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Ashok Namboodiri joins Revsportz as consulting editor to help supercharge global play

MUMBAI: Ashok Namboodiri, who until recently led Zee’s international business, has joined Revsportz Global as consulting editor, the fast-growing sports media company confirmed today.

The announcement was made by Boria Majumdar, founder & editor in chief of Revsportz, who called Namboodiri “a very strong intellectual” and a long-time friend.

The two had kept in touch since Namboodiri’s tenure leading Zee’s international business from Dubai, and their recent meetings have sparked what Majumdar describes as a “smooth and natural” collaboration.

Namboodiri’s resume reads like a media executive’s dream deck. From leading P&Ls at Zee Entertainment, Star India, and Raymond’s FMCG arm, to heading beverage verticals at Britannia and Tata PepsiCo JV NourishCo, he’s run the numbers and the narratives. Now, he steps into a more editorial and strategic role—ready to launch his own show, write regularly, and push Revsportz’s global game.

“Over the next few weeks, you’ll hear a lot more from Ashok,” Majumdar teased, adding that the move signals ambitious international expansion for Revsportz.

Namboodiri will contribute to the editorial voice, business direction and platform innovation at Revsportz—making it clear that the brand is playing to win, both on home turf and abroad.

Revsportz just drew a powerful card in the media game. The duel for sports eyeballs is on.

May 21, 2025
“Goafest 2025 is our canvas; we want brands to be comfortable forging content partnerships on MX Player” – Amogh Dusad

MUMBAI: On the sun-kissed shores of Goafest 2025, amidst the creative chaos and infectious enthusiasm of India’s advertising aristocracy, Amazon MX Player made a splash—not merely as a passive sponsor but as an ingenious storyteller poised to rewrite the rulebook on how brands engage their audience. Content maestro Amogh Dusad, appearing as though he thrives solely on a potent cocktail of wit, charm, and industry savvy, laid bare exactly how Amazon MX Player plans to dazzle and delight the notoriously unpredictable advertising elite.
In this buzzing carnival of ideas and innovation, Indian Television Dot Com’s Sreeyom Sil gladly swapped leisurely sun-loungers for spirited verbal fencing, exchanging lively repartee with Amazon MX Player’s charismatic content wizard Dusad to unravel the secrets behind his devilishly clever content crusade. Below is a distillation of Dusad’s interview, served fresh in a brisk question-and-answer dossier. Excerpts:

How is Amazon MX Player positioning itself to impress India’s top advertising minds at Goafest?
We want to use this opportunity to talk about some of our upcoming tentpole shows. Also give them full comfort and trust on the kind of content that is on the service so that brands feel comfortable in deeper content partnerships.These forums build awareness around our upcoming slate. Our masterclass here offers brands a journey into our ecosystem—demonstrating seamless brand integrations in our narratives, ensuring advertisers feel confident forging deeper content partnerships.

Can you give a specific example of brand integration in Amazon MX Player’s content?
There’s a lot of brand integrations in LinkedIn in Jamnapaar, or Realme sponsored Hip Hop India. We’ve successfully embedded brands directly into storytelling. Unlike traditional TV, where ads often become ambient noise, OTT’s intimate viewing ensures audiences engage fully. Shows like Lock Upp and Campus Diaries seamlessly weave brand messages into compelling stories, amplified further through our social media.

Are there any new storytelling trends from Goafest influencing Amazon MX Player’s content?
The festival’s just begun, but we constantly reassess our content. The rapid popularity of hip-hop among India’s youth, for instance, inspired our show Hip Hop India, integrating subculture and music in an energetic format, demonstrating our commitment to riding cultural waves swiftly.

Has involvement in Goafest planning influenced your decision to double down on dubbed international content?
No videsi as a category. We’ve been programming for almost two to three years now. We’ve curated international hits, notably from East Asia, for a few years now. Our recent anime venture dubbed in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu, a free-to-view innovation, was an independent, successful experiment reinforcing our strategic direction.

Any exclusive content reveals at Goafest 2025 from Amazon MX Player?
We will be screening the first episodes of popular returning franchise Half CA season 2 and new series Mitti: Ek Nayi Pehchaan, featuring Ishwak Singh. We will also be having a fireside chat featuring actor Sunil Shetty on the returning season of Hunter and insights from our upcoming unscripted show featuring Ashneer Grover will give attendees an exclusive taste.

How is Amazon MX Player leveraging Goafest as a testing ground for new ad formats?
Being the presenting sponsor gives us significant engagement opportunities. Through masterclasses and interactive sessions, we’re challenging the industry’s brightest to rethink brand storytelling beyond traditional paradigms. Our aim is bold yet simple: innovate or perish.

Reflecting on your role, how have your leadership decisions shaped Amazon MX Player?
My journey here has been immensely rewarding, producing over 20 returning franchises within just three years. Our next frontier? MX Fatafat, an innovative vertical short-form drama series with two minute episodes tailored to a thumb-scrolling audience, expected later this yea

May 21, 2025
Yu-Gi-Oh! trades cards for cans with fizzy new flavour twist

MUMBAI: Yu-Gi-Oh!, the anime titan that launched a thousand trading cards (and schoolyard duels), is bubbling into a whole new game — sparkling water. In a move that’s both fizzy and fandom-fuelled, Taiwanese drinks maker YHB Biotech is teaming up with Konami Cross Media NY to release a line of anime-themed sparkling waters under its Ocean Bomb label.

The character-clad cans — starring fan favourites from Yu-Gi-Oh!’s legendary universe — will hit shelves in Q2 of 2025, with distribution slated across north and south America, the EU and the UK. The drinks are caffeine-free, kid-friendly and bursting with fruity flavours designed to quench thirst and nostalgia in equal measure.

“Just when Yu-Gi-Oh! fans think they’ve seen it all, we’re excited to open our phenomenal anime property to the specialty beverage product category for the first time,” quipped Konami Cross Media NY vice president of licensing and marketing Jennifer Coleman. “YHB’s Ocean Bomb canned sparkling flavored waters will be sold through specialty stores focused on the food and beverage category.”

Ocean Bomb isn’t new to the anime aisle. With previous pop-culture pours starring Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Super, it’s a seasoned player in the kawaii drinks market.

YHB Biotech executive En En added: “Yu-Gi-Oh!’s dominance in the global marketplace for over 25 years will be a tremendous boost in bolstering consumer awareness and introducing the Ocean Bomb product line to new markets throughout the Americas, Europe and the UK. It’s a wonderful partnership and growth opportunity for both Ocean Bomb and Yu-Gi-Oh! “

Whether you’re duelling monsters or dodging deadlines, these cans promise to be the ultimate refreshment — no trap card required.

May 21, 2025
Bittu Bahanebaaz makes an excuse-filled splash on Sonic and JioHotstar

MUMBAI: Move over superheroes — the real mastermind on the block is a 10-year-old pro at excuses. JioStar Kids, the undisputed boss of Indian kids’ telly, has rolled out its cheekiest character yet with Bittu Bahanebaaz, now airing daily on Sonic at 12:30 PM with repeats at 9 AM and 7 PM — and same-day drops on JioHotstar.

The show stars Bittu, a schoolboy who can cook up a brilliant excuse faster than you can say “homework not done.” From dodging chores to outsmarting teachers, his everyday escapades are bursting with humour, imagination and a whiff of mischief that hits close to home. Think Dennis the Menace with a desi twist — and better timing.

Penned to perfection, the show’s title track is written by none other than Gulzar sahab, whose clever rhymes and colourful metaphors inject even more life into Bittu’s already bouncy world.

For Jiostar Kids, this is another feather in a cap already packed with hits like Motu Patlu, Chikoo aur Bunty, Rudra, and Pinaki & Happy – The Bhoot Bandhus. With Bittu Bahanebaaz, it’s doubling down on what it does best — stories that feel local, characters that feel like your next-door neighbour, and jokes that land with both kids and their amused parents.

So next time your child comes up with a bizarre reason for a missing tiffin box, blame Bittu. Or better yet, switch on the television and join the fun.

May 21, 2025
GoaFest 2025: “I am my own favourite” – Kareena Kapoor Khan rewrites stardom with self love

MUMBAI: If loving yourself was an art form, Kareena Kapoor Khan could well hold the copyright. In a sparkling fireside session titled “Main Apni Favourite Hoon: Not Just a Line. A Mindset” at GoaFest 2025, Kareena proved that her iconic dialogue from Jab We Met wasn’t just script gold, it was a life mantra with staying power.

Interviewed by celebrity host Atika Farooqi at Taj Cidade de Goa Horizon, the actress peeled back the layers on fame, family, and the fine print of self-worth.

“The line changed not just my career, but my life,” Kareena declared. Delivered 15 years ago, when ‘self-love’ wasn’t yet trending, it has since become a cultural rallying cry. “It’s a mindset, not a moment,” she said, explaining how the phrase empowered not just her but an entire generation of women to embrace their truth even if it meant standing alone.

Celebrating over 25 years in cinema, Kareena described her personal brand in two words: “Unapologetically herself.”

From iconic commercial blockbusters to gritty roles like Chameli, Dev, Omkara and more recently Jaane Jaan and The Buckingham Murders, she’s deliberately straddled both glamour and grit.

“If I can’t transform, I shouldn’t be doing this,” she said simply.

On longevity in showbiz, she boiled it down to a cocktail of talent, brave choices, and refusing to ride trends. “Success is not just about staying visible. It’s about staying true,” she mused.

Family life wasn’t left out either. Reflecting on her marriage with Saif Ali Khan and motherhood, she spoke candidly about the importance of mutual respect over sacrifice, calling Saif “a strong support structure.”

For Kareena, balance isn’t about keeping score; it’s about knowing when to step up and when to pause. “Work will come and go but the love you build at home is irreplaceable,” she said.

Asked whether she’d ever remake a Raj Kapoor classic, the answer was an emphatic no. “Some things are timeless. You don’t touch them, you preserve them,” she said, referring to her grandfather’s legendary legacy.
She also gave props to the changing cinema landscape. From OTT to regional crossover, Kareena’s game to learn new languages and new rules.

“Authenticity is the new glamour,” she said, crediting the likes of Jaideep Ahlawat and Vijay Varma for setting new performance benchmarks in today’s hyper-observant viewing culture.

What keeps her going? “Staying childlike. Staying curious. And yes being my own favourite,” she grinned.

From box office queen to boundary-pushing actor, Kareena’s session wasn’t just a rewind of her past, but a guidebook to staying relevant, radiant and real in a business that rarely forgives age, honesty or independence.

May 21, 2025
Google puts pedal to the metal on AI at I/O 2025

MUMBAI: Forget slow-burn product cycles and hush-hush unveilings. At Google I/O 2025, Google parent Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai made one thing very clear: in the Gemini era, Google isn’t waiting for the stage — it’s shipping on Tuesdays.

“We’re moving faster than ever,” Pichai told the crowd, revealing a dizzying array of AI-powered updates, model breakthroughs, and bleeding-edge products — all underpinned by Google’s latest powerhouse: Gemini 2.5 Pro. The model has surged 300 Elo points since its first generation and now sweeps the LMArena leaderboard. The driving force? Ironwood, Google’s seventh-gen TPU, serving up a brain-melting 42.5 exaflops per pod.

The pace of adoption is just as staggering. Over the past year, Pichai explained that:

* Token usage exploded from 9.7 trillion to 480 trillion a month.

* More than seven million developers are building with Gemini — up five times.

* The Gemini app has clocked 400 million monthly users, with a 45 per cent spike among 2.5 Pro users.

With scale like that, Pichai says, “we’re in a new phase of the AI platform shift — turning decades of research into daily reality.”

Say hello to Google Beam — the spiritual sequel to Project Starline. The new AI-first video chat platform uses six cameras, advanced head-tracking and 3D lightfield displays to create a shockingly lifelike experience. In short: Zoom calls, eat your heart out. With HP on board, Beam hardware hits early testers later this year.

Also in the mix: real-time speech translation for Google Meet, matching tone, voice and facial expressions. English and Spanish are live in beta now; more tongues to come.

Google’s AI assistant ambitions are now tangible. Agent Mode, based on Project Mariner, is headed to the Gemini app. Think digital butler with brains: it browses listings, tweaks filters, and can even schedule a house tour — all while chatting like a pro.

Expect agents to be everywhere soon: Search, Chrome, Workspace — even chatting with each other using the new Agent2Agent protocol. Google also confirmed Gemini API and SDK support for Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol.

On the personalisation front, Smart Replies in Gmail are getting a glow-up. With permission, Gemini will mine your emails and files to craft eerily you-like responses, complete with tone and pet phrases. Yes, your AI is about to start writing better emails than you.

AI is now baked right into Google Search. The newly announced AI Mode allows for longer, more complex queries and natural follow-ups — already available in the US. With Gemini 2.5 Pro now powering it, Search just got a serious IQ boost. AI Overviews are already live in 200 countries and growing fast, especially in the US and India., revealed Pichai.

Developers, meet your new best friend: Gemini 2.5 Flash, a lightning-fast, low-cost version built for speed and scale. But the headline act is Deep Think, a new reasoning mode for Pro users that layers in parallel thinking and long-context analysis. Consider it AI with a PhD.

Creatives, your time has come. Google dropped Veo 3, its most advanced video model yet — now with native audio generation. It also rolled out Imagen 4 for image generation, and Flow, a slick tool for building cinematic clips on the fly.

Throw in Canvas integration, support for quizzes, infographics and multilingual podcasts, and the Gemini app is shaping up to be a Swiss Army knife for creators.

Pichai closed with a personal anecdote: a Waymo ride in San Francisco with his 80-something father. “He was amazed,” Pichai said. “It reminded me just how powerful technology can be — not just to dazzle, but to bring people along.”

The message was clear: AI at Google is no longer a moonshot — it’s now a movement.

May 21, 2025
AI, aye captain – Rishad Tobaccowala fires up GoaFest with his human touch about artificial intelligence

GOA: Who knew a masterclass in artificial intelligence could feel this human?

At the 2025 edition of GoaFest, held at Taj Cidade de Goa Horizon, marketing sage and Publicis Groupe senior advisor Rishad Tobaccowala kicked off the event with a keynote that was equal parts wake-up call and soul-stirring sermon. In a session titled Ignite, Tobaccowala didn’t just warn the ad world about AI, he challenged it to rekindle its human spark.

The thesis?

AI isn’t just the next big thing, it’s already bigger than we think. “AI in 2025 is still underhyped,” he declared, noting that many businesses still haven’t grasped how deeply it’s reshaping the fundamentals. And he came bearing receipts.

Forty years ago, a desktop computer cost 5,000 dollars and ran on 1.5 million transistors. Today, your smartphone is 10 times cheaper and runs on 1.5 billion transistors. “The cost of computing has dropped by a factor of 10 million,” he said, with the drop in information distribution costs also approaching zero. “And now, the cost of knowledge and experience is heading the same way.”

But here’s the kicker: that doesn’t make AI a differentiator, it makes it infrastructure.

“Saying you have AI is like saying you use electricity,” Tobaccowala quipped. “You won’t survive without it. But it’s not what will set you apart.”

What will? HI — Human Ingenuity, Intuition, Interaction, and Inspiration.

In a world where machines are smarter, faster, and cheaper, he argued, what remains irreplaceable is human originality. “When AI gives everyone the same data and tools, storytelling, creativity and trust become your only real edge,” he said, reaffirming marketers’ role as custodians of emotion and meaning.

Peppered with zingers, analogies, and a 220-second cheese brand startup powered by GPT-4, the session also made serious points about leadership in a rapidly shifting world. “If you’re planning to retire after 2026, think again,” he warned. “Most people won’t be replaced by AI, they’ll be replaced by other people using AI better.”

He also tore into the cult of corporate scale. “You’ll see billion-dollar companies with less than 100 employees,” said Tobaccowala, who himself pays $225 every month month to access top AI models from eight platforms, outperforming Fortune 500 firms stuck in bureaucratic inertia.

His call to action?

Rethink everything. “If you were starting your company today, would it look like it does now? No. Then why are you still running it that way?” From burning outdated mental models to embracing immigrant thinking (outsider mindset, underdog innovation), his message was clear: adapt or become obsolete.

He concluded with his signature “six Cs” for survival in the AI age: Cognition, Creativity, Curiosity, Communication, Collaboration, and Convincing, a new operating system for human relevance.

As for jobs? “Work will change more between 2019 and 2029 than it has in the past 50 years,” he said, forecasting a rise in gig-style, goal-focused work over traditional employment. “The future of work is about getting things done, not filling jobs.”

In a festival famous for its flair, Rishad Tobaccowala delivered a rare thing, a lecture that didn’t just ignite the mind, but lit a fire in the heart.

May 21, 2025
YouTube eyes the big screen as 38 per cent tune in for TV and film

MUMBAI: YouTube’s not just for prank videos and pet fails anymore. That was a point made by YouTube global head Neale Mohan earlier this year when he talked about the platform being watched more on TVs in the US than on handsets. Now, this has been confirmed by the latest consumer research from Ampere Analysis. The only difference it is beginning to spread globally.

Nearly four in ten (38 per cent) of the platform’s global monthly users watch traditional TV shows, films and documentaries. The shift signals YouTube’s growing ambitions beyond the smartphone screen—right into the living room.

Once the digital playground of vlogs and viral clips, YouTube is fast becoming a home for full-length content from major studios and broadcasters. And it’s not just padding out the platform—TV and film content now ranks among YouTube’s top five most-watched genres. Documentaries alone are pulling in 24 per cent of users each month, while 23 per cent are turning up for shows and movies.

What’s interesting is how distinct the audiences are: only 22 per cent of viewers watch both. The rest are split between docu-devotees (41 per cent) and drama-only fans (37 per cent). And while the appeal spans age groups, there’s a slight tilt towards 35–44-year-olds and family households.

The trend is strongest in Asia Pacific (45 per cent) and Latin America (40 per cent), but less so in Western Europe (28 per cent). North America sits bang on the global average at 37 per cent.

The rise of smart TVs is a game changer here. While smartphones still dominate (used by 77 per cent of long-form viewers), a hefty 34 per cent of those watching both docs and dramas are doing so on smart TVs—compared to just 22 per cent of all YouTube users.

Ampere, senior research manager Daniel Monaghan sums it up: “YouTube has come a long way from meme montages and low-res vlogs. We’re now seeing serious, studio-backed content that’s pulling in eyeballs. Sure, there’s a risk of cannibalising traditional platforms—but the ad-share potential and massive reach make it a no-brainer.”

Whether YouTube counts as TV may still be up for debate. But with your gran and your sis now watching documentaries on it from their smart TVs, it might just be time to drop the “user-generated” label.

May 21, 2025
Cake adds some icing with Anna Pokorska as sales manager

MUMBAI: Cake, the London-based kids’ content powerhouse, has appointed Anna Pokorska as sales manager, handing her the reins to key territories across Europe and beyond. Pokorska will be baking up international sales across Italy, Benelux, Central and Eastern Europe, Greece, Turkey and Israel for Cake’s hit slate—including Angry Birds, Total Drama Island, Lucas the Spider, Talking Tom Heroes: Suddenly Super and Armorsaurs.

Reporting to Cake managing director of distribution Dominic Gardiner, Pokorska joins with a deep track record in animation, kids’ content and feature film distribution. She’s worn several high-level hats—SVP of sales at GFM Animation, global distribution lead at Wizart Animation, regional boss at Interfilm for Warner Bros., and casting lead at HBO CIS. Lately, she’s been consulting for MK2 Films and producing both animated and documentary projects.

“We’re excited to have Anna join the team at Cake . Her experience in animation and strong industry relationships make her a great fit as we continue to grow our global reach,” said Gardiner.

Pokorska said, “I’m thrilled to be joining the company I’ve admired for as long as I can remember—a true pioneer in kids’ entertainment. It’s an honour to contribute to Cake’s continued growth and help its fantastic shows reach new audiences around the world.”

As Cake dishes up hits to kids across continents, Pokorska’s appointment adds more firepower to its global growth recipe.

May 21, 2025
OLX India taps Olive Sen to power up its horizontal play

MUMBAI: Olx India is shaking up its leadership ranks with the return of Olive Sen as chief business officer – horizontal business unit (non-autos). In his new avatar, Sen will drive growth across the platform’s sprawling classifieds empire—from jobs and property to mobiles and electronics—as Olx eyes deeper user engagement and scale.

Sen is no stranger to the classifieds game. With over a decade in the consumer internet trenches, including six-plus years at Olx group, he knows the platform inside out. His previous tour of duty saw him head product, marketing and analytics—turbocharging user growth and monetisation along the way.

He returns to Olx after a stint as chief product officer at BetterPlace, a workforce tech platform, and earlier roles at Thinkfoods.in and NYX. An IIT Kharagpur alum, Sen cut his teeth at Nissan Motors and ZS Associates before shifting gears into product strategy.

CarTrade Tech chairman & founder Vinay Sanghi rolled out the welcome mat. “Said he: “We are excited to welcome Olive back to Olx. His deep understanding of the platform, coupled with a strong strategic vision, makes him the ideal leader to drive our horizontal business unit (non-autos) business forward. We are confident that his leadership will unlock new avenues of growth and significantly enhance user engagement in these categories.”

Sen, for his part, is raring to go. Said he: “I’m excited to return to Olx India at a time when the classifieds space is evolving rapidly. The non-autos categories—from consumer goods to real estate and jobs—represent a massive opportunity to build for scale and depth. I’m looking forward to working with the incredible team at Olx to unlock this potential and deliver meaningful experiences for our users.”

The move fits into Olx ndia’s broader playbook—building a one-stop, trusted bazaar for everything under the digital sun. With over 35 million monthly visitors and more than 30 million listings a year, Olx is already a heavyweight. Now, with Sen back at the helm, the platform is betting big on becoming India’s go-to marketplace for all things secondhand (and sensible).

May 21, 2025