iWorld
OpenTV, Playboy sign deal to develop iTV applications worldwide
MUMBAI: interactive television company Open TV and adult content provider Playboy Enterprises, have signed a multi-year agreement.
The two parties will jointly develop, integrate and launch digital interactive software applications for deployment on Playboy’s worldwide suite of television programming networks. As part the agreement, the companies expect to develop interactive applications capable of running on all software platforms, and will not be limited to any specific set-top box middleware or any proprietary iTV solution.
Under the agreement, OpenTV will also support Playboy in marketing a wide variety of interactive applications and games to network operators worldwide, and general consulting and advisory services.
OpenTV’s senior VP and GM marketing and applications products Tim Evard says, “We are delighted to partner with such a powerful global brand like Playboy to develop innovative interactive television applications. This commitment reinforces the compelling value proposition that we offer in the applications space, and we look forward to building unique, reliable and stable technologies and applications that increase viewership and revenue for both Playboy and their network operator distributors around the world.”
Playboy has stated that it is committed to helping its distribution partners drive maximum value from the programming it offers. Playboy believes that iTV applications will be a powerful tool for its partners and will also provide a more compelling viewingand transactional experience for the consumer.
OpenTV claims to be deployed in approximately 47 million digital set-top-boxes in 96 countries. The company’s software enables a wide array of functionality, including enhanced television, a full-featured IPTV solution interactive shopping, interactive and addressable advertising, games and gaming, personal video recording, and a variety of consumer care and communication applications.
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.
