MAM
FoxyMoron elevates Keerthi Kumar as business head – South
Mumbai: Zoo Media Network’s FoxyMoron has elevated Keerthi Kumar as business head – south. He will be responsible for leading business operations and fostering business development across the region, contributing to the overall growth of the Zoo Media conglomerate.
Keerthi will continue to report to FoxyMoron national head of client partnerships Prachi Bali.
In the last 16 months since joining FoxyMoron as group account director, Keerthi has grown the business by 2x while onboarding clients across sectors with multinational corporations, startups, and Indian-owned businesses alike. His current clients include AO Smith, the OTT giants Aha Tamil and Aha Telugu, new NFT brand Fancraze, Bestseller India-JDY, ProduKt & i.scenery, Wrangler, TVS Motor Company and projects with brands such as Zebronics, Arrow & Maharaja Trophy.
Over the months, under Keerthi’s leadership, the team size has grown considerably, with key senior appointments across art, strategy, and copy being made over the past year.
Speaking on the development, Bali said, “Keerthi has championed every curveball thrown his way, with hard work and the ability to lead a team effectively. His stellar contribution in growing the business in the market while also maintaining existing client relationships has been a big win for us. Furthermore, what we value most, being a people-first organisation, is that Keerthi leads with empathy.”
Commenting on his new role, Keerthi added, “I am thrilled to take up the new mantle at FoxyMoron! The South is booming with legacy industries and unicorn companies alike, giving us ample scope to scale our business in the region as a network with the promise of integrated solutions. While I am looking forward to this wonderful new endeavour with FoxyMoron and Zoo Media, I am positive about nurturing a tribe of individuals whose work will define them.”
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.
