iWorld
IMImobile to power BBC’s mobile and social audience engagement
MUMBAI: IMImobile, a global technology company providing software and services which help businesses capitalise on the growth in mobile communications, today announced that they have been awarded the contract under the BBC’s framework agreement for the provisioning of Mobile and Social Messaging services to help the BBC streamline the audience engagement process across mobile and social channels. The partnership commenced in July 2014, after an official supplier selection process.
The BBC will be using IMImobile’s DaVinci Social platform across radio, TV and live events, enabling production teams to seamlessly manage inbound and outbound audience interactions across SMS, MMS, email, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. DaVinci Social is a single tool specifically developed to enable broadcasters to manage and respond to audience interaction across multiple channels, monitor citizen journalism and integrate contextual audience feedback into live programming. In addition, the platform will be used to manage interactive services such as social and mobile voting.
IMImobile chief executive Jay Patel commented: “We are delighted to be selected by the BBC to deploy our DaVinci Social platform across the organisation. IMImobile has a deep heritage of delivering highly scalable solutions and services into the broadcasting sector. DaVinci Social fulfils the BBC’s requirements for being a universal tool for the monitoring and management of audience interaction across multiple channels”.
The growth in mobile and social communication has changed the way audiences want to consume and participate in the broadcasting experience. To help broadcasters manage the complexity of mobile and social engagement, IMImobile developed DaVinci Social, an enterprise grade, highly scalable platform that can be deployed across hundreds of production teams to centralise the management of audience engagement across multiple digital and mobile channels.
BBC head of Interactive Technical Advice & Contracts Unit Claire McLaughlin said: “Throughout the bid, IMImobile was able to successfully demonstrate that the DaVinci Social platform meets our high demands and criteria for centralising all audience interactions across our radio, TV and live event programming. The platform enables the BBC to respond to the change in audience behaviour and integrate mobile and social audience interactions into the broadcasting experience.”
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
