ITV

Tag: Viacom

  • Media mogul Sumner Redstone passes away at 97

    Media mogul Sumner Redstone passes away at 97

    Mumbai: Sumner Redstone, the influential US media mogul who owned CBS and Viacom, passed away at the age of 97, as confirmed by his family on Tuesday. Redstone had been a central figure in the entertainment industry for decades, serving as chairman of the board of directors for both CBS and Viacom until stepping down in 2016 due to declining health. His resignation followed internal family disputes over the companies’ control, with his family maintaining a majority stake.

    In late 2019, CBS and Viacom were merged into one entity, managing some of the most well-known television networks and film studios in the world, including CBS, MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Showtime, and Paramount Pictures. This consolidation placed the company in the same league as other major U.S. media corporations such as Disney, Time Warner, and 21st Century Fox.

    Born Sumner Murray Rothstein in Boston in 1923, Redstone changed his surname in 1940 to Redstone. He graduated from Harvard University and served in U.S. military intelligence during World War II. In 1954, he joined his father’s business, which he later transformed into National Amusements, one of the largest cinema operators in the United States.

    Redstone survived a near-fatal fire in 1979 and went on to play a pivotal role in shaping the media landscape throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He fought fiercely to gain control of Paramount Pictures and later took over Viacom, which owned MTV and CBS. Viacom and CBS merged in 2000 but split again in 2006.

    Redstone’s remarkable career left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry and his legacy continues through the companies he built and reshaped.Sumner Redstone

  • Arasu Cable TV faces broadcaster backlash over Rs 500 crore unpaid dues

    Arasu Cable TV faces broadcaster backlash over Rs 500 crore unpaid dues

    Mumbai: Broadcasters have voiced their concerns as TN govt-owned firm Arasu Cable TV (TACTV) fails to pay Rs 500-cr dues. Numerous broadcasters including Sony, Zee, Viacom, Disney Star, and Sun TV have raised concerns regarding unpaid dues which according to sources have been outstanding for over a year.

    In response to the prolonged non-payment, the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) addressed a letter in March to Tamil Nadu’s IT and Digital Services minister Palanivel Thiagarajan and TACTV’s managing director, A John Louis, calling for a fair and sustainable business environment.

    “Given the severity of this issue and its adverse impact on the industry, we urgently seek your esteemed intervention to expedite the clearance of TACTV’s subscription dues. Resolving this matter promptly is vital for restoring confidence and stability in Tamil Nadu’s broadcasting ecosystem,” the IBDF stated in the letter dated 13 March.

    Sources indicated that the Tamil Nadu state government has not yet addressed the broadcasters’ requests, citing TACTV’s financial difficulties.

    Thiagarajan was quoted as saying by the Tamil newspaper Dinamalar on 29 June that Arasu Cable owes Rs 525 crore in fees to television broadcasting companies. The Tamil Nadu Government Cable company is in a critical state. It’s up to the contractors to provide the necessary support.

    When asked why broadcasters haven’t cut off TV channel access to TACTV, a leading broadcaster’s executive mentioned fears that the state government might retaliate against their business in the region. Another executive highlighted concerns about potential copyright issues and signal piracy if they disconnected the service.

    Broadcasters have the option to appeal for pending dues through the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT).

    TACTV has also not complied with a 2022 Central government advisory directing Union ministries, state governments, and union territory administrations to cease involvement in broadcasting or distribution activities by 31 December 2023. This advisory aimed to prevent the politicization of broadcasting, as content could potentially promote the ruling party and influence voters.

    The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has included similar provisions in the draft broadcasting bill, which will gain legal authority once enacted. MIB officials have discussed the issue with TACTV, but the matter remains sub judice.

  • Muneet Pal Singh joins B4U Network

    Muneet Pal Singh joins B4U Network

    Mumbai: Muneet Pal Singh joins B4U Network as as NORTH & EAST BRANCH HEAD, comes with around 20 years of rich experience in the media industry with extensive exposure across multiple sectors, including print, media, events, and advertising sales. He has worked with renowned companies like Goldmines, Times of India, Zee Network, Viacom, and Sony.

    Muneet played a pivotal role in establishing the northern business for Goldmines Telefilms and contributed significantly to scaling business operations at Pen Music Channel in his last assignment.

    Commenting on Muneet’s appointment, Johnson Jain (CRO) said “We Welcome Muneet Pal Singh into our B4U family! Muneet has a focused approach towards his vision and is backed by strong PR skills and network in the industry. He is an ideal choice to head our North & East region to calibrate the business.”

    Muneet Quote: “With my extensive experience and deep understanding of various genres spanning across GEC, Hindi Movies, and Music channels, my skill set is well-aligned to drive the growth and success of B4U Network to next expansion phase. 

  • Paramount Global get $11 billion buyout offer from Apollo Global

    Paramount Global get $11 billion buyout offer from Apollo Global

    MUMBAI: Even as the dust is settling on the $517 million Viacom18 television stake sale deal between Reliance and US media behemoth Paramount Global, comes the news that the latter itself is the target of a a buyout offer. The Wall Street Journal has reported that private equity firm Apollo Global Management, has made a $11 billion offer to the buy the film and television studio. 

    This is not the first acquisition offer that a reluctant controlling shareholder Shari Redstone has received. Earlier, the David Ellison-controlled production company Skydance Media had  proposed to buy Paramount parent National Amusements and fuse it with his firm as a whole. Skydance had bid in excess of $4 billion for a 70 per cent stake. Ellison’s offer – which plans to keep all the studio  assets but sell off the rest – is still on the table.

    Paramount Global’s assets include Paramount Pictures, broadcaster CBS, Viacom cable networks including MTV as well as PlutoTV. The media conglomerate has a current valuation in excess of $7.7 billion. 

    Earlier this month, Paramount’s chief financial officer Naveen Chopra had dismissed any move towards selling the company at a Morgan Stanley media conference. “From management’s perspective, we are focused on execution. And we believe the continued execution of our plan will unlock value. We’re very conscious of the fact that our job as management is to create value for all of our shareholders…To the extent that there are other alternatives, we’ll be diligent about exploring them,” he had said. 

    The company has been grappling with the changing dynamics of content consumption under CEO Bob Bakish. In its latest quarter overall revenue shaved six per cent year-on-year to $7.64 billion, worse than an expected $7.9 billion. TV media revenue and filmed entertainment revenues respectively fell 12 per cent to $5.17 billion and 31 per cent to $647 million. The saving grace was direct to consumer revenues which rose 34 per cent to $1.87 billion.

    “Our disciplined execution and strong content offering drove our results in 2023, as we continue to evolve our business for profitable growth in 2024 and beyond. In Q4, Paramount+ revenue increased 69 per cent,  direct to consumer adjusted Operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) improved for the third consecutive quarter, and we now expect to reach domestic Paramount+ profitability in 2025 – a significant milestone,” Bakish had told shareholders at the time of the earnings release. “Looking ahead, we continue to be focused on maximizing the return on our content investments and scaling streaming, while transforming the cost base of our business. And I couldn’t be more thrilled with the early momentum we’ve had across every platform in 2024, demonstrating the power of our strategy and assets.”

  • Aseem Kaushik succeeds Amit Jain as L’Oréal’s new managing director for India

    Aseem Kaushik succeeds Amit Jain as L’Oréal’s new managing director for India

    Mumbai: L’Oréal announced the appointment of Aseem Kaushik as managing director for India on Monday. Kaushik took over for Amit Jain, who decided to retire at the end of the year.

    Jain will continue his association and assume the role of chairman for L’Oréal India to build on key stakeholder relationships in India.

    Since joining in June 2018 as country managing director, Jain, with 30 years of rich experience with renowned companies like ICI, Coca-Cola, Viacom, and Akzo Nobel, has held strategic leadership roles across the globe.

    During his 4.5-year tenure at L’Oréal, he doubled the growth of the company and took it to a position of strength, notably by building strong local leadership and evolving new digital capabilities to accelerate eCommerce.

    Speaking about his successor,  Jain said, “Kaushik was one of the pioneers who set up new businesses and laid the foundation for L’Oréal’s growth in India today. I am delighted to welcome him back after his assignments abroad and to hand over the reins to him. He is a born entrepreneur, and his transformative leadership will help take L’Oréal India to new heights.”

    Kaushik has been with L’Oréal for 27 years and has held many leadership positions within the group. He started his career in 1995 in the consumer products division of India, where he set up and expanded field operations. He then took on several leadership roles in the professional products division (PPD) and was instrumental in creating the modern salon industry in India and building a successful, sustainable business model with partners.

    Most recently, he led international teams in PPD; first in Asia Pacific (APAC) and then in the South Asia Pacific Middle East and North Africa (SAPMENA) zone, driving an ambitious online + offline transformation agenda for the professional hair industry of the future.

    “Jain leaves a strong legacy to follow. India is the next big frontier for the L’Oréal group, and I am looking forward to bringing the best of beauty and consumer experiences to a new connected world.  I’m excited to join a team of very talented people and keep creating a positive impact on the broader community,” said Kaushik.

  • Ex-Meta and Viacom officials launch web3 start-up; acquire $8 mn seed funding

    Ex-Meta and Viacom officials launch web3 start-up; acquire $8 mn seed funding

    Mumbai: Kirthiga Reddy and Saurabh Doshi have co-founded Virtualness, a mobile-first platform designed to help creators and brands navigate the complex world of web3, and have secured over $8 million in seed funding.

    Facebook India & South Asia employee #1 and former managing director, Softbank Investment Advisors’ former investment partner Reddy, Meta Asia-Pacific’s former head for entertainment, emerging markets, & greater China region for creators, Viacom Group’s former vice president, and Star India’s Doshi, will leverage their decades of global entrepreneurial experience partnering with creators, media, brands, and tech platforms.

    The fundraise was led by Blockchange Ventures and joined by Polygon Ventures, Micron Ventures, Better Ventures, FalconX, Neythri Futures Fund, Carolyn Everson, Randi Zuckerberg, Nusier Yassin (Nas Daily), Anjali Bansal, Ashwini Asokan, Harsh Jain, Sandeep Singhal, Stacy Brown-Philpot, Vani Kola, and other thought leaders.

    Zuckerberg and Yassin serve as advisors for the company, along with Curious Addys chief technology officer (CTO) Ben Yu; VidCon former general manager Jim Louderback; Curious Addys CEO Mai Akiyoshi; and OpenSea vice president of products Shiva Rajaraman. They have been at the forefront of creator economy trends and bring extensive expertise across diverse fields, including media, art, entertainment, blockchain, and web3. Their guidance has been instrumental in taking Virtualness from concept to reality and will continue to help shape the global vision.

    Virtualness will roll out core capabilities for creators and brands when the platform launches in 2023.

    There are more than 300 million creators worldwide, with half of them joining the creator economy in the last two years. Despite this extraordinary migration, these creators lack even the most basic tools to scale their businesses and easily capture the value-creation opportunities that blockchain and web3 represent. Centred on the ethos of “empathy at the core,” Virtualness puts creators first and is building the playbook for easy design, efficient sharing, and seamless digital commerce.

    Upon launch in early 2023, authenticated creators and brands will use the platform to design, mint, and showcase branded digital collectibles; easily share across their social media channels; directly interact with their fans and community; enable unique experiences; and unlock new channels for monetisation. Education, personalisation, discovery, integration with web2 and web3 platforms, and a mobile-first experience are core to the platform.

    “Creators are the ultimate entrepreneurs. We’ve been at the heart of the web2 ecosystem building and onboarding creators and brands, and we’re on our journey to do it again for web3. People are spending more and more time in various digital worlds and have the desire for customised experiences, individual identities, expressions and personalised commerce,” said Reddy and Doshi, in media reports.

    They added, “We’re excited to see how creators and brands mimic various physical experiences in digital forms and in newer ways. This is about building a new economy, unlocked by branded digital collectibles that deliver unique experiences, capabilities, and value. Our belief is that everything that can move from a physical form to digital will move.”

    Reddy and Doshi are working closely with creators to inform how they build their products. Nusier Yassin (Nas Daily), a famed creator with more than 50 million followers across social media platforms and an investor in Virtualness, is one of the tech-forward creators helping shape the product from the concept stage.

    “Reddy and Doshi lead with hustle, heart, and vision. I have had a ringside view of how they shepherded the transition to a digital and mobile world and onboarded a range of global creators and brands to web2. The depth of their relationships with creators, brands, and the entire ecosystem is unparalleled. Their shared experiences and impact over the last decade give me absolute conviction that they will do the same as they unlock the power of web3 for creators and brands,” said Yassin in the media report.

    “Typically, countries outside of the US and Europe get access to features much later. I am confident that this team will unlock opportunities for creators and their fans, no matter where they live. Reddy and Doshi have the rare experience of scaling innovative, user-friendly technology globally with a focus on creator monetization,” added Yassin.

    With a core engineering team with a successful track record of collaboration on prior start-ups, Virtualness has bootstrapped a proof of concept on the Polygon chain. The company will use this first round of funding to support a number of key areas, including new hires in engineering, product, and design in the United States, India, Singapore, Dubai, and other parts of the world, helping the company to innovate, expand platform support to additional blockchains, integrate with offline and online experiences — including metaverse platforms — and launch its offerings.

    “This is a time of great transformation in the future of work, economic opportunity, and drivers of social change,” said Blockchange Ventures GP Cailleach De Weingart-Ryan.

    “Blockchain will have a tremendous impact on businesses and society and we believe Virtualness will be a leader in the next chapter of the generational technology shift the blockchain represents. Reddy and Doshi’s experiences are custom-built to help those who want to tap into web3 but don’t know how. Their ability to navigate cross-cultural differences, expertise on the utility of the blockchain and creator-obsessed approach to building products, is the triple-threat needed to accelerate adoption in web3 at a global scale. As early investors in all aspects of the blockchain revolution, we look forward to partnering with Reddy and Doshi and amplifying their efforts to democratise and unlock value-creation for creators and brands of any size and stage.”

  • MTV Beats celebrate Ganeshotsav with Bappa Beats!

    MTV Beats celebrate Ganeshotsav with Bappa Beats!

    Mumbai: MTV Beats adds the festive fervour and zeal to the most awaited time of the year- Ganeshotsav. Adding zest to the homecoming of lord Ganesha, MTV Beats brings fans of music and Bappa together, and a chance to win exciting prizes and merchandise, with a dynamic “Bappa Beats” celebration across Mumbai!

    Grooving through the streets of Mumbai, two branded canters will explore a new area each day across the 10 festive days, visiting multiple Ganpati Pandals. Taking the MTV Beats malamaal festival en route, the branded canter will comprise a Beats Baby and a host asking visitors trivia about Bollywood, Ganpati and a lot more. Winners will receive branded merchandise of MTV Beats malamaal festival, an exciting watch-and-win contest on the channel!

    Adding to the gusto and verve, a Beats Mandli led by the Beats Baby and consisting of rappers, lezim performers, dhol players, and acoustic bands, will perform at multiple Ganpati Pandals across the city along with the canters on the 8th and 9th day of the Ganpati Festival.

  • Did Disney-Star make the right decision by paying an exorbitant price to buy broadcasting rights for ICC tournaments?

    Did Disney-Star make the right decision by paying an exorbitant price to buy broadcasting rights for ICC tournaments?

    MUMBAI: The year 2022 has been action-packed for cricket lovers. It was a busy year with several interesting things happening throughout that appealed to fans.  The renewal of rights, e-auctions, tender process and so on were some of the important events that occurred recently. In a recent development, the broadcaster Disney-Star drew immense public attention for winning the media rights to telecast International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments till 2027. It has been one of the top bidders and for availing this opportunity it had to pay a huge moolah.

    Disney Star has paid around $3.04 billion for the ICC rights for India for four years. This is substantially more than the $2.02 billion it had paid for eight years for the global rights earlier. Disney-Star’s bid was almost double the amount and the highest among all bidders. The deal includes both digital and television rights for men’s and women’s ICC tournaments. On Tuesday, Disney Star also entered into a strategic alliance with Zee Entertainment Enterprises  under which Disney Star will licence ZEE for four years the television broadcasting rights of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Men’s and Under 19 (U-19) global events.

    The deal is a first-of-its kind partnership in the Indian media & entertainment space. Through this agreement, Zee will provide a good experience to the fans of the gentlemen’s game and a huge return on investment for its advertisers through its network spread across India and globally. After securing the IPL television broadcast rights for 2023-27 and deciding to only retain digital rights for ICC tournaments for 2024-27, Disney Star is going to have a balanced and robust cricket offering for the audiences across linear & digital platforms.

    Earlier, the media conglomerate had retained the TV rights for the cash-rich Twenty20 League IPL for Rs 57.5 crore per match though it had to do away with the digital rights to Viacom18. Disney-Star is also said to have paid around $255 million for the seven-year rights for Cricket Australia, which is a substantial jump compared to what the previous rights holder Sony Pictures Networks India had paid.

    In 2020, Disney-Star took the rights for Cricket South Africa till 2024. It is currently airing the Asia Cup. The next big property that will come up for renewal will be the BCCI rights next year for which Disney-Star is the incumbent.

    Pointing out his views, an industry observer said, “What I heard is that after Disney-Star, the next highest bid offered was $1.3 billion. The ICC had set a base price of $1.44 billion. Disney-Star should have offered not more than $1.5 billion. The issue is not whether Disney-Star will regain back the reported $3.04 billion but the condition is they have completely misread the market. A tender process works in two different ways. First, it is to figure out what is the worth of the rights to me as a company. This is not a five-minute job.”

    “This takes months of preparation. There are many levers. For instance, when Star went aggressive on the IPL it was not only about how much the IPL can earn for them. It was also about protecting distribution income across the network. Losing the IPL might have put some of its distribution income under threat. This is another aspect. It is not just about money. It is about the revenue the rights can generate and other strategic value that rights can deliver. Everyone does this calculation and so, the number & strategic value differ,” the industry observer added.

    “The second part is what is the least I can pay to get the rights? You try to buy for as low as possible. This is irrespective of how much money you think you can earn. That is how you maximize profit & business performance. It is in the second part where there was a massive failure on the part of Disney Star. They could have won the rights for $1.5 billion. Paying so much premium is unheard of in the world of sport. Even if they make the $3.04 billion that they are paying the ICC the bid is a failure. They could have made a profit of $1.5 billion. If they had read the market properly and decided that $1.5 billion was the upper limit, other broadcasters would bid then they would not have bid the reported $3.04 billion,” he added further.

    Now the ICC will go and sell the rights in other territories like England, Australia, and the US. The expert doubts that a jump in valuation will happen similar to what was seen in India. “Countries like England are going through a difficult economic period. The other markets like New Zealand are small. In the US, many people are interested in cricket. Australia is going FTA,” he said.

    Speaking on similar lines, another media expert and observer also said that Disney-Star’s strategy is futile. “They are the largest media company in the world with the largest balance sheet. A few billion dollars does not worry them as they never justify decisions based on an individual network but as a global company.” He mentioned that India is still in an investment phase for them. Cricket on a standalone basis is not viable. However, for a large network like Disney-Star, it is a must-have as it can drive the network as a whole both for TV and OTT. In fact, for digital Disney-Star had to overpay for the ICC rights, the media expert opined and said this has steeply pushed the value of digital cricket rights. On the ad sales front, Disney-Star could try to monopolise ad sales by offering IPL and other cricket properties only to those advertisers who place ads on the whole network for the year. “That is partly how paying a premium could make economic sense,” he added.

    The media expert noted that Sony & Zee, which are in the middle of a merger, have to be financially prudent. “They have to focus on cost efficiencies. It is also about their ability to monetise the content. Maybe their ability to monetise was relatively limited and so the ability to pay might also have been limited.” For the record, Sony renewed the rights for England cricket this year. It also has the rights for Sri Lanka cricket.

    As far as Viacom 18 is concerned, the media expert noted that they probably did not see a lot of value in the ICC rights. “Unlike the IPL, in ICC tournaments, there are too many non-India matches in the package. Almost 80 percent of people only watch India play.” He expects Viacom18 to put up a fight for the BCCI rights next year. He also conceded that Star perhaps viewed Viacom as a major threat to the ICC rights given the competitive auction that had taken place for the IPL.

    For the record, the big properties under the new ICC deal are:

    * 2024 T20 World Cup in the US, Caribbean.

    * 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

    * 2026 T20 World Cup in India.

    * 2027 50-over World Cup in South Africa.

    D&P Advisory managing partner N.P. Santosh said that having cricket content is important for a large network. “Maybe on a standalone basis Disney-Star will not make money from these cricket acquisitions but on a network, cricket will drive value. Cricket can make the GEC business, which is already profitable, a little stronger. Sports is a loss leader. Also if you look at it beyond ICC, IPL and BCCI rights there is limited quality cricket of value. The value is significantly smaller when one talks of the fourth biggest property. The next big thing of value after these three is Cricket Australia which Disney-Star went after aggressively.” He is sure that India playing a five-test series in Australia in 2024-2025 will prove to be a big draw. After Cricket Australia comes England cricket rights (with Sony) and Cricket South Africa (with Disney-Star). He added that IPL rights went for a 15-20 per cent premium over what he had expected.

    For the record, a few of the less expensive cricket properties are with OTT platforms. For instance, Prime Video has the rights to New Zealand Cricket. FanCode has the rights for West Indies cricket.

  • Nickelodeon and Laal Singh Chaddha partner to entertain families across India

    Nickelodeon and Laal Singh Chaddha partner to entertain families across India

    Mumbai: Viacom18’s leading kids’ entertainment channel, Nickelodeon, has joined forces with Aamir Khan’s upcoming “Laal Singh Chaddha.” The film is the endearing story of the determined “Laal Singh Chaddha” who, like Nicktoons Motu Patlu and Bhoot Bandhus, through innocence and strength of character, overcomes all obstacles.

    With this collaboration, Nickelodeon has raised the existing fervour for “Laal Singh Chaddha” with unmatched and interactive initiatives that will provide entertainment and fun experiences for families to enjoy together.

    In addition to the tentpole campaign IPs and contests, “Laal Singh Chaddha” break bumpers will also run across key shows on Nick and Sonic. The campaign also extends to the Nickelodeon franchise’s social media channels and other digital media platforms with innovative posts and stories and influencer outreach. We are sure the adventures of Nicktoons and “Laal Singh Chadha” will entertain families this Independence Day weekend.

    The month-long integrated campaign will showcase Aamir Khan in his “Laal Singh” avatar having a fun time with India’s favourite Nicktoons, including Motu, Patlu, and Pinaki & Happy-The Bhoot Bandhus.

    With ideas that build resonance with the character of Laal, who has childlike innocence and honesty much like Nickelodeon’s young viewers and Nicktoons, the deep integrations will witness Laal immerse himself in the world of Nicktoons seamlessly. Through Nick’s Golgappa Party contest and Sonic’s Bhaag Laal Bhaag contest, kids will also get a chance to meet megastar Aamir Khan, in addition to winning a host of exciting prizes by simply participating in the on-air contests.

    Nickelodeon has also left no stone unturned to reach out to its young viewers with fun contests like the Chaddi Buddy Contest with Aamir.

    Finally, adding to the endless excitement is an innovative virtual running game that is sure to drive conversations while keeping kids on their toes. Resisting on nickindia.com, the virtual game allows one to play as Laal, Motu, or Patlu to chase the feather and collect coins along the way while chasing away evil.

    Speaking about the collaboration with “Laal Singh Chaddha,” Viacom18 head-Hindi mass entertainment & kids TV Network Nina Elavia Jaipuria said, “We are delighted to collaborate with “Laal Singh Chaddha” on this highly interactive and engaging campaign that will give kids and their families an opportunity to be a part of the film and celebrate the character of Laal along with their favourite Nicktoons. At Nickelodeon, each collaboration and partnership that we innovate for has kids at the heart of it, and this partnership with the adorable character of Laal is sure to strike a chord and provide many priceless moments. We look forward to further collaborating with brands and films to create deep and meaningful integrations for our young viewers.”

    Speaking about reaching out to kids with this family entertainer and about the association with Nickelodeon superstar Aamir Khan, he said, “”Laal Singh Chadha” is an inspiring film and the innocence and honesty of the affable character of Laal is sure to strike a chord with kids and families. This massively interesting and fun collaboration with Nickelodeon and its characters, who embody the same positive traits as Laal, was hence a great way for us to together take the story of “Laal Singh Chaddha” and make it a part of every child’s life along with their favourite characters. We are sure that kids will have a great time watching our labour of love with their families and look forward to the same.”

    On the collaboration with Nickelodeon, Viacom18 COO Ajit Andhare said, “The advantage at Viacom18 is the opportunities and ability we have to collaborate with the powerhouse brands in our platoon. Right from bringing the Paramount story to India under our banner to partnering with Nickelodeon, we have had seamless associations with the film. A family entertainer at its heart, we are looking forward to kids enjoying the film as much as adults, as they will resonate with the pure and simple soul of “Laal Singh”.”

  • MTV India & Fully Faltoo announce a strategic partnership with Snap Inc

    MTV India & Fully Faltoo announce a strategic partnership with Snap Inc

    Mumbai: Viacom18’s Youth, Music and English entertainment (YME) cluster announced a strategic content partnership with Snap Inc. The cluster aims to provide its clutter-breaking content and innovations from Fully Faltoo and MTV India to Snapchat’s widespread user-community.

    Snapchatters will get to enjoy snackable content and snackable clips of select content across genres and a variety of youth fiction and non-fiction shows—from Parodize Station and Bad Breakups from multi-format content destination Fully Faltoo, to pop-culture and genre-defining MTV offerings such as Splitsvilla, Hustle 2.0, new seasons of action-adventure reality show Roadies and more.

    Speaking on the partnership with Snap Inc., Viacom18 YME cluster digital partnership lead Tarun Saxena said, “As we continue to scale up, we aim to close the fragmentation of touchpoints and offer our cluster’s rapidly growing content inventory to our audience through a multiplatform strategy. Engaging with the dynamic generation of Snapchatters, we see a great opportunity to achieve meaningful reach and deepen engagement with the youth across yet another canvas.”

    Snap director media-partnerships-APAC Kanishk Khanna added, “At Snap, we are committed to localising the app experience for our Indian community and driving relevant, interesting content for them. Our partnership with Viacom18’s Youth, Music and Entertainment cluster will add value to Snapchatters and reinforce our local-first content strategy.”

    As short-form content continues to permeate and significantly redefine mainstream consumption, snackable content has become the mainstay of audience engagement and transmedia storytelling. Riding this wave and surpassing its own benchmarks with a swiftly growing content library, the YME cluster is all set to revolutionise the category with unique digital partnerships.