MAM
JWT strengthens key team; appoints Bobby Pawar
MUMBAI: Bobby Pawar is joining JWT India as chief creative officer and managing partner. Currently he is with Mudra Group serving as chief creative officer.
Confirming the development to Indiantelevision.com, Pawar said, “It has been a great journey at Mudra.”
This is first high-level exit from the Mudra Group, post acquisition by Omnicom.
In October, US-based advertising giant Omnicom had acquired majority stake in Mudra Group in a bid to significantly expand its service capabilities and presence in India.
On his moving to JWT, Pawar said, “I like to take challenges and its not that I was not happy at Mudra. Mudra is one of the top agencies and so is JWT.”
Pawar, who was with Mudra for over four years, will be joining JWT in a couple of months.
On Pawar‘s appointment, JWT India CEO Colvyn Harris said, “We are glad that Bobby is joining us. He will partner me and help me deliver our creative vision. We are making appointments at senior level and we are making sure that we choose the best ones from the industry.”
JWT is building up its key team. The agency appointed Tribal DDB‘s Max Hegerman as head of digital in October. It also hired DraftFCB‘s COO Sanjeev Bhargava as managing partner and head- JWT Delhi recently.
One of the country‘s top creative agencies, JWT handles accounts of Nokia, Airtel, Nestle, Fritolays, Sony Viao, GSK and Pizzahut.
“Delhi is the largest operating unit in the country. We have 7 people above the level of vice president. Our approach is to make multi-level appointments,” added Harris.
MAM
Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
