GECs
Murdoch sued in US over fall in Gemstar share value
MUMBAI: News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch and elder son Lachlan are being sued by shareholders in TV guide company Gemstar over the $30 billion fall in its value in the past two years.
News Corp, which owns 42 per cent of Gemstar, and the Murdochs, who sit on the US company’s board, stand accused of helping defraud investors by “causing Gemstar to engage in unlawful conduct.” The lawsuit claims Gemstar failed to issue reports showing the falling value of the business and threats to its major asset, patents for a system to record television programmes, the thisislondon.co.uk website has reported.
At a time when investors are scrutinizing US companies’ accounting statements for numbers perceived as false or misleading, a judge’s determination that Gemstar’s patents haven’t been infringed once again calls into question Gemstar’s revenue recognition policies. Earlier this year, the company disclosed that it had recorded more than $100 million in licensing revenue from Scientific-Atlanta since 1999, even though Scientific-Atlanta had refused to pay up and then sued Gemstar in federal court to get a ruling that it wasn’t infringing on Gemstar’s patents.
News Corp has had to write off about $4 billion of its investment in Gemstar and is expected to write off another $1billion when it reports results later this month, says this is london.co.uk.
GECs
Z launches ‘Dilfluencer Moments’ to boost brand engagement across screens
New omnichannel format blends TV characters, storytelling and digital reach to boost engagement and affinity
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (‘Z’) has unveiled ‘Dilfluencer Moments’, a new omnichannel media format designed to help brands cut through the clutter and turn audience attention into brand love.
With media access increasingly democratized, visibility alone no longer drives results. Shrinking attention spans and rising content noise have made memorability, emotional connection and action the real currency. Dilfluencer Moments addresses this by embedding brands into character-led, culturally resonant storytelling that travels seamlessly from TV to digital, social and creator ecosystems.
The format debuted with the “TumHoLovely” campaign on National Girl Child Day. Anchored in Hindi and Marathi shows, the campaign’s narrative extended organically across digital platforms, amplified by creators and community participation. A brand film featuring Sanya Malhotra further showcased how TV-originated cultural cues can spark broad engagement and virality. Within 24 hours, the campaign racked up 35 million total impressions, 20 million digital views, 2.5 million engagements and over 1,000 comments.
Laxmi Shetty, head – advertisement revenue, broadcast & digital, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, said, “As consumers turn away from interruption-led communication, advertisers need moments that feel culturally earned and emotionally authentic. Dilfluencer Moments delivers reach at scale through character-first content systems that connect with audiences personally, transforming storytelling into brand love.”
Kartik Mahadev, chief marketing officer, ‘Z’ & Zee 5, added: “Access alone is no longer an advantage; affinity is. Affinity comes from storytelling, familiar characters and moments that stay with audiences across screens. Dilfluencer Moments lets brands participate meaningfully in moments audiences already love, travelling organically across linear, digital and social platforms at scale.”
By anchoring campaigns in high-trust television moments and extending them into digital and social ecosystems, Dilfluencer Moments enables brands to generate organic engagement, amplify virality and convert attention into long-term emotional equity.
With its national scale, deep emotional storytelling and character-first approach, Z is offering marketers a powerful new way to build affinity, cut through clutter and create culturally resonant brand moments that stick.
