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  • Zee Entertainment bets big on micro-dramas and streaming distribution

    Zee Entertainment bets big on micro-dramas and streaming distribution

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises is placing a Rs 90 crore wager on the future of India’s fragmented media landscape, betting that micro-dramas and consolidated distribution will unlock new revenue streams as audiences scatter across platforms.

    The company’s board approved investments in optionally convertible debentures of two recently incorporated subsidiaries on 14 August. The bigger bet—Rs 50 crore—goes to ZBullet Enterprises, launched just two months ago to develop “Bullet,” a micro-drama application targeting younger viewers with bite-sized series. The remaining Rs 40 crore will flow to Advance Media Distribution Ltd (AMDL), a wholly owned subsidiary designed to consolidate Zee’s entire content distribution empire.

    AMDL represents the more strategic play. The new entity will handle distribution for all Zee Entertainment and Zee Media channels, plus the company’s streaming platform Zee5. It will also take over distribution of Watcho, an over-the-top platform owned by DTH operator Dish TV that Zee currently distributes. Beyond its parent company’s assets, AMDL plans to distribute third-party television channels and streaming services on a commission basis.

    The consolidation strategy follows a well-trodden path in Indian broadcasting. Zee previously shifted its television distribution to Taj TV before bringing it back in-house. Viacom18, now merged with Star India, operated through IndiaCast, while Sony Pictures Networks manages distribution through its own subsidiary.
    The logic is compelling: as audiences consume content across both traditional television and digital platforms simultaneously, a unified distribution approach promises to unlock subscription revenue from both streams. The move also positions Zee to serve smaller channels and streaming platforms that lack the resources and expertise to manage complex distribution arrangements themselves.

    ZBullet’s micro-drama focus, meanwhile, mirrors successful platforms in China where ultra-short episodic content has captivated mobile-first audiences. For a company built on Bollywood films and Hindi soap operas, the shift towards smartphone-friendly formats represents a significant strategic pivot.

    Neither venture has generated revenue yet, with both still preparing to commence operations. The investments will be made in tranches as business plans are finalised. But the timing suggests Zee recognises that India’s entertainment future belongs to companies that can master both content creation and distribution across every conceivable platform.

  • Siddarth Shahani joins IN10 Media Network as head of finance

    Siddarth Shahani joins IN10 Media Network as head of finance

    MUMBAI: IN10 Media Network has appointed Siddarth Shahani as head of finance. A chartered accountant with more than 24 years in the trade, Shahani will take charge of the network’s holding company and five subsidiaries.

    He moves from Barc India, where as financial controller he ran a 15-member team overseeing billing, treasury, taxation and payables. There, he drove compliance, streamlined processes, secured better foreign exchange rates and steered a Big Four audit.

    His earlier stints include senior finance roles at Daymon, Laqshya Media Group, Tops Security, Landor and Siemens, along with audit tenures at EY, KPMG and PwC.

    Shahani, known for his hands-on style and process rigour, is expected to bring tighter controls and sharper strategy to IN10 Media’s expanding portfolio.

  • Gautam Jain takes charge as lead of content development at Sony Sab

    Gautam Jain takes charge as lead of content development at Sony Sab

    MUMBAI – Gautam Jain has been appointed lead, content development, at Sony SAB, part of Sony Pictures Networks India. A media and entertainment hand with more than 17 years in the trade, Jain has built his career across content strategy, marketing, consumer insights and business growth.

    He has previously helmed consulting projects at Amenic Entertainment and spent over a decade at Ormax Media, where he rose to partner and business head of film. Earlier, he worked with Mirchi Movies on production, marketing and distribution.

    Armed with a PGDM from Mica and an engineering degree from Walchand Institute of Technology, Jain is known for driving innovation and expansion—delivering a 25 per cent compound annual growth rate in revenue on past mandates. 

    At Sony SAB, he is expected to channel that experience into shaping new stories for the general entertainment channel.

  • Raj Kamal Singh, sports television’s reluctant pioneer passes on

    Raj Kamal Singh, sports television’s reluctant pioneer passes on

    Raj Kamal Singh, known simply as RK to friends and protégés, never quite fit the mould he was born into. A Haryana-cadre bureaucrat with the air of a genial civil servant, he somehow found himself reshaping Indian broadcasting in the 1990s. First came DD Metro, conjured up with Rathikant Basu and Urmilla Gupta to inject a dash of freshness into the government-owned Doordarshan’s lumbering edifice Then came ESPN India, and later ESPN Star Sports — ventures that took him from government files to live sport, a journey no “babu” had probably attempted before.

    At ESPN’s makeshift south Delhi office in the early days — a converted garment-export bungalow with half a floor to itself — Singh presided over what would become a generation-defining team. “He was the reason I found my calling in television,” recalls Anurag Dahiya, now the ICC’s chief commercial officer, who was one of the early recruits. RK, he said, was the avuncular figure in a scrappy start-up atmosphere, a mentor who mixed bureaucratic calm with private-sector mischief. He helped build up a pay television business for ESPN in cable television’s infant days. 

    “For us, he was an approachable CEO. (We could) walk into his cabin – just like a friend. (He was fond of) taking us for bowling…Opening his house for parties along with his loving wife and kids. (We went for) river rafting trips, His famous lassi During lunch that was open to all – endless memories that we all forever cherish with him – shining our careers,” adds NDTV special projects associate vice-president Rachna Oberoi. 

    Later came Zee Telefilms, where Singh sparred with cable operators, shrugged off boardroom spats and, with a trademark guffaw, told anyone who fretted: “It’s all part of business. You can’t take it very seriously. It will get sorted out.” It usually did.

    Colleagues remember a man who taught by example rather than sermon. Many he hired went on to lead, or to found, sports businesses across the globe. His greatest legacy was not the channels he ran, but the people he groomed.

    Eventually he walked away from the industry altogether, setting up a lodge in the forest  (if we have got it right) — a suitably idiosyncratic ending for a man who had long made light of television’s supposed seriousness. On 15 August he died of a heart attack, aged 75.

    The sports-broadcasting world owes him more than it realises. RK would probably chuckle at the thought, suited and booted as he was vaunt to be, dismiss the fuss, and pour another drink.

  • Applause Entertainment marks eight years with bigger bets

    Applause Entertainment marks eight years with bigger bets

    MUMBAI: Eight years may seem young, but Kumarmangalam Birla-owned, Sameer Nair-led Applause Entertainment has already muscled into the top tier of India’s content business. Since its 2017 launch, the studio has churned out more than 50 original series, films and documentaries across every major streamer — from Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5 and Sony Liv.

    Operating on what it calls a “hub and spoke” model, Applause invests upfront in content, collaborates with producers such as Banijay Asia, BBC Studios, Rose Audiovisuals and Emmay Entertainment, and then syndicates the finished work to platforms worldwide. Its catalogue includes both original dramas and Indian adaptations of acclaimed books and international formats.

    After shaking up the digital series  market, Applause has shifted gears into films with titles like Iftikaar, The Rapist and Aruvi. It has also launched Applause Productions, whose debut project is the Indian remake of Fauda. In animation, it has struck an exclusive deal with Amar Chitra Katha to reimagine 400-plus comics for global audiences and under the Appla Toon brand on YouTube.

    It recently partnered with author Jeffrey Archer to adapt his books into series or movies. 

    Nair has built a seasoned team backing him up, with Deepak Segal as chief creative officer, Prasoon Garg as chief business officer, Sunil Chainani heading films, Maansi Darrbar heading Applause Productions,  Siddharth Khaitan heading special projects like Gandhi and Scam, and Devnidhi Bajoria overseeing marketing.

    With scores of projects in the pipeline, the studio is plotting a push beyond India into documentaries, infotainment and even gaming.

    Eight years in, Applause is just clearing its throat. And loving the viewing audience’s critics’  applause.

  • Renault splashes Delhi airport with giant pop-art tribute

    Renault splashes Delhi airport with giant pop-art tribute

    NEW DELHI: Renault India has turned heads at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport with a 30 foot by 30 foot hand-painted installation unveiled on Independence Day.

    The work, created with artist collective Doodle Mapuls, reimagines the capital’s landmarks through the prism of street art, music and youth culture. The riot of colour is billed as a “pop-futuristic narrative” — a mash-up of nostalgia and optimism reflecting the brand’s Renault.Rethink philosophy.

    Planted squarely on the route to terminal 3, the mural is impossible to miss. With millions passing by, the carmaker is betting its bold fusion of tradition and modernity will resonate well beyond the airport walls.

  • Abhijit Kishore named Vodafone Idea’s new chief executive

    Abhijit Kishore named Vodafone Idea’s new chief executive

    MUMBAI: Vodafone Idea has appointed Abhijit Kishore as its new chief executive officer. A long-time company insider, Kishore has spent more than five years in senior roles at the struggling carrier, including chief operating officer and chief enterprise business officer.

    Before joining Vodafone Idea, he held leadership positions at Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications, steering mobility, enterprise and circle operations across key markets. Over two decades in telecoms, Kishore has managed P&Ls from Kerala to Gujarat, notching up operational turnarounds and enterprise growth.

    An alumnus of Delhi University and the Fore School of Management, he has sharpened his management credentials with stints at IIM Ahmedabad and London Business School. His appointment comes as Vodafone Idea wrestles with heavy debt, a bruising price war and the need to raise capital for 5G roll-out.

  • Batman goes electric in India as Mahindra and Warner Bros. roll out caped crusader SUV

    Batman goes electric in India as Mahindra and Warner Bros. roll out caped crusader SUV

    MUMBAI: Holy horsepower, Batman. India has just driven into comic-book history.

    In a feat more Gotham than Gurgaon, Mahindra Electric Automobile Ltd and Warner Bros. Discovery have pulled off what few in the automotive or licensing world would dare attempt: the launch of the world’s first Batman-inspired electric SUV.

    The BE.06 Batman Edition – unveiled at an invite-only spectacle at the Fairmont Mumbai – is less a motorcar and more a muscle-bound statement on wheels. Cloaked in midnight black, bristling with Gotham swagger, and infused with design nods to DC’s brooding vigilante, the car is being billed as a “collector’s dream” – though for now it will be available only to Indian buyers.

    What makes the story remarkable is not just the branding but the breakneck speed. From concept sketch to drivable reality in just 45 days – the blink of a Bat-signal – the project has stunned both motoring and licensing circles. In an industry where even minor editions can crawl through months of approvals, this was, as one executive put it, “execution at bat-out-of-hell pace.”

    Warner Bros. Discovery’s theatrical business in India vice-president and managing director Denzil Dias framed the launch as a landmark moment for both sides of the partnership. “From Gotham vibes to Mumbai drives — presenting the world’s first Batman-inspired electric SUV, born from a stunning collaboration between Mahindra Group and Warner Bros. Discovery India,” he said. “This isn’t just a car — it’s a statement. A symbol of India’s rising power on the global stage of innovation.”

    He added: “A first for India. A milestone for Warner Bros. Discovery. A proud moment for Mahindra. And a statement to the world. Bravo, team — you didn’t just launch a car, you launched a collector’s dream.”

    The applause has been shared widely. At Mahindra, design supremo Pratap Bose is credited with sketching the dream, while colleagues Preet Inder Singh Kahlon, Salil Pawar, Reeti Nageshri, Nalinikanth Gollagunta and Rajesh Jejurikar gave it wheels. On the Warner Bros. side, Anand Singh and his South Asia consumer products crew – Sanchayeeta Choudhury, Ushaa Rai, Kartikeya Ahluwalia and Gitanjli A. – worked in lockstep with DC’s global franchise chiefs Adam Bodenstein and Kevin Morris. Vikram Sharma, Warner Bros.’s Asia-Pacific consumer products boss, was hailed as the “North Star,” with India leadership – Arjun Nohwar,  Dias himself, and Deepa Sridhar – offering ballast. The seed was planted, fittingly enough, by SuperCorp’s Ada Garg and Yashovardhan Ganeriwala.

    For Warner Bros., the partnership burnishes DC’s global franchise in a market hungry for pop culture tie-ins. For Mahindra, it injects the glamour of Gotham into its electric-vehicle play. The symbolism is plain: India is not merely consuming global brands, but shaping them, turning fantasy into factory output at speed.

    The car is limited in availability, but not in symbolism. Like Batman himself, it is equal parts myth and machine, equal parts statement and story. To borrow from Bruce Wayne’s world: sometimes the car doesn’t just get you from A to B – it makes you believe the impossible.

  • Publicis drags CCI to court over access to files in ad cartel probe

    Publicis drags CCI to court over access to files in ad cartel probe

    MUMBAI: Reuters has reported that  Publicis has hauled India’s antitrust regulator to the Delhi high court, accusing it of stonewalling requests for access to case files in a high-stakes price-fixing investigation that has rattled the country’s $30bn media and entertainment sector.

    The Competition Commission of India (CCI) stunned the industry in March with dawn raids on WPP’s GroupM, Dentsu, Publicis, Omnicom and others, probing suspected collusion on publicity rates and discounts. Sources told Reuters the CCI’s early findings suggest the firms coordinated via a WhatsApp group, struck secret deals, and teamed up with broadcasters to freeze out agencies that refused to play along.

    Triggered by Dentsu’s whistle-blowing under the CCI’s leniency scheme in February 2024, the probe could see penalties of up to three times profit or 10 per cent of global turnover for each year of wrongdoing. Publicis, which operates through TLG India, says it cannot prepare a defence without access to the records, and wants the CCI to pause its investigation until the files are handed over.

    The watchdog has yet to comment. The court is expected to hear the case next week.

  • Fancode teams up with Fabrizio Romano for Laliga’s independence day kick-off

    Fancode teams up with Fabrizio Romano for Laliga’s independence day kick-off

    MUMBAI: FanCode has marked Independence Day with a decisive strike for Indian football fans, unveiling an exclusive deal to stream every match of the Laliga EA Sports 2025/26 season. The platform has roped in world-famous football insider Fabrizio Romano to fire the starting gun, his trademark “Here We Go!” setting the tone for a season brimming with star power.

    For the first time, the Spanish league — home to Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid and Sevilla FC — will be broadcast live and solely on FanCode in India, bringing names such as Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Antoine Griezmann and Nico Williams into sharper local focus.

    FanCode says the timing is deliberate: Independence Day symbolises freedom, and the platform promises viewers the liberty to watch the beautiful game however, whenever and wherever they choose. 

    The tie-up with Romano, billed as the most trusted voice in football, is a step in FanCode’s push to expand India’s football audience and cement its place as the country’s go-to sports streaming destination.