Applications

Raghav Bahl’s next big growth drive

Published

14 years ago

June 9, 2012

MUMBAI: TV18 founder-promoter Raghav Bahl has become much bolder in setting up his distribution business in 2012, first sheltered under MSM Discovery‘s TheOneAlliance and then moving to a strategic alliance with the Sun Group.

Adding the ETV regional-language channels and getting billionaire Mukesh Ambani (RIL invested in Network18 Media & Investments and TV18 through Independent Media Trust) to clean-up his debt overhang, Bahl has identified pay-TV revenues as his next growth driver at a time when India is preparing to migrate from analogue to digital cable.

Bahl will have media conglomerate Viacom as a minority partner with 25 per cent stake in IndiaCast, the new distribution company that will also house the syndication business and exploit content across all media platforms.

TV18 will hold the remaining 75 per cent as Bahl searches for new revenues that will propel his media empire to the leaque of major broadcasting networks like Star India, Zee Entertainment and Multi Screen Media (formerly known as Sony Entertainment Television India) in subscription revenues.

“TV18 is a laggard compared to the biggies so far as subscription revenues go. It will really have to ramp up pay revenues,” says the head of a leading broadcasting network who did not want his name to be revealed.

TV18 group of channels, including flagship Hindi general entertainment channel Colors, earn a subscription revenue of around Rs 3 billion a year. The handling of the ETV channels (barring Telugu which is still with ETV) will mean another Rs 1 billion, says a source close to the company.

Compare this with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) that posted domestic subscription of Rs 9.22 billion in FY‘12, up 28.4 per cent from the earlier year. Star and MSM also enjoy pay revenues that are more than double that of TV18.

Carving out an independent existence, Bahl has spotted Anuj Gandhi, a veteran with years of experience, to shepherd the growth of IndiaCast. The equal joint venture company between TV18 and Viacom18 will bring pay revenues, carriage and placement under one roof, allowing it to plan its deals with cable TV networks with a focus on net revenues. Setpro, the Network18 subsidiary that used to handle carriage and placement fees, stands dissolved.

“Bahl has the knack of picking up the top person who would make a difference to his expanded business. When he launched general news channel CNN IBN, he got Sameer Manchanda and Rajdeep Sardesai. When Colors was planned for launch, he got Rajesh Kamat to head the channel. For his distribution and content syndication business, he will have Gandhi to nurse the company to growth,” says an analyst who tracks media.

Barely three months after joining TV18 Group, Gandhi has plotted a free existence for IndiaCast. Sun Group will no longer distribute the TV18 channels in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnata and Kerala. It will still have Tamil Nadu, the regional broadcaster‘s home turf.

“We have got three more markets while Sun will continue to distribute our channels in Tamil Nadu. We also have the ETV channels to distribute in India and overseas barring ETV Telugu (GEC) and ETV2 (Telugu news channel) that they own. We will continue to distribute the Sun group and Disney channels in the Hindi speaking markets,” says IndiaCast Group CEO Gandhi.

TV18‘s subscription revenues from the southern markets is dismally low, accounting for around 12 per cent of its total pay revenues. The other big broadcasters manage to mop up 20-25 per cent of their total pay revenues from the southern region.

“We are expecting to get an upside in subscription revenues from the south. We have not fully tapped the market there,” says Gandhi.

Why did IndiaCast decide to leave the distribution of the TV18 channels to Sun Group in Tamil Nadu when it had lost its cable TV dominance in the state after the Jayalalithaa government decided to float Arasu Cable?

“We still feel that Sun is a very powerful network in Tamil Nadu. We also wanted to continue having amicable relationship with Sun,” says Gandhi.

The possible reason of doing away with Sun distributing the TV18 channels in Andhra Pradeh, Karnataka and Kerala could be that ETV, now under ownership of TV18 (100% in ETV’s news channels and 50 per cent in GECs), competes with Sun in the southern markets. In Tamil Nadu, where Sun will distribute the TV18 channels, ETV doesn’t have a presence.

In Tamil Nadu, where Sun will distribute the TV18 channels, ETV doesn’t have a presence.

“That logic doesn’t hold because in Andhra Pradesh, where ETV is distributing the two Telugu channels that it controls (TV18 has 24.5% in ETV Telugu and ETV2), we are distributing our channels,” avers Gandhi.

Gandhi also gets in bargain the Disney channels through Sun as the global media conglomerate has a distribution arrangement with the Kalanithi Maran company.

The new structure will, however, not add any competitive advantage. “In the south, they do not have an English movie channel. They also do not have strong English general entertainment channels. And under the new power equations, with Arasu becoming a powerful cable TV network, it is actually a disadvantage to go with Sun for distribution in Tamil Nadu,” says the head of a distribution company.

IndiaCast will distribute 26 channels, including entertainment, kids, news, infotainment, music and regional languages, across cable, DTH, IPTV, Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS), and MMDS (Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service). The leading channels in the bouquet are Colors, CNBC TV18, CNN IBN, IBN7, MTV and Nick. The company will also distribute the Disney and Sun channels in the Hindi speaking markets.

IndiaCast will, however, have to compete in a strong neighbourhood. Media Pro Enterprise India, the equal JV between Zee Turner and Star Den, has a much wider and powerful bouquet with 68 channels. TheOneAlliance has 22 channels to distribute, lower than IndiaCast, but in its bouquet it has sports channels.

“We have strengthened our position. We have added ETV which has a string of popular regional-language channels,” says Gandhi.

IndiaCast is given a broader shape with content asset monetisation across geographies, platforms and mediums falling under its umbrella. The other channel distribution companies do not have such a wide canvass and content syndication falls outside their functional zones.

“The company is structured in such a way that it takes into account the fact that technologies are merging. The lines are blurring and if you are doing an OTT (over-the-top) deal, the content is visible across the world. So you need to look at it wholistically,” says Gandhi.

Content syndication is still a low business. Zeel earned Rs 1.32 billion in FY‘12 through other sales and services (syndication sales, playout & transmission services and facility usage income) while Colors ended up with Rs 300 million, says a source.

IndiaCast will have sufficient room for growth. “We see scope in upping revenues from all the lines: online, digitisation and existing businesses. There will be growth from DTH and analogue cable as well. We will launch more channels in overseas markets. We also expect strong growth from future businesses like content syndication,” says Gandhi.

For Bahl, the time to marshall his resources to push for high subscription revenue growth has arrived. It has been a bumpy ride since he signed a contract with TheOneAlliance to distribute his highly popular entertainment channel, Colors. The deal for Colors and the other Viacom18 channels was for Rs 3 billion minimum guarantee (MG) over a three-year period effective 1 April 2009. Souring relations, he formed a strategic alliance with the Sun Group in 2010 but growth was far from satisfactory. Now he hopes to see the next leg of growth under a company that is structured to make the leap.

Applications

Moltbook, the AI-only social network, sparks hype, doubt and fear

Published

2 weeks ago

February 3, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

CALIFORNIA: Moltbook, a Reddit-style social platform built exclusively for artificial intelligence agents, has emerged as the latest obsession in Silicon Valley, drawing intense attention for its explosive growth and surreal bot-driven interactions.

The platform hosts more than 100 communities where AI agents post, argue and joke about topics ranging from governance theory to esoteric “crayfish debugging” concepts. Within days of launch, Moltbook recorded tens of thousands of posts, nearly 200,000 comments and more than 1 million human visitors observing the activity.

Yet the numbers and the autonomy are under scrutiny, as per media reports. A security researcher has suggested as many as 500,000 accounts may trace back to a single address, raising doubts about Moltbook’s membership claims. Many posts could also be the result of humans instructing their AI tools to publish content, rather than bots acting independently.

The platform runs on agentic AI, powered by an open-source tool called OpenClaw, formerly known as Moltbot. Unlike chatbots such as ChatGPT or Gemini, these agents are designed to perform tasks on users’ devices, from sending messages to managing calendars, with minimal human input. Once authorised, they can interact freely on Moltbook.

Some tech figures have hailed the platform as a glimpse of a post-human internet. Head of crypto custody firm BitGo Bill Lees, called it evidence that “we’re in the singularity”.

Academics are less convinced. Petar Radanliev, an AI and cybersecurity expert at the University of Oxford, said the idea of agents acting independently was “misleading”, describing Moltbook instead as automated coordination within human-set constraints. Columbia Business School assistant professor David Holtz, dismissed the spectacle as “thousands of bots yelling into the void and repeating themselves”.

Beyond hype, security worries loom large. ESET global cybersecurity advisor Jake Moore, warned that granting AI agents access to emails, private messages and files risks prioritising efficiency over privacy. Andrew Rogoyski of the University of Surrey said high-level system access could lead to serious damage, from erased data to compromised company accounts.

Even OpenClaw’s founder Peter Steinberger, has felt the darker side of attention, with scammers hijacking his old social media handles after the platform’s rebrand.

For now, Moltbook remains a strange digital zoo: part experiment, part spectacle, where AI agents banter about philosophy, productivity and, occasionally, their fondness for their human operators.

Applications

Apple appoints Avtar Ram Singh as head of international marketing

Published

2 weeks ago

February 2, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

CALIFORNIA: Apple has handed a bigger global brief to a long-time insider. Avtar Ram Singh has taken over as head of international marketing for the App Store, Apple Arcade and the Apple Games app, deepening his remit across one of the company’s fastest-growing businesses.

“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as head of international marketing, App Store, Apple Arcade and Games App at Apple,” Singh said while announcing the move.

The promotion crowns nearly seven years at Apple, where Singh has led services marketing across Southeast Asia and India and previously served as head of marketing for Southeast Asia content and services, business lead for Apple Podcasts in the region and interim marketing lead for the App Store internationally.

His new portfolio spans three pillars of Apple’s services push. The App Store, which Apple positions as a safe and trusted discovery platform, now attracts more than 850 million average weekly users globally. Since 2008, developers have earned over $550 billion on the platform.

Apple Arcade, the company’s gaming subscription service, offers unlimited access to a catalogue ranging from brain teasers to big-name franchises. The recent addition of Sid Meier’s Civilization VII Arcade Edition brings a AAA PC title to iPhone, iPad and Mac from 5 February.

Then there is the Apple Games app, unveiled at WWDC as a unified destination for games from the App Store and Arcade. It aggregates titles in one place, surfaces personalised recommendations, tracks events and achievements, and lets users compete with friends or connect controllers for a console-like experience.

Singh arrives with a hybrid background in strategy, data and creativity. His career spans digital and social media marketing, business intelligence, content, editorial and analytics across culturally diverse markets. He has worked on brands including P&G, Accor, Audi, UBS, Nikon, Samsung, Sony, Pizza Hut, HBO and Singapore Airlines-linked businesses such as Scoot.

Before Apple, Singh led strategy at Falcon Agency, focusing on performance marketing and ROI-driven digital frameworks. He earlier ran the social practice at Publicis Singapore, where he oversaw operations, business development and regional social strategy for multinational clients. His career also includes roles at Ogilvy-linked Circus Social, Rocket Internet ventures Lazada and Zalora, and research firm IDC in Bangkok, where he analysed technology markets and won early awards for collaboration and client retention.

At Apple, he has been close to several service launches and expansions, including Apple Fitness+ in Singapore, Apple Creator Studio, global podcast subscriptions and new App Store marketing tools.

The timing is notable. Apple’s services business has posted record years, and gaming is becoming a sharper battleground as platforms chase engagement and recurring revenue. Singh’s brief sits at the intersection of content, community and commerce.

In a market where attention is scarce and loyalty scarcer, Apple is betting that sharper storytelling and smarter marketing can keep users inside its ecosystem. Singh now holds the megaphone. The real test will be how loudly the world listens.

Applications

Cloud nine in the capital Bharathcloud plugs Delhi into its AI plans

Published

2 weeks ago

January 30, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Bharathcloud is bringing its cloud closer to power. The Hyderabad-based sovereign AI cloud services provider has opened its Delhi office, marking its formal entry into North India and setting the stage for its next phase of growth.

The expansion comes as India’s digital transformation fuels rising demand for AI-ready cloud infrastructure, driven by wider adoption of artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things and data-heavy applications. With the new office, Bharathcloud plans to onboard more than 100 employees in 2026, strengthening its workforce to support customers across government, enterprises, MSMEs and social sectors.

The Delhi presence is expected to sharpen the company’s engagement with organisations seeking secure, scalable and cost-efficient cloud platforms that comply with India’s data sovereignty requirements. It also positions Bharathcloud closer to policy, public sector and enterprise decision-makers in the region.

Founded in Hyderabad, Bharathcloud offers AI-ready cloud infrastructure including Kubernetes-as-a-Service, zero-trust security architecture and multi-level data protection frameworks. Its platform supports AI and ML workloads, blockchain application migration from hyperscalers and distributed data management, with an emphasis on reliability, low latency and operational continuity.

“With the Delhi expansion, we are positioning Bharathcloud to engage more closely with AI-driven enterprises and technology hubs in North India,” said Bharathcloud co-founder Rahul Takallapally. He added that the move would help nurture local cloud and AI talent while accelerating the adoption of secure and resilient AI infrastructure across sectors.

The company currently operates in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow and Chennai, employing over 200 people and serving more than 1,500 clients across manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, IT and media. Aligned with national initiatives such as Digital India and Make in India, Bharathcloud continues to focus on building indigenous AI-cloud infrastructure to support data localisation and the country’s growing appetite for next-generation digital solutions.

With its Delhi office now live, the company is signalling a clear intent: to make sovereign, AI-ready cloud infrastructure not just an alternative, but a mainstream choice for India’s north as well as its tech capitals.