Week at a glance: Uday Shankar moves on; TRP racket; Viacom18-Sony merger talks off

Uday Shankar to step down as President, Walt Disney APAC & Chairman, Star & Disney India

Uday Shankar will step down as President, The Walt Disney Company APAC and Chairman, Star & Disney India, effective as of December 31, 2020. Over the next three months, Shankar will work closely with Rebecca Campbell, chairman of Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment, to identify his successor to ensure a smooth transition.

Also read: Week at a glance: SCREENXX decodes what India is watching; Why e-comm is bullish

Uday Shankar to move on: Industry honchos salute torch bearer for broadcasting fraternity

Uday Shankar’s decision to step down at The Walt Disney Company has created quite a buzz. Adgully reached out to the captains of the industry as well as some media professionals to know about their reactions to Uday Shankar’s decision to move on and also recall their association with Shankar.

In RIL’s push for Jio Fiber-to-Home, Viacom18 & Sony merger talks shelved

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is bullish on growing its digital media business, for which it plans to invest aggressively in this. Corollary to this decision, the proposed merger talks between Viacom18 and Sony Pictures Network have been called off. As is known, Viacom18 is a joint venture between RIL’s Network18 and Viacom Inc.

Shavon Barua resigns from PHD India as Chief Client Officer

Shavon Barua has stepped down as Chief Client Officer, PHD India according to media reports. Barua's resignation comes shortly after the resignation of Jyoti Bansal and exited as CEO in June. Barua joined PHD in 2015 as Managing Partner to work on the Hindustan Unilever business from the agency’s Mumbai office.

Republic TV hits back as Mumbai Police chief names channel in fake TRP racket

A case of BARC meter tampering case has surfaced in Mumbai. Media reports quoted Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh naming three channels found indulging in manipulating the TRPs – Republic TV, Fakt Marathi and Box Cinema. Meanwhile, reacting to the accusations levelled by the Mumbai Police, Republic TV put out a strongly worded statement on its Twitter feed.

Sony Pictures Networks India @25: Creating Impact with Purpose

Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has completed 25 years in the country. To commemorate this milestone, NP Singh, MD & CEO, SPN, wrote a special letter to thank SPN’s supporters, staff, stakeholders for their unconditional love and support to SPN.

NBA, TV9 Network resolve differences over TV9 Bharatvarsh’s viewership

News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and TV9 Network have resolved their differences, and after discussing the matter mutually, both the parties have decided not to pursue the matter legally. With this, Associated Broadcasting (the parent company of TV9 Network) is back in NBA’s membership.

SCREENXX 2020

SCREENXX 2020: Purposeful content will sell and is here to stay

The Fireside Chat on ‘Emergence of Purposeful Content’ at SCREENXX 2020, held on October 1, was a very topical and interesting discussion. The session was moderated by Rohit Ohri, Group Chairman & CEO, FCB India, in conversation with two senior leaders from the media and entertainment industry – Tarun Katial, CEO, ZEE5, and Ashvini Yardi, Producer.

SCREENXX 2020: “Streaming services are a much more democratic space”

When we have outstanding narratives by women, the whole world stops to pay attention. SCRENNXX 2020, as part of its engaging Fireside Chat, brought together two high accomplished women in their respective fields – award-winning feature film director and screenwriter Alankrita Shrivastava, and Srishti Behl Arya, Director, International Original Film, Netflix India, for a powerful discussion on ‘Role of Women in Storytelling’.

SCREENXX 2020: Will OTT be the future of content consumption?

Cinema and TV have been the staples of entertainment for Indians for years. In the last few years, digital content consumption and OTT have been finding increasing traction and have been major inroads in people’s demand for entertainment. Will OTT be the future of content consumption? Will it redefine cinema entertainment?

SCREENXX 2020: Identifying green shoots for cinema exhibition post-COVID

The panel discussion on ‘Cinema vs OTT: The Future of Entertainment’ at SCREENXX 2020 Summit | Awards sought to understand the overarching trends in cinema exhibition and OTT. Globally and in India, the box office had to face immense losses. At the same time, a lot of things have changed in favour of exhibitors. the Indian exhibition chains have suffered Rs 1,000 crore in losses. Almost 22 Hindi films and 5-7 regional films have released direct-to-OTT. If these films were released in theatres, the box office collections would be around Rs 1,200 crore.

SCREENXX 2020: “Empower storytellers instead of bogging them down by regulations”

As part of Adgully’s marquee OTT event, SCREENXX 2020, we turned the focus on ‘Creative Freedom: OTT Crafting Bolder Narratives’. While creating content with bolder scripts will be one way to attract new audiences, the industry needs to practice content self-regulation and follow the best practices. The freedom to solo viewing will see more bolder narratives in the near future.

SCREENXX 2020: Decoding what Young India wants

The spotlight was on the youth of India and their preferences in a fireside chat on ‘What Young India wants? A peep into the minds of GenZ and Youth in a post Covid World’ as part of SCREENXX 2020, which saw Pooja Jauhari, CEO, The Glitch, in conversation with Navin Shenoy, Head of Marketing, Youth, Music, English Entertainment, Viacom18.

Global Outlook, Local Strategy – How Lionsgate plans to woo India

The ‘Look global, think local’ strategy now extends to the content space as well. Raman Kalra, Entertainment, Media and Sports Advisory Leader, PwC India, in conversation with Rohit Jain, Managing Director South Asia, Lionsgate, took up myriad issues and more in a special Fireside Chat on ‘Global Outlook, Local Strategy’ as part of SCREENXX 2020.

How multi-platform engagement strategy is helping Nippon Paint have an edge this IPL season

In an exclusive conversation with Adgully, Mark Titus, Director - Marketing, Nippon Paint (India) Pvt Ltd (Decorative Division), speaks at length about the company’s strategy and plans for the festival season and how they plan to leverage IPL this year.

“There’s increased consideration for social & digital in clients’ communications mix”

As part of our latest series on ‘PR Conversation’, In conversation with Adgully, Rakesh Thukral, Managing Director, Edelman India, speaks about how this moment in time is likely to have greater impact on the next 10 years than how the last decade has transpired.

Advertising with Medical Practitioners? Dr. NO!

Several advertisements depict an individual wearing a white coat giving advice to parents/ lay consumers on the efficacy of a product. Some even go as far as showing a stethoscope around the person endorsing a product, leading the consumer to believe that such endorsements are made by a doctor. Advocate Aazmeen Kasad covers the aspect of portraying doctors through artists in white coats in advertisements and whether this falls foul of the law.

We want to fill lifestyle & infotainment with unique offering with Indian lens: Amit Nair

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited recently launched its first lifestyle channel – Zee Zest, where one can UNLIMIT Life through its varied and comprehensive line-up of shows. In this interaction with Adgully, Amit Nair, Business Head, Zee Zest, speaks about the newest channel in ZEEL’s bouquet, the focus on the lifestyle & infotainment space, the ‘UNLIMIT Life’ proposition and much more.

For over 135 years, Avon has always stood for women empowerment: Swati Jain

For 130 years Avon has stood for women: providing innovative, quality beauty products which are primarily sold to women, through women. In an exclusive interview with Adgully, Swati Jain, Marketing Director, AVON India, speaks at length about the latest campaign, the company’s strong focus on women empowerment, as well as their long term marketing strategy for the Indian market.

We’re expecting 25-30% growth in volume & 15-20% growth in ad rates: Abhay Ojha

In conversation with Adgully, Abhay Ojha, President - Sales & Marketing, News Nation Network, shares his views on the growth of the news genre during the pandemic period, expectations from the festive season and IPL this year, growth in ad volumes and ad rates and much more.

Facebook’s 7-point rebuttal to ‘The Social Dilemma’

The docu-drama, ‘The Social Dilemma’, which began streaming on Netflix from September 9, 2020 onwards, has created quite a stir. This documentary-drama hybrid explores the dangerous human impact of social networking. Not surprisingly, Facebook has come out with a sharp rebuttal to the film in a post and alleges that ‘The Social Dilemma’ buries the substance in sensationalism. Defending the platform and social media, Facebook presented a 7-point defence.

Online sale of health insurance has grown by 100% vis-a-vis last year: Mehmood Mansoori

To understand how HDFC Ergo is leveraging digital and how the insurance sector will go the digital way, Adgully spoke to Mehmood Mansoori, President - Shared Services & Online Business, HDFC ERGO General Insurance.

Bolo Indya has taken monetisation for creators beyond brand partnerships: Varun Saxena

After ban on TikTok in India, homegrown app Bolo Indya onboarded over 2M+ follower base of content creators from TikTok. In conversation with Adgully, Varun Saxena, Founder and CEO, Bolo Indya, speaks about the growth of Bolo Indya, advertisers’ interest in the app, their marketing strategy during the pandemic and how Bolo Indya is empowering people.