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Tag: Kavita Rajwade

  • Sania Mirza serves up stories and spirit in new IVM podcast

    Sania Mirza serves up stories and spirit in new IVM podcast

    MUMBAI: Game. Set. Chat. Sania Mirza, India’s tennis superstar, is stepping off the court and into the studio with her brand-new podcast “Serving It Up with Sania,” produced by IVM Podcasts. True to its name, the show promises a lively volley of on-court action, off-court candour, and honest conversations served with a side of Sania’s trademark wit and warmth.

    Each episode opens with a quick pickleball match between Sania and her guest, before moving into a no-holds-barred conversation about ambition, burnout, balance, and joy. The idea? To capture the real person behind the public persona, whether the guest is from sports, entertainment, entrepreneurship, or pop culture.

    “Sport has always been my way of connecting with people; it breaks barriers, builds stories, and reveals character,” Sania said. “With my new podcast, I wanted to create a space that’s fun and real, where we can talk about everything from ambition to burnout without filters.”

    Blending competition with connection, ‘Serving It Up’ offers listeners a rare rally of humour, emotion, and unfiltered storytelling. With pickleball’s rising popularity adding a playful edge, the show’s visual-first format makes it as much a watch as a listen, something that sets it apart in India’s rapidly evolving podcasting landscape.

    IVM Podcasts – Pratilipi head Amit Doshi described the show as “a glimpse of where podcasting in India is headed personal, visual, and deeply relatable. Sania’s voice and perspective make these conversations unmissable.”

    IVM Podcasts – Pratilipi co-founder Kavita Rajwade added, “Everyone’s got a podcast, but it’s always fun to see athletes behind the mic. It’s great to see Sania leading this moment for India.”

    The podcast also marks a key collaboration with Cornerstone Sport and Entertainment pvt ltd (CME) CEO and CME Bunty Sajdeh saying, “We’re thrilled to partner with IVM Podcasts and launch ‘Serving It Up with Sania’. Sania’s ability to have honest and vulnerable conversations will make this podcast truly stand out.”

    IVM Podcasts, known for hits like ‘What The Hell Navya’, ‘Cyrus Says’, and ‘Chitthiyaan’, continues to push the boundaries of audio storytelling blending innovation, authenticity, and emotion.

    ‘Serving It Up with Sania’ premieres new episodes weekly, first on Myntra Glamstream, followed by Youtube and major audio streaming platforms.

    So, if you’ve ever wanted to know what happens when a tennis ace trades her racket for a mic, Sania’s ready to serve it fresh, fiery, and full of heart.

     

  • Amazon Music presents India Pod Day, hosted by IVM Podcasts and Westland Books

    Amazon Music presents India Pod Day, hosted by IVM Podcasts and Westland Books

    Mumbai: Amazon Music presents an extraordinary live podcast event ‘India Pod Day’ hosted by India’s premiere podcast network ‘IVM Podcasts’ and an award-winning Indian publisher ‘Westland Books’. The event will take place on 17 October 2023 at St. Andrews Auditorium, Mumbai.

    Highlighting the event’s star-studded lineup, ‘India Pod Day’ will feature renowned figures like Javed Akhtar, the prolific lyricist, poet, screenplay writer and author joining live with Cyrus Broacha on his popular podcast, ‘Cyrus Says’ where he will talk about his recent released book ‘Talking Life’. Additionally, Hussain Zaidi, will go live on the podcast ‘Has It Aged Well’. Hussian is a prominent journalist and author, who is known for his bestselling books like Dongri To Dubai, Mafia Queens Of Mumbai and Black Friday.

    India Pod Day is set to bring together IVM Podcasts hosts and renowned authors for a day of insightful panel discussions, interactive workshops, and captivating live podcast experience.  The event will be specially dedicated to and shine the spotlight on IVM Podcast hosts.

    Designed to welcome both seasoned podcast aficionados and newcomers, India Pod Day will celebrate the dynamic medium of podcasting and its rapidly growing audience. It offers a unique opportunity to foster a community centred around smart listeners, and intelligent content and encourages the cross-pollination of diverse audiences.

    IVM Podcasts- Pratilipi head Amit Doshi said “India Pod Day is a milestone in the world of podcasting. We are thrilled to collaborate with Amazon Music to create an unforgettable experience for podcast enthusiasts. We cannot wait to see the connections and conversations that will emerge.”

    IVM Podcasts- Pratilipi co-founder Kavita Rajwade commented “India Pod Day will see innovation and creativity converge to showcase the incredible potential of the podcast medium. We will see voices meet stories, and stories create connections.”

    Westland Books business head Gautam Padmanabhan said, “We are delighted to be partnering with IVM and Amazon Music to foreground the conversation about new narratives and collaborative formats. Taking our books and writers to listeners and viewers as well as readers is an exciting prospect and an event like this allows us to explore the possibilities with a live audience.”

    India Pod Day promises an unforgettable day of inspiration, knowledge, and entertainment.

  • IVM Podcasts and SBI Life Insurance presents “Chitthiyaan”

    IVM Podcasts and SBI Life Insurance presents “Chitthiyaan”

    Mumbai: IVM Podcasts, in collaboration with SBI Life Insurance, is thrilled to announce the launch of their latest audio fiction show titled “Chitthiyaan” starring the versatile actor Gajraj Rao to highlight a heartwarming audio fiction series themed around SBI Life’s brand philosophy ‘Apne Liye, Apno Ke Liye’ and its purpose; which is to liberate individuals to pursue their dreams by securing the needs and aspirations of their loved ones. The series captures this very essence of the brand purpose, and is set to premier on 28 August 2023 and will be accessible to a broader audience across all audio platforms.

    Conceived and directed by Safura Ubaid, “Chitthiyaan” marks IVM Podcasts first ever audio fiction anthology. The series revolves around a character, Prasad Joshi, a retired postmaster, who stumbles upon a treasure trove of undelivered letters from the past. With each unopened letter, a story set in contemporary setting unfolds, showcasing the beauty of human relationships and emotions. Each episode is thoughtfully crafted, making it the perfect companion for short breaks or leisurely moments.

    SBI Life’s support has been instrumental in empowering Chitthiyaan. Through an emotionally driven storytelling, the audio fiction anthology aims at encouraging people to pursue their individual dreams while simultaneously taking care of the needs and aspirations of their family.

    Speaking about the launch, SBI Life Insurance chief of brand, corporate communication & CSR Ravindra Sharma said, “Today’s consumers are increasingly consuming content via various convenient mediums and one of the emerging mediums is ‘Podcasts’ or the voice medium. While the popularity of this medium is gradually growing, the new age consumers are on a look out for content that stays relevant and meaningful to them. Keeping in mind the need to serve these consumers through a medium of their preference, along with IVM, we launched “Chitthiyaan” that captures the very essence of our brand philosophy ‘Apne Liye, Apno Ke Liye’.” He further added, “We hope this audio fiction series inspires individuals to liberate themselves by pursuing individual passions, while taking care of their familial responsibilities”.

    IVM Podcasts- Pratilipi co-founder Kavita Rajwade commented on the launch, “As audience preferences continue to evolve, we aim to captivate and fulfill their information and entertainment needs through storytelling with a difference. In India, we have a deep affinity for narratives that delve into relationships and emotions, resonating deeply with our hearts. With this audio fiction anthology, our aim is to touch the hearts of the masses, forging strong bonds with them and turning them into dedicated enthusiasts”

    Commenting on the launch of “Chitthiyaan”, actor Gajraj Rao said, “I am a regular listener of fiction and non-fiction audio books/ podcasts for the last four-five years. So one day, when I got a call from Amit Doshi- Founder, IVM Podcasts for collaborating on an audio series, I was more than happy.  He further added, “Chitthiyan is a story of a retired Postal service officer, Prasad Joshi and few letters he couldn’t deliver while in service. These letters and stories related to them are full of human emotions. We discover relationships, ambitions, and dreams in a contemporary startup age, where the old passes the baton to the new generations. I am thankful to SBI Life for backing such a beautiful idea as it reflects the shared vision of both IVM Podcasts and SBI Life in bringing meaningful content that touches lives”.

  • Brands betting big on IVM Podcast, share Amit Doshi and Kavita Rajwade

    Brands betting big on IVM Podcast, share Amit Doshi and Kavita Rajwade

    Mumbai: Fueled up by the pandemic and unprecedented lockdown, the audio industry has grown massively over the past two years. According to a listener survey by IVM Podcasts, around 96 per cent tuned in via their phones and saw more women than ever listening to podcasts. 80 per cent of listeners prefer to listen to episodes that are more than 20 minutes long, and serious listeners get about seven-eight hours of listening per week.

    According to a KPMG study, podcast consumption increased by 29.3 per cent in the first year of the pandemic. A survey by Spotify and YouGov says that as of 2021, 50 percent of Indians prefer listening to at least one episode of a podcast every week.

    The PWC Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2020 study also predicted that India’s podcast listening market, the third-largest globally, is expected to reach Rs 17.61 crore by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 34.5 per cent.

    Following the trend, branded podcasts have emerged as a favorite of advertisers across industries.

    In a conversation with IndianTelevision.com, Pratilipi owned IVM podcasts head Amit Doshi shared why brands should go for a branded podcast. Along with him, IVM co-founder Kavita Rajwade also joined in to highlight the increasing number of advertisers on the platform.

    The growth trajectory of IVM

    Industry estimates show that the podcast industry has grown immensely during the pandemic. Highlighting the growth of IVM, Doshi said, “Like the entire podcast industry, IVM too has grown enormously.”

    “Right now we create content for thirty-five advertisers and are aiming to garner a hundred brands by the end of 2022,” he revealed.

    He added, “during the initial months of the lockdown, IVM registered a drop in listenership but soon audiences were saturated with regular entertainment channels like television, OTT, etc., which led them to discover podcasts.”

    “As soon as they realised that the medium is a perfect resort for infotainment, they couldn’t take a step back which helped the medium grow,” Doshi added.

    Except for FMCG, brands across categories show interest

    At present, IVM has thirty-five advertisers in its bucket. Doshi said, “We have a variety of advertisers working with us. However, we are not specific to a particular niche of brands. We have all kinds of advertisers including fintech, edtech and e-commerce. However, FMCG is one category that is still very hesitant to invest in branded podcasts.”

    Explaining the reason behind the low-interest rates of FMCG brands, he said, “FMCG brands are usually targeting all classes of the society, whereas, the podcast is still not a mass medium. Branded podcasts are limited to educated people, millennials and Gen Z, hence FMCG brands are not open to experimenting in the podcast ecosystem.”

    Audio is no more limited to music only

    Gone are the days when audio was synonymous with music only. Now, audio for Indian listeners is a lot beyond music.

    “There was a time when audio was only about music. Songs were the only option to fill our everyday commutes, long lines at the bank, early morning walks and awkward carpools with insightful and funny stories,” Rajwade said. “But now when it comes to audio-based entertainment, listeners look for podcasts, audiobooks, editorials and other audio options,” she added.

    Content experience is more important than content creation

    Rajwade thinks that it is the content experience that helped them to grow consistently. “To provide the right solutions to the brands, we focus on providing better experiences to our listeners rather than just creating content,” she said.

    “Content creation is our primary job but we focus more on how our content makes the listener feel, because no one remembers the content after listening to it, what stays with them is the experience and feel they get while listening to a particular content,” she explained.

    Immense room for growth

    According to an analysis by market research firm RedSeer, only 12 per cent of the Indian population “had ever listened to a podcast” till 2021. The number indicates that there’s “immense room for growth.”

    In his concluding remarks, Doshi said, “As India has finally started seeing a notable surge in the number of podcast listeners, I see a great opportunity for growth in this industry.”