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Tag: Aditya Swamy

  • APOS 2025: Sushant Sreeram and JioHotstar’s masterclass on reinvention

    APOS 2025: Sushant Sreeram and JioHotstar’s masterclass on reinvention

    BALI: JioStar’s Sushant Sreeram came out swinging at APOS 2025, tearing up the traditional streaming script with a bold case for fluid monetisation and empathy-first design. Speaking on a high-voltage panel alongside Aditya Swamy of Google Play and Sutanto Hartono of Emtek, the SVOD chief and CMO laid out JioHotstar’s roadmap for a new era of video engagement.

    “We’re not locked into SVOD or AVOD silos,” Sreeram said. “Serving over 500 million monthly users and nearly 300 million subscribers demands a far more flexible approach to how people watch — and pay.”

    His argument was clear: India’s economic layers defy cookie-cutter pricing. “The top 10 per cent of Indian households have parity with the UK or Germany on a PPP basis. But the next 10 per cent? A whole different world. That’s where true innovation begins.”

    Sreeram credited much of JioHotstar’s traction to product-led thinking, citing the latest IPL season as a masterclass in fan experience. “Viewership surged 40 per cent on opening weekend in year 18. That’s not fatigue — that’s reinvention,” he said, referencing multi-cam feeds, VR features, and deep localisation as core drivers.

    AI and machine learning are now hardwired into the platform. “From predictive personalisation to real-time language adaptation, we’re not chasing attention — we’re courting emotion,” he added.

    His parting shot? “You don’t build for India — you build from India. That means designing with agility, pricing with precision, and listening like your survival depends on it. Because it does.”

  • Google’s Aditya Swamy, FB’s Sandeep Bhushan join ASCI board

    Google’s Aditya Swamy, FB’s Sandeep Bhushan join ASCI board

    Mumbai: Director of Google India, Aditya Swamy has joined the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) board and Facebook India head of global marketing solutions, Sandeep Bhushan will be a special invitee to the board, announced ASCI on Friday. 

    As the advertising self-regulatory body shapes the narrative of Indian advertising in a post-COVID world, representation from two of the world’s largest digital companies on its top decision-making body is a landmark step.

    The wealth of experience and insights Swamy and Bhushan bring to the table will not only help the self-regulator formulate better policies and guidelines for the advertising industry, but it will also enable a better understanding of new challenges and their solutions, the organisation said in a statement. “As ASCI works to ensure the protection of consumer interests, along with those of other stakeholders like brands and agencies, having Google and Facebook on the board will help it to sharpen its ability to implement its guidelines as well,” it added.

    Swamy and Bhushan’s appointments strengthen ASCI’s refreshed vision for the future, which reflects in the recent launch of its new logo. The appointments also mark ASCI’s fast-widening focus on digital advertising and platforms, which began last year with a partnership with TAM to monitor 3,000 digital platforms for misleading marketing claims, as well as the launch of the Influencer guidelines and influencer monitoring through an AI platform.

    ASCI chairman Subhash Kamath said, “I am delighted to welcome both Aditya and Sandeep to the board, this is a landmark moment. As we strengthen our roots in the digital space and streamline its functioning, it is extremely important that we collaborate with and learn from the leaders. Google and Facebook are the biggest digital players. We look forward to them helping us become a better conscience keeper of the industry.”

    ASCI, secretary-general, Manisha Kapoor said, “Having Google and Facebook on our board is a great start to the new journey ASCI is embarking upon. It is vital for us to have a keen understanding of digital operations. We will benefit greatly from the expertise that both these companies bring with them.”

    As advertisers’ focus shifts from traditional media to digital spaces, ASCI is ensuring that it stays ahead of the curve and streamlines the shift. 

  • Breaking the Digital Code at the 2nd Edition of The Advertising Club’s D-CODE

    Breaking the Digital Code at the 2nd Edition of The Advertising Club’s D-CODE

    Mumbai : India’s digital ecosystem has over the last few years taken significant growth strides by playing a decisive role in scripting success stories for many brands. An evening dedicated to showcasing and deliberating on these inspiring stories saw the best media, marketing and advertising brands come together at the value-driven, learning event – The Advertising Club’s D-CODE presented by MX Player and powered by Tik Tok Ads. A curated panel of 13 industry though leaders inspired and stirred conversations by sharing an example of their own best work, one work they admire and 3 learnings they would want to share with the audience.

    Addressing the forum were Amarjit Singh Batra, Managing Director, Spotify; Jogesh Lulla, COO, Corner Stone Sport and Entertainment; versatile Standup Comedian, Musician & Filmmaker, Kenny Sabastian; Karan Bedi, CEO, MX Player; Mustafa Ghouse, Chief Operating Officer, JSW Sports Pvt Ltd; Nirmal Pulickal, Head – Facebook Creative Shop, Facebook; Partha Sinha, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, McCann Worldgroup; Rashi Goel, VP- Consumer Communication Media, CRM & NHW, Nestle; Sachin Sharma, Director – Sales & Partnerships;  Bytedance (Tik Tok); Sidharth Rao, CEO & Co-Founder, Dentsu Webchutney; Srivats TS, VP Marketing, Swiggy; Sumeet Narang, Vice-President – Marketing, Bajaj Auto and Vikas Agnihotri, Country Director, Google.

    Vikram Sakhuja, President, The Advertising Club, opened the evening saying: “With D-Code we aim to break the definitive code of digital marketing. Today, most marketers are exploring various formats, forms and platforms to bring business value using digital marketing and the insights of our speakers today will go a long way in paving the best success stories for the industry in the coming years.”

    Aditya Swamy – Managing Committee Member, The Advertising Club said: “The goal of D-Code is to inspire and be inspired. With a range of speakers from across the eco system showing work by brands, platforms and talent, I hope we were able to raise the bar and give marketers thought starters to crack the Massive digital opportunity.”

    Punitha Arumugam – Managing Committee Member, The Advertising Club said: "26 case studies and 39 tips on digital in one evening was time well spent. We had great feedback from the audience with inputs on how to make D-CODE even larger and better in 2020."

    The five key learnings that the advertising, digital and marketing fraternity can take back from D-CODE 2019 are:

    1) It’s not the output but the outcome that matters in the digital world.

    2) Same customer consumes differently hence platforms matter.

    3) Connect customer data across touch points for a holistic view of the market.

    4) Plan ahead so you can be relevant and always answer ‘what’s in it for me’ for the customer.

    5) Learn to create before you sell as technology changes, but people don’t.

    With a galaxy of the who’s who of the media, advertising and digital industries in attendance, the second edition of D-CODE established once again established that knowledge sharing is the way to success for all.

  • Google elevates Aditya Swamy to head of agency partnerships

    Google elevates Aditya Swamy to head of agency partnerships

    MUMBAI: In a recent development, Google has elevated Aditya Swamy as head of agency  partnerships. In 2017 Swamy joined the company as industry head.

    Adtiya has a experience across technology, e-commerce, M&E and CPG and he is also an active member of BARC and The Adclub of India. He started his career with CocaCola as a sales manager based in Bangaluru. He was with CocaCola India for 8 years.

    Before joining Google, he was senior director at Flipkart where he led the digital and content marketing agenda. Prior to that, Swamy was executive vice president, Viacom18 Media and business head, MTV and MTV Indies. At MTV, he was responsible for growing the channel’s footprint across TV, web, mobile and the live spaces.

    Swamy holds a postgraduate diploma in marketing management from SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai.

  • Aditya Swamy quits MTV; to join Flipkart as senior director marketing

    Aditya Swamy quits MTV; to join Flipkart as senior director marketing

    MUMBAI: After a stint of more than nine years, Viacom 18 EVP and MTV & MTV Indies business head Aditya Swamy has put in his papers.

     

    Swamy is slated to join Flipkart as senior director marketing in about two months’ time.

     

    Confirming the same to Indiantelevision.com, Swamy said, “I had a good time with Viacom and I worked there for nine years. The journey has been amazing.”

     

    On his role at Flipkart, he said, “I will be looking after content marketing and digital media at Flipkart.”

     

    Swamy joined Viacom18 Media in June 2006 as MTV EVP and business head where was responsible for content, revenue growth, brand building and communication as well as expanding the channel’s footprint across TV, web, mobile and the live space.

     

    Prior to joining Viacom18, he was with Coca- Cola India as general manager marketing for eight years. 

  • MTV explores ‘What Women Love’ through ‘Splitsvilla 8’

    MTV explores ‘What Women Love’ through ‘Splitsvilla 8’

    MUMBAI: With the motive to kill boredom, music and youth channel MTV is all set to kickoff the eighth season of Splitsvilla. Themed, ‘What Women Love’, the new season is set to cross extreme boundaries.

     

    MTV Splitsvilla season 8 has roped in Karbonn Smart as the title sponsor with Airtel and Schmitten luxury Chocolate as co-presented sponsors. Spraymintt, Glam-up, Bacardi Breezer and Manforce are the powered by sponsors.

     

    The many firsts’

     

    The makers have tweaked the format this season. The odds are tripped in favour of the girls as it is the boys who will be seen doing all the hard work to find a way into their lady love’s heart. To show what women truly value in a man, the creators are pitting eight celebrity boys against eight non-celebrity boys to woo 14 girls.

     

    “Last season, we explored with getting celebrity boys on the show and we got good eyeballs. So, this year we thought of getting more celebrity boys as part of the format,” explains MTV EVP and business head Aditya Swamy.

     

    The eight celebrity boys are, ex-winner of Splitsvilla 5 Paras Chabra, MTV Roadies X2 winner Prince Narula, MTV Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan fame Utkarsh Gupta, model and radio show host Ishaan Chibber, model Viren Singh Rathore and TV actors Amaad Mintoo, Zaan Khan and Yash Pandit.

     

    Secondly, the all new combination of actor Sunny Leone and VJ and actor Rannvijay Singh as hosts will give the show a whole new flavour as they mentor the girls and boys.

     

    Thirdly, to add on to the action, for the first time, the show that goes on-air from 4 July will kick off as a bi-weekly, airing on both Saturday and Sunday at 7 pm for the first two weeks, thereafter being showcased every Saturday at the same time.

     

    “When you launch only on a Saturday, people have to wait for one whole week for the second episode, but this season in 24 hours viewers will get to see the next episode,” says Swamy.

     

    Splitsvilla is in a more controlled environment

     

    The seventh season of the show reached the 100 million viewers mark and registered 60 per cent growth over the previous season.

     

    Making a reality show is not a piece of cake. Unlike Roadies, where the channel is working rigorously for 11 months, Swamy feels Splitsvilla is in a more controlled environment. “Roadies is a travel based show, Splitsvilla is shot on one location. The time it takes is less than what it takes to do Roadies which starts from one place and ends at another,” he opines.

     

    MTV content and programming head Shalini Sethi who finally sealed the theme ‘What Women Love’ informs that this wasn’t the only theme that came to the creator’s mind. “We did discuss a couple of other themes, but we locked on this one keeping in mind what is happening in today’s time where the country is talking about issues relating to women and women empowerment among others.”

     

    An extensive survey was also conducted amongst the target audience, especially women and girls to understand what they expect from men. “Everybody had a different perspective, yet meaningful,” asserts Sethi.

     

    This season, the creators have chosen Goa as the love destination. Except for the finale, the entire show was canned in 45 days. It took three-four months for the channel to execute the new season.

     

    Swamy reveals that the planning for the next season begins on the very day the last episode is shot.  “We treat our shows as brands. So when you are working on a series, you hope that it will last for weeks, but when you are building a brand, you are building it for a lifetime. The whole idea is to build Splitsvilla as a brand. And it is so difficult for a seven year franchise to let go off it,” states Swamy.

     

    He believes that the coming in of new people brings a lot of freshness to the show. “We keep challenging ourselves to do better every season. Internally we had new minds coming in and contributing for the new season. We had Sethi who has recently come onboard; she had her own points to put,” says Swamy.

     

    With always having a mix of old and new people, the channel has roped in a new co-producer in Vikas Gupta’s Lost Boy Productions, with Colosceum being the producer.

     

    Digital marketing

     

    MTV has close to 13 million fans on Facebook, a million and a half Twitter followers and close to 95,000 followers on Instagram. The website grabs eyeballs of 20 million visits. “We have been able to use the digital environment very well. We also have a vast network of channels within Viacom18. There are 18 channels within the network and MTV will use that to promote it. To top it all, there are several brands like Airtel, Breezer, Karbonn etc having their own marketing plans. Content marketing is the in-thing today,” says Swamy.

     

    On the marketing front, Swamy reveals that the spent is too less as a lot of marketing is driven on its own assets. “If you put a value to it, it’s huge, but we own a lot of these assets ourselves, so it is not paid marketing. We invest a lot in content,” quips Swamy.

     

    A media planner believes that the ad rate for a show like Splitsvilla ranges anywhere between Rs 1.30 lakh to Rs 1.50 lakh for a 10-sec slot. “Look at the show today, it has already tasted success and still counting. The reach, visibility and also the content is growing season after season which is good for any youth reality show,” concludes the media planner. 

  • MTV India hops on to Hong Kong’s now TV platform

    MTV India hops on to Hong Kong’s now TV platform

    MUMBAI: Starting June, youth entertainment channel MTV India has hopped on to now TV in Hong Kong. Now TV is one of the world’s largest commercial deployments of IPTV and Hong Kong’s largest pay TV provider. It offers a wide range of local and international content on its platform in Hong Kong.

     

    MTV India EVP and business head Aditya Swamy said, “It is extremely exciting for MTV India to enter Hong Kong with now TV. Being the universe of the young, we have never been boxed by geographical boundaries. Our service goes to over 35 countries, broadcasting a heady dose of our local pop culture.  The catchy Bollywood tunes, our original music productions and our super hit reality and drama series will entertain young people across varied cultural backgrounds bringing them together in their love for all things MTV.”

     

    IndiaCast group COO Gaurav Gandhi added, “With the launch of MTV India on now TV, we have further strengthened our relationship with the platform. Together, we look forward to providing the very best of South Asian Entertainment to the diaspora in Hong Kong. This launch increases MTV India’s international footprint to 50 countries as the channel continues to entertain global audiences through its unique offerings including original music programming, Bollywood music and successful fiction and non-fiction format shows targeted to the youth.”

     

    Pay TV PCCW’s executive vice Loke Kheng Tham said, “now TV is Hong Kong’s largest pay-TV provider, offering more than 190 top-class channels to our 1.2 million customers. Adding MTV India to our lineup further demonstrates now TV’s commitment to providing all customers with a wide range of program choices. Indians in Hong Kong can now watch their favorite shows exclusively on now TV as part of the Indian Pack.”

     

    Currently, MTV India is available in 49 countries including the US, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Nigeria, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Singapore among others.

  • MTV revamps Coke Studio format; to air all year round

    MTV revamps Coke Studio format; to air all year round

    MUMBAI: An experiment that began with fusion music over three seasons back is all set to return once again. Coke Studio @MTV season four is all set to telecast in a new format this year.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com about the same, MTV EVP and business head Aditya Swamy said that the success of the property today lay in the fact that filmmakers have started asking music composers to produce songs, which have a Coke Studio feel to them.

     

    MTV and Coca Cola have followed two cues to take the show’s new season forward. “Firstly, we have decided to bring audio and video together to refresh audiences through music videos. Secondly, it has been learnt that people are consuming singles rather than albums. Therefore, we will move from episodes to singles throughout the year.”

     

    The format for this year will see a change. The property will move from seasons to “always on” for one year now. It will be narrated in the form of a story instead of just vanilla songs. The series will begin on 1 March 2015 and will air every first Sunday of the month at 8 pm. 

     

    The production will include three elements. The first element of the show will include producer profiles and the idea behind the song. Secondly, it will have studio sessions and the setup of the band and lastly there will be a novel element, which will be a stylized video and audio told in the form of a story. Each of these videos and audios will release simultaneously across all MTV platforms. It will be deployed across all audio and video platforms like YouTube, Saavn, Gaana and iTunes by Zee Music. The channel will also be re-releasing two audience favourites “Madari” and “Kattey” with new music videos.

     

    Speaking about the learning’s the channel has picked up so far, Swamy said that it has been to come up with better innovations. “In the technical sphere we have learnt to produce audio and video side by side. With the response we have garnered, we could find courage to innovate and come up with a format that not only caters to loyalists but also help bring on board new consumers,” Swamy informed.

     

    Talking about the brand integration concept, Swamy said that the two have seen a long term investment partnership. “People will take to branded content if the music is good, but if the content is not good and is in the consumers face directly they will hate the same,” he opined.

     

    The global beverage brand Coca Cola owns the IP of the property, which has its presence in other countries like Pakistan and therefore the channel does not resort to other advertisers coming onboard. 

     

    Speaking about the brand’s association with MTV, Coca Cola India and South West Asia VP marketing and commercial Debabrata Mukherjee said, “We are constantly in touch to come up with engaging content. When we began, we did not realise the groundswell response we would receive. Since 2013 to 2014 we have visited more than 15 cities visiting different colleges as part of our on ground events.” 

     

    This year Coke Studio will continue bring the live experiences through 50 concerts and outreach programmes reaching 100 colleges across 10 cities.

     

    Mukherjee informed that the property has become hugely popular over seasons. Sharing some insights, he said Coke Studio @MTV has registered over 150 million+ reach across all three seasons. On social media platforms, it has garnered 64 million view on YouTube and 2.9 million fans on Facebook. He also informed that the brand is open to inviting international artists to India.

     

    Speaking on the association of the two partners Group M ESP national director- entertainment sports and live events Vinit Karnik opined, “The property has become very much synonymous with the brand. There is also a lot of cult following that consumes this kind of music. At some point in time, it will definitely resonate with the brand and the TG. From a relevance point of view this has worked for the brand Coca Cola as people have become very much synonymous with the brand.”

     

    The line up for this season includes the likes of Amit Trivedi, Pritam, Papon, Clinton Cerejo, Sachin-Jingar, Ram Sampath, Sneha Khanwalkar, Harshdeep Kaur, Raftaar and Rekha Bhardwaj. 

     

    When asked about the property’s USP, Bhardwaj said, “Coke Studio @MTV has allowed us artists to treat the platform as our own. It has also helped popularise folk as well contemporary music through fusion. Every episode will feature a single song and will allow us to take our own interpretation to the audiences.”

  • MTV launches clean-up drive with Sushant Singh Rajput to support Swachh Bharat

    MTV launches clean-up drive with Sushant Singh Rajput to support Swachh Bharat

    MUMBAI: After a successful ‘MTV’s Rock The Vote’ campaign last year, Viacom 18’s youth centric channel has launched the ‘MTV The Junkyard Project’.

     

    ‘MTV The Junkyard Project’ is an attempt to involve youth in cleanliness on ground, while adding fun quotient by blending in music and art. To lend his support to this initiative actor Sushant Singh Rajput picked up the broom to launch the campaign by sweeping a street in Mumbai as two bands played to cheer him. This event was hosted in association with JJ School of Arts, and kickstarts across 15 cities.

     

    ‘MTV The Junkyard Project’ will be integrating this campaign across all the screens including television, mobile, web with an on-ground outreach across 300 colleges and 15 city clean up drive. In addition, MTV is collaborating with musicians to create a music video with a strong messaging of ‘Swachh Bharat’. While music gets youth grooving, humor urges them to spread the message. In line with that, MTV is partnering with leading humorists across the country to create compelling yet funny videos that deliver the message loud and clear.

     

    The channel is rolling out a massive 15 city clean up drive that identifies unofficial junkyards and convert them into art projects. The core idea is to create spaces that truly reflect the talent of the youth and their strong willingness to forge a new tomorrow.

     

    Speaking about his association with the project, Rajput said, “For a young nation like India, real change can be brought out only if the young people decide to do something about it. While today everyone’s talking about making India clean, very few are working on developing sustainable models for achieving it. MTV The Junkyard Project is a unique initiative because it successfully marries the power of the youth along with solutions that are long term and enables them to have fun while executing the whole idea – which is brilliant! I am thoroughly excited to be a part of this splendid project and would like to tell them that we are awesome and urge them to be the agents of change!”

     

    MTV EVP and business head Aditya Swamy added, “Warm is the new cool, young people care about the world they live in and believe that they can be powerful change agents. We at MTV have always created platforms for the youth to act and make a difference. This is a key part of what we do and we leverage all the assets of MTV to create a fun and impactful movement.”

  • 12 years on, ‘Roadies X2’ continues to enjoy strong audience base

    12 years on, ‘Roadies X2’ continues to enjoy strong audience base

    MUMBAI: It’s been more than a decade but the show still stands strong. While one would think that a reality show that provokes its guests non-stop on national television, would be doomed at the outset, MTV Roadies, even in its 12th year has kept its audience glued to their television sets. 

     

    The show continues to rule the genre, thanks to two factors, one, impressive numbers and two, strong audience base available for the programme. 

     

    Just as any other reality show, this one has its own audience (though not as big as one on a GEC), a digital presence, merchandising units and marketing campaigns.

     

    Even after ruling the small screen in the youth space for 11 years, this year too the show has proved its might. Season X2, which hit the television screens with the audition phase on 24 January has already become the number one youth reality and fiction show. 

     

    It had an impressive opening as it clocked around 175 TVTs compared to other shows like Sadda Haq on Channel V with 165 TVTs, Love By Chance on bindass with 128 TVTs and Dare 2 Date on Channel V with 65 TVTs in the week four of TAM TV ratings. The ratings are in CS 15-24 AB in HSM markets. 

    In the sixth week, the show garnered 139 TVTs. 

     

    According to MTV India EVP and business head Aditya Swamy, the franchise has lived happily for 12 seasons and Roadies X2 has ripped the format open. “This season, we went for a complete makeover. From bringing in a new format to new judges to brining in some unexpectedness,” he informs.  

     

    The channel states that the cult show has witnessed a hike of 60 per cent in viewership as compared to the last season. Moreover, its reach increased from 1.1 per cent in episode one to 2.2 per cent.

     

    According to Swamy the major viewership of the show comes from the HSM markets, mostly from Mumbai, Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

     

    The key highlights for the success of the show, according to Swamy are: Core understanding of its target audience. “We brought in fresh twists to keep the old audience surprised and new audience hooked. We dared to be different by getting in personalities that the youth can easily relate to. From one Bollywood personality to one sportsman and television personality while Rannvijay continues to garner female attention,” he informs. 

     

    Before the launch of the show, the channel continued to build engagement via other mediums as well. It launched a mobile Torrentz app where users can download complete episodes and watch them at their own convenience for free.  

     

    To further up the entertainment quotient for the youth, the channel will be launching Roadies Fantasy League – which for the first time will see a sport-like fantasy team competition for a reality show.

     

    It will also have the Roadies Prediction application – which will have a betting environment where people can bet on outcomes of the show.

     

    MTV will continue doing Audiosodes – Podcasts where people can catch up on what happened in an episode. To top it all, it will come up with a section called Fast Forward on its website which is like a highlights package and has the entire episode crunched in around seven minutes. 

     

    On the digital front, the official Facebook page of Roadies X2 garnered 18,347 likes at the time of filing this report. On Twitter the buzz is strong too with the show’s official page delivering around 64.3 thousand followers. 

     

    This season Hero MotoCorp continues to be the title sponsor and Vivo Smart Phone has come onboard as the associate sponsor along with traditional long term partners like Mountain Dew, Ceat tyres etc. In all, the channel has roped in 12 sponsors this season. 

     

    “The evolution of a show is a big reason for its success. Many thought that Roadies is incomplete without twin hosts Raghu and Rajiv and the new judges won’t be able to pull off the show very well. But the numbers says it all,” says a media planner.