GECs
Colors to pull all stops to make Stardust Awards bigger & better
MUMBAI: Colors is gearing up to pull all stops to make the 13th edition of the Sansui Colors Stardust Awards bigger and better this year.
The awards, which will be held on 21 December in Mumbai at the Reliance Jio Gardens in BKC, will see more investment being pumped in for a larger stage and bigger performing acts.
A source close to the development informed Indiantelevision.com, “The production cost of last year’s Stardust Awards was approximately Rs 12 crore, which has gone up by 30 per cent this year to approximately Rs 15.6 crore.”
Commenting on this year’s awards, Colors CEO Raj Nayak said, “Last year we partnered with the biggest names in the consumer electronics and publishing business namely Sansui and Stardust to launch The Sansui Colors Stardust Awards. This partnership of three leaders went on to make the Sansui Colors Awards the No. 1 Awards show on Indian television. This year, based on feedback from all stakeholders in the industry, we have re-looked at the categories to make it more credible and robust. Our aim is to make the event exceedingly significant, entertaining and colossal this year.”
Talking about the association with Stardust, Sansui COO Amitabh Tiwari said, “At Sansui, it is our goal to make entertainment synonymous to the brand, and through our continued association with Stardust and Colors, we feel more connected to this vision. Last year, Stardust Awards was rated as the best award show and this year we are all geared up to raise the bar of entertainment to the next level. We aim to bestow upon our audience the best of entertainment and are all set to enthral them. We have had a wonderful kick start with Stardust and are confident that the relationship will strengthen with each passing year.”
Magna Publishing chairman Nari Hira added, “If last year’s scale and grandeur was top-notch, we are all set to surpass all benchmarks and make this new edition an even bigger entertainment extravaganza. 2015 has been an outstanding year for Indian cinema and we are looking forward to paying homage to the stalwarts whose showmanship has added to the industry’s success not only in India but also internationally.”
The evening will be hosted by Abhishek Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh along with co-host Farah Khan.
Given their expertise in putting together large scale shows, Cineyug has been roped in as the events partner for the affair. The sets have been designed by Omung Kumar.
“The award show is planned on a very grand scale this year. Last year we brought Stardust Award from Sony Max to Colors. This year we have a grand star cast with some amazing performances. We also have we have the Dilwale team performing on the award night. Apart from that we have a great line up of actors performing including Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor and Jacqueline Fernandez. This year, we are performing acts on the new grand ground Jio Garden,” said Cineyug Entertainment director Mohammad Morani.
Magna Publishing marketing head Shivendra Parihar added, “This year the focus will be making award night bigger and better than last year. Last year, we were the number one rated award show on Indian television. This year the focus will be taking it a notch higher and having great viewership across the world for which we have made award content and performances engaging.”
GECs
Aparna Ramachandran joins Zee as EVP and head of network digital
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited has appointed Aparna Ramachandran as EVP and head of network digital, signalling a sharper focus on strengthening its digital and streaming ecosystem.
Ramachandran joins Zee from Balaji Telefilms, where she served as head of digital originals, leading content strategy and production for the company’s digital platforms. She announced the move on LinkedIn, marking a new chapter in her career spanning more than 15 years across media, entertainment and technology.
Her professional journey includes senior roles at Viacom18 Media, Viu, FremantleMedia, Miditech, BigSynergy, BBC Worldwide, CNBC-TV18 and Bloomberg UTV. She began her career in 2005 as a software engineer at Infosys before transitioning into media and digital content leadership.
With experience across streaming media, broadcast television, content development, digital strategy, project management and video production, Ramachandran is expected to play a key role in shaping Zee’s network-wide digital growth and content innovation.
GECs
Zee TV launches on Samsung TV Plus with live German subtitles
London: Zee Entertainment has launched its flagship Zee TV as a live FAST channel on Samsung TV Plus across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, marking a first for South Asian television in Europe with round-the-clock live German subtitles.
The move takes Zee TV beyond its core diaspora audience and into the German-speaking mainstream, offering dramas, reality shows and family entertainment without subscriptions or language barriers. For FAST platforms, it sets a new benchmark in accessibility and scale.
Amit Goenka, president, international and digital businesses at Zee Entertainment, said the launch marked a turning point in the company’s global strategy.
“Zee TV Germany is a flagship launch and a defining moment in our journey to make entertainment truly borderless. By going live on Samsung TV Plus with 24/7 German subtitles, we are breaking language barriers and setting a new international benchmark for FAST streaming,” he said, adding that the partnership reflects Zee’s ambition to lead the FAST revolution through innovation and technology.
The rollout builds on the strong regional presence of Zee One and Zee5, both of which have cultivated loyal audiences across the DACH markets. The live FAST model now closes long-standing access gaps, particularly for younger diaspora viewers and first-time German-speaking audiences.
Samsung TV Plus said the partnership deepens its content portfolio in the region. Benedict Frey, country lead DACH and Benelux at Samsung TV Plus, said the addition strengthens its South Asian offering while widening appeal.
“Launching flagship Zee TV on Samsung TV Plus brings even more premium South Asian entertainment to our customers. Making this content available with live German subtitles is a meaningful step in serving diverse audiences and enriching the viewing experience,” he said.
Samsung TV Plus is Samsung’s free ad-supported streaming service, offering hundreds of live channels and on-demand titles across Samsung TVs, Galaxy devices and smart monitors.
Zee already commands a strong digital following across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with social platforms engaging hundreds of thousands of viewers. The live FAST launch is expected to amplify reach and drive appointment viewing at scale.
Zee TV is now available exclusively on Samsung TV Plus in Germany on channel 4210. With this launch, Zee TV Germany becomes the group’s ninth channel in Europe.
The signal is clear: FAST has gone mainstream—and Zee has arrived early, translated and ready to scale.
GECs
Sri Adhikari Brothers officially rebrands itself as Aqylon Nexus
MUMBAI: Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network has formally adopted a new corporate identity, rechristening itself Aqylon Nexus Limited after receiving clearance from the ministry of corporate affairs.
The company has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the MCA has approved the change of name, with effect from January 23, 2026. The update was disclosed in compliance with Regulation 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements Regulations, 2015.
Confirming the approval, the company said the ministry had cleared the transition from Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Limited to Aqylon Nexus Limited following the necessary regulatory process.
Aqylon Nexus said it has begun the formal exercise of replacing the old name across statutory filings and regulatory records. The broadcaster added that it is coordinating with relevant authorities and departments to complete the transition.
Under Section 12 of the Companies Act, 2013, the MCA has directed the company to continue displaying its former name alongside the new one for a period of two years.
Founded in 1994 and based in Mumbai, the company has been a long-standing presence in India’s television and content ecosystem. The rebrand reflects a repositioning effort as the media and entertainment sector undergoes rapid consolidation and structural change.
The legacy name remains on paper—for now. The business, however, is clearly turning the page.
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