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Tag: media

  • Apurva Purohit steps down as the president of the Jagran Group

    Apurva Purohit steps down as the president of the Jagran Group

    Mumbai: Apurva Purohit, the president of the Jagran Group has announced her decision to step down, after working for over half a decade with the group and nearly 16 years with MBL (Radio City). She will remain with the organization till 30 June. 

    Purohit played a pivotal role in its transformational growth of Radio City as a leading brand in the FM radio industry. MBL went public in 2016 and is currently among the most valuable FM players in the public market. 

    “Apurva’s key strengths lie in her ability to simplify complex problems, build teams, and implement innovations and strategies in a focused and extremely effective fashion. Her understanding of consumer behavior and what drives change in people, and managing the tough business of media which requires both right and left brain thinking, and her business acumen have been invaluable to Jagran, especially in the last few difficult years. Her exit is a great loss to the Group,” said Jagran Prakashan Limited, group chief financial officer, R K Aggarwal. 

    In a statement released on Thursday, the company said Purohit helped the group to pivot from a deep-rooted reliance on its traditional print businesses to focus on new age emerging businesses. The strategies adopted under her tutelage and her emphasis on excellence in implementation have helped create strong and resilient verticals in radio, print, outdoor and digital with the ability to power through difficult economic scenarios, it added further. 

    Purohit has spent nearly 32 years in media, beginning with Lodestar to working in television, radio, print, and digital. “These three decades have given me incredible opportunities to build and scale up a diverse set of businesses – from fledgling ones like Radio City to new ventures like Times TV and supervising turnarounds in mature organizations like Zee TV. I will continue to use these experiences to mentor and guide CEOs and entrepreneurs to build valuable businesses, a role I have been doing for the past few years at Jagran and the other companies I am associated with,” Purohit said on Thursday. 

    Elaborating on her decision, Purohit added, “I have been reflecting recently, especially in this period of crisis, that it is the job of each one of us who has the ability and the resources to drive change, to worry about the economic situation around us and do everything in our power to create positive impact. This phase of my journey is about creating and funding businesses which work towards generating employment where it is needed, and at scale, a sorely needed initiative given the significant number of people who have been rendered jobless in the past year.”

  • Streaming war intensifies, as Amazon eyes MGM studios

    Streaming war intensifies, as Amazon eyes MGM studios

    KOLKATA: US tech giant Amazon is in talks to acquire the “Bond studio” MGM to bolster its ambition in the streaming media, according to reports. The mega-deal is being orchestrated by Amazon Studios and Prime Video senior vice president Mike Hopkins, along with MGM board chairman Kevin Ulrich.

    Founded in 1924 MGM’s wide Hollywood library includes names like Bond, Hobbit, Rocky, and Pink Panther franchises as well as movies like The Silence of the Lambs, The Magnificent Seven, Four Weddings, and A Funeral along with a streaming service Epix.

    Although media is not a big part of e-commerce giant Amazon’s portfolio, it has gradually increased focus on the segment. Prime Video’s viewer base has surpassed 175 million, the company revealed recently. According to reports, MGM has been looking for prospective buyers. While the company wants to value itself at $9 billion, others are valuing it at $5 billion.

    At the end of 2020, there were already reports that MGM had tapped Morgan Stanley and LionTree to explore a sale. Even Apple and Comcast also reportedly spoke to the studio but they could not reach an agreement.

    The reports came close on the heels of Discovery-AT&T’s media assets merger deal to build a new streaming giant. In the last few years, the global media and entertainment industry has witnessed a number of consolidations as the streaming competition rises.

  • French groups TF1 and M6 propose merger

    French groups TF1 and M6 propose merger

    MUMBAI: Fierce competition forces alliances upon nations, people, and companies. As it is doing in the media and entertainment globally today. Close on the heels of the announcement of the merger between AT&T’s Warner Media and Discovery, reports of another fusion between two media groups in France have emerged. The two in question are TF1 and M6 (pronounced Seez) groups.

    TF1 is owned by the Bouygues group, while M6’s ownership lies with European production and TV broadcaster RTL, which is part of media giant Bertlesmann. The two will be housed in a new French company in which Bouygues would hold 30 per cent and RTL 16 per cent. The former will acquire 11 per cent equity from the latter for Euros 641 million.

    The proposal has got the go-ahead from the RTL, Bouygues, TFI, and M6 boards, but has to get over the regulatory hurdles from French authorities and is proposed to close by the end-2022. The merged company would have a 2020 pro forma revenue of €3.4bn and a current operating profit of €461M. The synergies potential (EBITDA run-rate impact) is estimated at €250M to €350M per year within three years from the closing of the transaction.

    M6 CEO Nicolas de Tavernost has been proposed as chairman & CEO of the merged entity while chairman and CEO of TF1 Gilles Pélisson will be nominated as deputy CEO of Groupe Bouygues in charge of media and development.

    A new ad-supported service, combining catch-up and live streaming and based on existing services MyTF1 and 6play, would be developed, alongside an SVoD service and a production hub for local and international content.

    What’s forcing the two to merge? Well a press release issued by RTL gives some insights.

    It says the two groups are active in a growing total video market where increasingly rich, original, and exclusive content is driving long-term audience growth. Even as linear TV remains powerful, it is undergoing a structural transformation with a strong shift towards on-demand consumption which is being led by global platforms making deep pushes in the French advertising market.

    “The combination of these two players, of the know-how of their employees and their strong brands, would allow the new group to invest more and to step up innovation. The proposed merger is critical to ensure the long-term independence of French content creation and to continue to offer diversified and premium local content to the benefit of all viewers,” said the statement.

    “The merger between Groupe TF1 and Groupe M6 is a great opportunity to create a French total video champion that will guarantee independence, quality of content, and pluralism – values that have long been shared by our two groups,” said Pélisson. “It will be an asset in promoting French culture. Groupe TF1 now approaches a new stage in its development, consistent with the strategic vision developed in the past five years.”

    “The consolidation of the French television and audio-visual markets is an absolute necessity if the French audience and the industry as a whole are to continue to play a predominant role in the face of exacerbated international competition, which is accelerating rapidly,” added de Tavernost. “The combination of the two groups’ know-how will allow for an ambitious French response. Furthermore, this proposed merger of Groupe M6 and Groupe TF1 is the only transaction offering value creation for all Groupe M6 shareholders.”

    “The audio-visual market benefits from long-term growth. In this context, Groupe Bouygues is pleased to contribute to the creation of a major French media group able to compete with the GAFANs,” highlighted Groupe Bouygues CEO Olivier Roussat. “We are pleased with this major development and partnership which confirms Groupe Bouygues’ commitment to the media since 1987. As shareholders with exclusive control over the new group, we will continue to provide it with our full support.”

    RTL CEO Thomas Rabe said the proposed merger of Groupe TF1 and Groupe M6 would be a major step in implementing the strategy to create national media champions across the European footprint. “It demonstrates how in-country consolidation creates significant value. As a strategic investor, we will be long-term industrial partners of Groupe Bouygues,” he added.

  • Ogilvy appoints Liz Taylor as global chief creative officer

    Ogilvy appoints Liz Taylor as global chief creative officer

    New Delhi: Ad giant Ogilvy announced outgoing Leo Burnett executive Liz Taylor as its next global chief creative officer. With this, Taylor becomes the first-ever woman to hold the top position at the WPP’s creative agency.

    She replaces Piyush Pandey, who is taking on a new role as chairman of global creative. He will continue to serve as chairman of Ogilvy India.

    In her new role, Taylor will be responsible for overseeing Ogilvy‘s creative product across 132 offices in as many as 83 countries. She will also lead the agency’s five business units including advertising, public relations (PR), experience, health, and growth & innovation.

    “Liz is a modern creative leader who leads from the front and understands that magic happens when we create and innovate at the intersection of our world-class capabilities and talent. I know her experience creating big, multifaceted ideas will only further strengthen Ogilvy’s ability to drive world-changing, life-changing, business-changing impact for our clients,” said Ogilvy’s global chief executive Andy Main.

    She returns to the agency after a two-year stint at Publicis-owned Leo Burnett where she held the position of global chief creative officer till last month. An award-winning creative leader, Taylor has worked on a wide range of clients including Bank of America, Facebook, Boeing, Budweiser, Gatorade, Kellogg’s, McDonald’s, P&G, Walmart, among many others.

    “There is something special about being able to come back to Ogilvy and join a team that is taking this iconic company into the future. Creativity has the power to change everything and I’m looking forward to working with Ogilvy’s incredibly strong global network of creative talent to inspire people and brands to have an impact on the world,” Taylor on her new role.

  • B4U Network launches Project Revive for Covid relief

    B4U Network launches Project Revive for Covid relief

    New Delhi : In the current scenario, where every section of the society has been impacted by the pandemic for over a year, help and relief have been of prime significance. People across sections have been deprived of appropriate healthcare, employment and education opportunities.

    Continuing with their ongoing relief initiatives, B4U Network has partnered with various NGOS to launch Project Revive to help revive education, healthcare, employment and environment for different sections of society.

    As a part of the project, B4U network has partnered with multiple NGOs – CRY (Child Rights and You) to support children education programs, Disha Foundation to support migrant workers’ employment and healthcare, Sarthak Educational Trust to support specially abled people with upskilling and employment, Responsenet to support women empowerment projects and SankalpTaru Foundation for tree plantation.

    B4U Network through this project aims to provide immediate relief as well long term development programs for various affected sections of the society across India, it said in a statement on Monday.

    India is facing one of the worst health crisis in years, with the second wave of coronavirus  taking a massive toll on people across states. The country is losing as many as 4,000 lives due to Covid-19 daily, as the number of infections continue to surge.

  • Does the Discovery-AT&T Warner Media merger make sense?

    Does the Discovery-AT&T Warner Media merger make sense?

    MUMBAI: In one word. Yes. At least it gives them a chance in hell to play catch up with the well-muscled and well-entrenched rivals like Netflix, Disney, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV in the streaming race. While Netflix announced 208 million subscribers worldwide in its latest financial meet with investors, Disney declared that it had roped in 108 million subs in just a year and a half of its existence.

    As compared to that, Discovery recently disclosed that it had managed to lasso 15 million subscribers to its streaming business, and Warner Media’s HBO Max revealed its sign-ups at 9.7 million. Combining the two – if all subs stay put – gives a total of around 24.7 million. That’s still an ant-like figure compared to the jumbo numbers of Netflix, Disney, and hey even Amazon Prime. Both continued to concentrate on linear TV, and on cable, even as others were laying it out thick on OTT services. Their coming late to the streaming party means they have to work harder to ramp up subs. By teaming up it might be a little easier, but the hard work will need to be put in.

    Netflix – when it launched – did to HBO, what HBO did to other cable TV programmers two to three decades ago. The Reed Hastings-led OTT introduced cutting-edge, well-produced and edited, hard storytelling in its series and gave subscribers something to get glued onto almost every month. At an affordable price too as compared to cable TV’s high rates in the US.

    Can HBO do a Netflix to Netflix in terms of content in the current streaming world? 

    Many think that can be done, but it requires deep pockets as well as a global vision such as that is available aplenty with the Netflix top management. As well as a strong heart to tolerate negative cash flows, take on what some may consider strangulating debt while spending tens of billions of dollars on content, churning out fresh shows o

    Fusing Warner with Discovery will definitely give the two a lot more financial ammo as well content. Both are at the top of their game when it comes to their respective genres. Warner Media has dramas, series, movies in the case of HBO, TNT, TBS, and Warner Bros and kids programming in Cartoon Network; news in CNN, and sports in Turner Sports. Discovery has gold standard factual programming, along with its live sports lineup in Eurosport, real estate shows in HGTV and lifestyle programming in TLC, and food competitions in the Food Network.

    If the merger does see the light of day, the question about who will lead the operation will need to be answered. Warner Media’s Jason Kilar has shown he has the hunger; Discovery boss David Zaslav is no chicken; he’s a mean rooster and is extremely ambitious.  Observers believe that AT&T is likely to call the shots; so Kilar will get a shoo-in as head, while Zaslav will get a very rich golden handshake. Others however point out that the latter has the confidence of media baron John Malone who  controls about 30 per cent of Discovery’s equity and it’s quite likely that his word will carry weight.  This means Zaslav and Kilar might both be accommodated in the new organization.

    Of course, the merger will mean the joint entity  will boast of a neat bundle of offerings for viewers – covering everything from sports to drama to factual to kids to movies to reality. Scale is crucial in streaming service offerings, and that can be achieved by offering the Discovery Warner service at an extremely appealing price, in keeping with what rivals are charging. Discovery Plus has a price tag of $6.99 while HBO Max is available at $15. This is why the latter has remained as a niche offering attracting a thin sliver of viewers as compared to Netflix and Disney.

    In the Indian context, both Discovery and Warner Media, have kind of been left behind in the broadcast sweepstakes as compared to the mainline TV broadcasters and streamers. Both have kids channels, while HBO and WB channels have been wound up in the country. Discovery has its international slate of channels while it also has localised its factual programming. Hence, a merger within India would definitely bring in economies.

    Clearly, all that is in the future. Right now the two companies’ boards and management have to decide whether they are going ahead or not. You can’t forget that there was strong talk that Comcast and AT&T were conversing  for a deal between NBC Universal and Warner Media. But that kind of stalled and did not move ahead. Now, Discovery looks to have beaten NBC Universal to the punch. The days ahead will tell us if it results in a knockout or not.

  • AT&T’s Warner Media & Discovery Inc closing in on merger?

    AT&T’s Warner Media & Discovery Inc closing in on merger?

    Mumbai: The growing power of Netflix, Disney and Amazon and other larger media entities is forcing strange alliances on the industry. US telecom giant AT&T, which acquired Warner Media (then named Time Warner) for around $85 billion in 2018 is all set to fuse Warner Media with Discovery Inc, which itself is valued at around $16 billion with an enterprise valuation of $30 billion. That’s according to a report by US business news channel CNBC.

    The purpose: the two want to stay relevant in the new media ecosystem in which billions of dollars are being spent on content on customer acquisition and retention.

    A new publicly traded company holding the combined assets is to be created with ownership lying with the two media giants’ shareholders. CNBC stated that insiders had informed the channel that a deal is likely to be announced Monday sometime. But it also said no one was willing to come on record on what the stock holding split would be like. It also added that the deal – while it was in the final stages – may even fall through.

    Earlier Bloomberg had reported that the two were in talks to combine the two firms to form a giant media conglomerate.

    AT&T houses brands like CNN, HBO, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT, and the Warner Bros. studio. Discovery owns networks such as HGTV, Food Network, TLC, and Animal Planet. If such a deal were to be completed, it would be the largest media merger since Viacom and CBS combined their businesses to form ViacomCBS in December 2019.

    Both companies have recently entered the streaming wars. With a platter of content in entertainment, lifestyle, the combined company can create a better international footprint. Moreover, it can emerge as a strong rival to players like Disney, Netflix which are turning out to be more aggressive every day in the streaming war.

    However, there is no information yet on how the assets will be combined. Despite the ongoing discussion, there is no certainty at this moment that it would lead to an actual transaction, Bloomberg reported.

    The report also comes amid the speculation over Comcast’s NBCUniversal and AT&T’s Warner Media merger after research firm LightShed Partners said both the entities should be spun off and merged for long-term health.

    Back in February, AT&T sold 30 per cent of satellite pay-TV operator DirecTV to private equity firm TPG to offload its debt, largely caused by its acquisition spree in the last few years.

  • Financial Express managing editor Sunil Jain succumbs to Covid

    Financial Express managing editor Sunil Jain succumbs to Covid

    New Delhi: The ferocious second wave of Covid-19 continues to take a heavy toll on the news industry. Sunil Jain, managing editor of Financial Express passed away on Saturday after battling with post-Covid complications. He was 58. 

    “My brother, Sunil Jain, passed away this evening after post-Covid complications. He suffered a cardiac arrest earlier in the day but was revived, and finally passed after another cardiac arrest around 8.30 p.m. The doctors and all medical staff at AIIMS did their best and more. I thank you for standing by us in this dark hour,” his sister Sandhya Jain said in a statement. 

    A senior journalist with over three decades of experience, Jain started his journalistic career as a reporter in India Today magazine in 1991 and went on to become the magazine’s business editor. He then moved on to head the business and economy coverage for The Indian Express. Six years later, he joined Business Standard. He returned to the Express Group in 2010 as assistant editor of The Financial Express. 

    His sudden demise has left the news media world in a state of shock, with several friends, colleagues, and prominent personages expressing their grief over demise on social media. “Your Express family will miss you,” said The Indian Express’ executive editor Anant Goenka.

    President Ramnath Kovind took to Twitter to condole the senior journalist’s demise. “Sunil Jain was an editor known for his candour and forthright views. It was a treat to read his columns. After his untimely demise, his absence will be deeply felt in the world of journalism. My condolences to his family and friends,” he said in a tweet.

    “You left us too soon, Sunil Jain. I will miss reading your columns and hearing your frank as well as insightful views on diverse matters. You leave behind an inspiring range of work. Journalism is poorer today, with your sad demise. Condolences to family and friends. Om Shanti” said Prime minister Narendra Modi in a tweet.

    Several  Union ministers including the minister of Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Railways minister Piyush Goyal also paid tributes. 

    Hundreds of journalists have lost their lives in the catastrophe that has ravaged the country. India now accounts for half of all global new infections. On Saturday, India recorded 3.26 lakh Covid-19 cases and lost 3,890 lives that pushed the death toll to 2.6 lakhs. 

  • Twitter launches state-specific Covid updates to aid patients, families

    Twitter launches state-specific Covid updates to aid patients, families

    New Delhi: Microblogging platform Twitter has launched new state-specific Covid-19 pages in the country that surface the latest tweets from people asking for SOS resources, as well as those offering help.

    The social media giant currently has seven state-specific pages available in the places hardest hit by the lethal virus — Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab. 

    “You will find bi-lingual tweets on these pages in both English and the official state language,” the company said in an update.

    Twitter said that it is partnering with news and media organisations as well as journalists across India to bring the latest, most credible news about Covid-19 to your timeline. It has also launched an interactive series called #AskTheDoctor in collaboration with the team of Editorji.

    National broadcaster Doordarshan also live-streams its daily show called #DoctorsSpeak on Twitter, where doctors answer frequently asked questions about Covid-19, including those via tweets using the hashtag.

    Developers in India are building creative tools and apps using the Twitter API to help people source information about medical services, oxygen, medicines, food, and more. 

    “We’ve been working closely with developers to ensure their services are able to have the widest impact, and reach the most people while operating in compliance with Twitter’s developer policies,” Twitter added.

    It went on to explain that these tools are built using the Twitter API and make use of Twitter’s Advanced Search functionality by providing easy-to-use filters that help people navigate tweets about Covid-19 in real-time by applying location filters or other search parameters.