the AXN brand profile, which is adventurous, daring, and charismatic.

“That is why I am a part of the judging panel. A person may be confident but if he/she is too sophisticated then they might be better off working with CNBC. A person may not live the AXN lifestyle but he/she must be able to project it onscreen. They should also be able to come off as role models for our viewers. Of course Achla and Milind are well versed with the television business and know exactly what attributes the participants must possess.”

Ho added that the reality show would commence shooting sometime in October. “Besides the television production load the anchors must be able to deal with hundreds of people in the street. Sometimes they might get insulted and their spontaneity is going to be key. Therefore a person auditioning is asked point blank “How come you are bald?” After all there are no retakes in a reality series.”

To illustrate to our readers the kind of spontaneity, AXN is looking for, when one of the participants was asked what four-legged animal she would like to be the pat response was dinosaur. “I have been fascinated by them for a long time and I will also be able to appear in many Steven Spielberg movies.” Not surprisingly the person was chosen.

Meanwhile, Ho pointed out that the hardest part of the process was sifting through so many entries before selecting people for the auditions. “We would try to gauge from the photograph itself whether or not the person could make it. The ‘I am Hot’n’ Wild because’ replies were another. Of course there is the chance that the intelligent response may have been written by that person’s friend. But on the ramp there is no escape if he/ she looks down or breaks into a nervous sweat or goes “uh uh”.

SET’s assistant VP marketing Rohit Bhandari who looks after the channel in the country added that there were good looking people who were rejected in a hurry because the responses they had written were entirely inappropriate. “The final eight will be given special training to spruce up their poise. Achla Sachdev will go through their videos and give them pointers as to what they should do and shouldn’t. It will come down to how hard somebody wants the job, Bhandari said.

“The person chosen should be able to get the audience interested and getting into the groove through body language and attitude. That is why the viewers’ choice is important. At the end of the day we are what we are because our viewers make us. The whole logic to the selection process is the comfort level the viewer has with a particular person. If we just wanted two good looking people we would simply have contacted modelling agencies. We would not have gone through this trouble.” He also said that besides the viewers choice there would be two other rounds for the grand finale, which are in development.

As far as other AXN shows were concerned, Ho pointed out that the next big ground event after Hot n Wild was around the corner but added that negotiations were still on. He also said that Guinness World Records, which was held successfully last year, would return next year. “For us it is a been there done that situation and we want each ground event to be unique. Different people have different tastes. Not everyone wants to break a record or event strut up and down the ramp. Therefore by doing something different each time we are touching our entire audience base.”

Brands

Netflix India names Rekha Rane director of films and series marketing

Streaming giant bets on a seasoned marketer who helped build Amazon and Netflix into household names

Published

1 month ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Netflix has put a proven brand builder at the helm of its films and series marketing in India, naming Rekha Rane as director in a move that signals sharper focus on audience growth and cultural cut-through in one of its most hotly contested markets.

Rane steps into the role after seven years at Netflix, where she has quietly shaped how the platform sells stories to India. Her latest promotion, effective February 2026, crowns a run that spans brand, slate and product marketing across originals, licensed content and new verticals such as games.

A strategic marketing and communications professional with roughly 15 years’ experience, Rane has spent much of her career building technology-led consumer businesses and new categories, notably e-commerce and subscription video on demand. She was part of the early push that introduced Amazon.in, Prime Video and Netflix to Indian homes, then helped turn them into everyday brands.

At Netflix, she most recently served as head of brand and slate marketing for India from March 2024 to February 2026, leading teams across media and marketing for global and local content portfolios. Before that, as manager for original films and series marketing, she led IP creation and go-to-market strategy for titles including Guns and Gulaabs, Kaala Paani, The Railway Men* and The Great Indian Kapil Show, spanning both binge and weekly-release formats.

Her earlier Netflix roles covered product discovery and promotion in India and integrated campaign strategy to drive conversations around the content slate, product awareness and brand-equity metrics.

Before Netflix, Rane logged more than three years at Amazon in brand marketing roles in Bengaluru. There she handled national and regional campaigns for Amazon.in, worked on customer assistance programmes in growth geographies and contributed to the go-to-market strategy for the launch of Prime Video India.

Her career began well away from streaming. At Reliance Brands in Mumbai, she worked on retail marketing for Diesel and Superdry. A stint at Leo Burnett saw her work on primary research for P&G Tide, mapping Indian shoppers’ paths to purchase. Earlier still, at Orange in the United Kingdom, she rose from sales assistant to store manager, running a team and owning monthly P&L for a retail outlet.

The arc is telling. As global streamers fight for attention in a crowded Indian market, executives who understand both mass retail behaviour and digital habit-building are prized. Rane’s career sits at that intersection.

For Netflix, the bet is simple: in a market spoilt for choice, sharp marketing can still tilt the screen. And with Rane now leading the charge, the streamer is signalling it wants not just viewers, but fandom.

Brands

Orient Beverages pops the fizz with steady Q3 gains and rising profits

Kolkata-based beverage maker reports stronger revenues and profits for December quarter.

Published

1 month ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A fizzy quarter with a steady aftertaste that’s how Orient Beverages Limited, the company that manufactures and distributes packaged drinking water under the brand name Bisleri closed the December 2025 period, as the Kolkata-based drinks maker reported improved revenues and a healthy rise in profits, signalling operational stability in a competitive beverage market.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Orient Beverages posted standalone revenue from operations of Rs 39.98 crore, up from Rs 36.42 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 33.53 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 42.24 crore, reflecting consistent demand and stable pricing across its beverage portfolio.

Profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs 3.47 crore, a sharp improvement from Rs 1.31 crore in the September quarter and Rs 0.39 crore a year ago. After accounting for tax expenses of Rs 0.79 crore, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2.68 crore, nearly three times the Rs 0.99 crore recorded in the preceding quarter.

On a nine-month basis, the momentum remained intact. Revenue from operations for the period ended December 31, 2025 rose to Rs 117.66 crore, compared with Rs 106.95 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the nine months climbed to Rs 5.51 crore, more than double the Rs 2.18 crore reported in the same period of the previous financial year.

The consolidated numbers told a similar story. For the December quarter, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 45.06 crore, while profit after tax came in at Rs 2.06 crore. For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue touched Rs 133.57 crore, with net profit of Rs 4.49 crore, underscoring the group’s improving profitability trajectory.

Operating expenses remained largely controlled, with cost of materials, employee benefits and other expenses broadly aligned with revenue growth. The company continued to operate within a single reportable segment beverages simplifying its cost structure and reporting framework.

The unaudited financial results were reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 7 February 2026. Statutory auditors carried out a limited review and reported no material misstatements in the results.

In a market where margins are often squeezed by input costs and competition, Orient Beverages’ latest numbers suggest the company has found a reliable rhythm not explosive, but steady enough to keep the fizz alive.

MAM

Washington Post CEO exits abruptly after newsroom cuts spark backlash

Leadership change follows layoffs, protests and a bruising battle over trust.

Published

1 month ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When the presses are rolling but patience runs out, even the editor’s chair isn’t safe. The Washington Post announced on Saturday that its chief executive and publisher Will Lewis is stepping down with immediate effect, bringing a sudden end to a turbulent two-year tenure marked by financial strain, newsroom unrest and public backlash.

Lewis’s exit comes just days after the Bezos-owned newspaper announced sweeping job cuts that triggered protests outside its Washington headquarters and a wave of anger from readers and staff. While newspapers across the US are grappling with shrinking revenues and digital disruption, Lewis’s leadership had increasingly come under fire for how those pressures were handled.

The Post confirmed that Jeff D’Onofrio, a former Tumblr CEO who joined the organisation last year as chief financial officer, has taken over as CEO and publisher, effective immediately. In an email to staff, later shared by reporters on social media, Lewis said it was “the right time for me to step aside.”

The leadership change follows the announcement of large-scale redundancies earlier this week. While the Post did not officially confirm numbers, The New York Times reported that around 300 of the paper’s roughly 800 journalists were laid off. Entire teams were dismantled, including the Post’s Middle East bureau and its Kyiv-based correspondent covering the war in Ukraine.

Sports, graphics and local reporting were sharply reduced, and the paper’s daily podcast, Post Reports, was suspended. On Thursday, hundreds of journalists and supporters gathered outside the Post’s downtown office in protest, calling the cuts a blow to public-interest journalism.

Former executive editor Marty Baron described the moment as “among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organisations.”

Lewis defended his record in his farewell note, saying “difficult decisions” were taken to secure the paper’s long-term future and protect its ability to publish “high-quality nonpartisan news”. But his tenure coincided with growing scrutiny of editorial independence at the Post.

Owner Jeff Bezos faced criticism for reining in the paper’s traditionally liberal editorial page and blocking an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 US election. The move was widely seen as breaking the long-standing firewall between ownership and editorial decision-making.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, around 250,000 digital subscribers cancelled their subscriptions after the paper declined to endorse Harris. The Post reportedly lost about $100 million in 2024 as advertising and subscription revenues slid.

While the wider newspaper industry continues to battle declining print advertising and the pull of social media, some national titles have stabilised. Rivals such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have managed to build sustainable digital businesses, a turnaround that has so far eluded the Post despite its billionaire backing.

As Jeff D’Onofrio steps into the role, the challenge is stark, restore confidence inside the newsroom, win back readers who walked away, and prove that one of America’s most storied newspapers can still find its footing in a brutally competitive media landscape.