MAM

Delhi’s popular RJ Sarthak gets asked “If he is original?”

Published

2 years ago

January 10, 2024

Mumbai: People who don’t appreciate English music are subhumans. They shouldn’t be allowed to wear clothes. They should be made to sing ullullu like the aboriginal tribes,” said RJ Sarthak, trying to drive home his point about the appeal of music. Sarthak, Delhi’s loved and listened-to radio jockey went ballistic about Vidya Balan’s portrayal of an RJ in Munna Bhai MBBS and Karthik Aryan in Dhamaka as unrealistic portrayals of RJs. He was baring his soul to Sumedha on her popular podcast “Bluntly Streaming” where she grilled the RJ on various counts.

In a two-part series, the volatile guest even ends up demanding that Sumedha NOT call him an RJ, but a radio host or radio presenter. “Radio jockey” is the wrong phrase. It should be Radio Disc jockey,” he snorts. Sumedha Bluntly Streaming dives deep into the vibrant life of RJ Sarthak, a personality with a beard as colourful as his journey. The RJ is known to be one of the most loved ones on radio waves. Also considered original for his content. He quotes a famous saying that states that “There are only three original ideas in the world and the rest are interpretations,” to which Sumedha, with a straight face, asks him, “Are you original?” Offended by her blunt question (what else do you expect from Bluntly Streaming?), he mocks her for her question, but not before attacking her with, “What do you think is being original” Are you an original?” The conversation takes amusing turns as both end up making peace with each other about whether or not radio jockeys are loyal to the Jockey, a popular lingerie and innerwear brand.

“Everything begins with my hunger for attention,” Sarthak confesses to Sumedha. What about your hunger for auditions, asks Sumedha who called the chair he was sitting on a “casting couch”. The conversation veered towards other topics such as his relief package for later risers who missed out on his early morning show, the beauty of sunrises and sunsets, his tryst with MK’s Gandhi’s book, “My Experiments with Truth” and more.

The RJ also gets grilled on why he chose French or Sanskrit, his stint on TV with Headlines Today and about his most memorable callers on the show. The RJ who is into his 25 year on the radio waves shared a heart-touching anecdote about a caller who would be the first one to call his show every fortnight. “We even had special music for the first caller. Later, I got to know, after about a year of radio interactions, that he, his wife and disabled child committed suicide after he faced losses in his business and could not recover from it financially.

Sumedha also explores the intriguing world of RJ Sarthak’s nepotism and under-the-table dealings. “If you want to win me over, get me food,” he states. The conversation then touches on some uncomfortable chords. Sarthak then blows off the lid on sex, drugs and rock n roll by decoding the concept of choreographed music. “These days, music is not straight from the heart. Rather is researched and designed to give a music spike every 30 seconds. No wonder that the old-timers like Metallica could still beat the Taylor Swifts of this era,” he states. The Rolling Stones and U2 are still on the top and headlining shows in venues like Sphere in Las Vegas because they are not into the nonsense called template music.

He then reveals his fondness for underground music, citing bands like Gogo Penguin, Coco Roco, and Fyah, whose audience may be limited to around 25 people. He appreciates music that emanates from the heart, emphasizing the connection it creates.

As the conversation shifts to streaming, CDs, and vintage vinyl records, Sarthak highlights the significant effort required not only to create music but also to delve into its nuances. He expresses frustration that, in the present era, there seems to be no premium placed on knowledge. Recalling his past, he vividly remembers taking a bus to the British Library, borrowing books, and immersing himself in reading about Eric Clapton. He laments the contrast with today’s easy access to information, stating that the effort he invested in acquiring knowledge in the 90s is now condensed into the first line of Clapton’s Wikipedia page. He concludes his episode of Bluntly Streaming with a stern reminder, “Don’t mistake information for knowledge,” before Sumedha concludes the conversation.

Related Topics:Delhi music podcast RJ RJ Sarthak Sumedha

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MAM

Nielsen launches co-viewing pilot to sharpen TV measurement

Super Bowl pilot to refine how shared TV audiences are counted

Published

3 days ago

February 4, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Nielsen is taking a fresh stab at one of television’s oldest blind spots: how many people are actually watching the same screen. The audience-measurement giant on February 4 unveiled a co-viewing pilot that uses wearable devices to better capture shared viewing, starting with America’s biggest broadcast stage.

The trial begins with Super Bowl LX on NBC on February 8, 2026, before extending to other high-profile live sports and entertainment events in the first half of the year. The goal is simple but commercially potent: count viewers more accurately, especially during live spectacles that pull families and friends to one screen.

The new approach leans on Nielsen’s proprietary wearable meters, wrist-worn devices that resemble smartwatches. These passively capture audio signatures from TV content, logging exposure to shows, films and live events without requiring viewers to sign in or self-report. In theory, fewer clicks, fewer lapses, better data.

Karthik Rao, Nielsen’s ceo, cast the move as part of a broader measurement push. He said the company’s task is to keep pushing accuracy as clients invest heavily in live programming that draws mass audiences. The co-viewing pilot, he added, builds on upgrades such as Big Data + Panel measurement, out-of-home expansion, live-streaming metrics and wearable-based tracking.

Co-viewing is not new territory for Nielsen, which has long tried to estimate how many people sit before a single set. What is new is the heavier integration of wearables and passive detection to reduce reliance on active inputs from panel homes.

For now, the pilot comes with caveats. Co-viewing estimates from the trial will not be folded into Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel ratings, which remain the industry’s trading currency. Instead, pilot findings will be shared with clients a few weeks after final Big Data + Panel ratings are delivered. Clients may disclose those findings publicly.

More impact data will follow later this year. Full integration into Nielsen’s marketing-intelligence suite is slated as a longer-term play, with a target of bringing co-viewing into currency measurement for the 2026–2027 season. This is only phase one, with further co-viewing enhancements planned beyond 2026 and additional timelines to be announced.

The push fits a wider pattern. Nielsen has in recent years expanded big-data integration, adopted first-party data for live-streaming measurement and broadened out-of-home tracking. It also positions itself as the reference point for streaming metrics through products such as The Gauge and the Nielsen Streaming Top 10.

In a market where billions of ad dollars hinge on decimal points, counting who is in the room matters. If Nielsen can pin down shared viewing, the humble sofa could become prime measurement real estate. The race to count every eyeball just found a new wrist to watch.

Brands

Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board

Published

1 week ago

January 31, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

Gurugram: Delhivery’s boardroom is being reset. Deepak Kapoor, chairman and independent director, has resigned with effect from April 1 as part of a planned board reconstitution, the logistics company said in an exchange filing. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive of FMCG major Marico and an independent director on Delhivery’s board, has also stepped down.

Kapoor exits after an eight-year stint that included steering the company through its 2022 stock-market debut, a period that saw Delhivery transform from a venture-backed upstart into one of India’s most visible logistics platforms. Gupta, who joined the board in 2021, departs alongside him, marking a simultaneous clearing of two senior independent seats.

“Deepak and Saugata have been instrumental in our process of recognising the need for and enabling the reconstitution of the board of directors in line with our ambitious next phase of growth,” said Sahil Barua, managing director and chief executive, Delhivery. The statement frames the exits less as departures and more as deliberate succession, a boardroom shuffle timed to the company’s evolving scale and strategy.

The resignations arrive amid broader governance recalibration. In 2025, Delhivery appointed Emcure Pharmaceuticals whole-time director Namita Thapar, PB Fintech founder and chairman Yashish Dahiya, and IIM Bangalore faculty member Padmini Srinivasan as independent directors, signalling a tilt towards consumer, fintech and academic expertise at the board level.

Kapoor’s tenure spanned Delhivery’s most defining years, rapid network expansion, public listing and the push towards profitability in a bruising logistics market. Gupta’s presence brought FMCG and brand-scale perspective during a period when ecommerce volumes and last-mile delivery economics were being rewritten.

The twin exits, effective from the new financial year, underscore a familiar corporate rhythm: founders consolidate, veterans rotate out, and fresh voices are ushered in to script the next chapter. In India’s hyper-competitive logistics race, even the boardroom does not stand still.

MAM

Meta appoints Anuvrat Rao as APAC head of commerce partnerships

Published

1 week ago

January 31, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

SINGAPORE: Anuvrat Rao has taken charge as APAC head of commerce and signals partnerships at Meta, steering monetisation deals across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp from Singapore. The former Google executive, known for launching Google Assistant, PWAs, AMP and Firebase across Asia-Pacific, steps into the role after a high-growth stint as chief business officer at Locofy.ai.

At Locofy.ai, Rao helped convert a three-year free beta into a paid engine, clocking 1,000 subscribers and 15 enterprise clients within ten days of launch in September 2024. The low-code startup, backed by Accel and top tech founders, is famed for turning designs into production-ready code using proprietary large design models.

Before that, Rao founded generative AI venture 1Bstories, which was acquired by creative AI platform Laetro in mid-2024, where he briefly served as managing director for APAC. Alongside operating roles, he has been an active investor and advisor since 2020, backing startups such as BotMD, Muxy, Creator plus, Intellect, Sealed and CricFlex through a creator-economy-led thesis.

Rao spent over eight years at Google, holding senior partnership roles across search, assistant, chrome, web and YouTube in APAC, and earlier cut his teeth in strategy consulting at OC&C in London and investment finance at W. P. Carey in Europe and the US.