iWorld
Hooq adds exciting American series
MUMBAI: Hooq Asia’s first premium video-on-demand service, today announced the addition of new titles to its already extensive content catalogue especially for HOOQ’s Indian Audience. The new titles include some of the most popular and iconic TV shows of all times like Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men and Community amongst others.
Friends is an American television sitcom, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which originally aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. The plot is centered around a set of six friends (Rachel Green, Ross Geller, Monica Geller, Joey Tribbiani, Chandler Bing and Phoebe Buffay), living off of one another in the heart of New York City.
The Big Bang Theory is one of the blockbuster shows that is primarily centered on five characters; the two roommates Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper, both physicists who are surrounded by their geeky friends like aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz and astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali. The showstopper being a character, their neighbour named Penny, a waitress and an aspiring actress. The plot is all about the geekiness and intellect of the four guys in contrast for comic effect with Penny’s social skills and common sense.
Community is an American television series that follows an ensemble cast of characters at a community college in the fictional town of Greendale, Colorado. It makes heavy use of meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television clichés and tropes.
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that originally starred Charlie Sheen (the lead character later being replaced by Ashton Kutcher), Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones. The series is about the bumpy life of a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother Alan; and Alan’s son Jake.
Commenting on the new additions,Hooq India managing director Salil Kapoor, said, “We always want to offer our customers the best and most exciting content from across the world and genres. Titles such as Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men have become iconic symbols which would work very well with the younger audiences. While HOOQ has one of the largest numbers of Hollywood titles and we are very excited to continuously add more content every month. With varied content on our platform, we aim to offer our audiences different flavors with an uninterrupted viewing experience. “
Broadband
Excitel Broadband names Varun Pasricha as chief executive officer
Former COO steps up to lead broadband firm’s next growth chapter
MUMBAI: Excitel Broadband has elevated its chief operating officer, Varun Pasricha, to the role of chief executive officer, handing the reins to a leader who has already spent nearly eight years shaping the company’s rise.
Pasricha joined Excitel in August 2018 and has since been instrumental in building what he describes as “the most loved broadband brand in the country”. Now, as chief executive officer, he is expected to steer the internet service provider through its next phase of expansion in an increasingly competitive home broadband market.
Before his tenure at Excitel, Pasricha held senior leadership roles at Zomato, where he led sales transformation and served as business head for partner growth across India and the UAE. He oversaw the shift in the company’s advertising model from fixed ad slots to performance driven engagement, migrating more than 7,000 paying clients globally while delivering a 20 per cent upsell on the portfolio.
Earlier, at G4S India, he was senior vice president for strategic business, managing a profit and loss portfolio exceeding Rs 1,000 crore. Over two years, he grew the business by around 50 per cent while improving margins through contract renegotiations and cross selling. He also worked closely with the leadership team as vice president for strategic projects, focusing on corporate strategy, restructuring, and new business launches, including entry into last mile logistics.
His career spans strategy and operations across sectors. At Max Healthcare, he was senior manager for business strategy, working on planning and joint venture rollouts in tier II cities. He co-founded Edventure Online, an education advisory venture aimed at helping students make informed career choices. At Indus Towers, he served as senior business manager in the central strategy team, helping convert the energy vertical from a cost centre into a profit engine.
Pasricha began his career at McKinsey & Company as an analyst, building the consulting toolkit that would underpin his later operating roles.
With a résumé that blends boardroom strategy and frontline execution, Pasricha’s appointment signals continuity with ambition. For Excitel, the message is clear: the company is betting on a leader who already knows where the cables run and where the next connections must be made.
