iWorld
Watcho announces “The Morning Show” featuring Ali Asgar & Siddharth Sagar
Mumbai: The OTT platform, Watcho has announced an original series The Morning Show, a light-hearted comedy web series showcasing content in a format that is innovative, fresh, and out of the box.
Known for bringing snackable content #Funfatafat, Watcho’s new web series The Morning Show is releasing on 20 May in Hindi.
The Morning Show is a one-of-a-kind character-oriented show conceptualized by Manoj Sabharwal and produced by Team Creative Mafiaa.
The show will feature Ali Asgar and Siddharth Sagar of Kapil Sharma show fame, Vanshika Sharma, Parree Pande, Rahul Grover, Mukesh Sharma, and Nazish Mann.
The show revolves around the individuals that go to the gym every day. The CCTV camera snooping on the gym members is a key protagonist in the entire story. The protagonist, the amusing characters, and the daily chaos at the gym make the show hilarious and entertaining to watch. Watcho’s new web series has 9-episodes, each lasting a 20-minutes duration.
From a gym owner who is a struggling actor to a receptionist who is always on the phone or an affluent married couple trying to maintain their class at the gym; each character has a unique personality and amusing quirk.
Commenting on the launch, DishTV India, DishTV & Watcho head- marketing Sukhpreet Singh said, “Comedy continues to resonate with our growing audience base and we are confident that the format of ‘The Morning Show’ which is fresh and engaging will make the viewers laugh out loud. Humour comes in many flavours and ‘The Morning Show’ will give a taste of everything, making it an all-in-all family entertainer.”
Bringing in a unique assortment of snackable content cutting across all genres, Watcho offers many original shows including web series like Bauchare-E-Ishq, Happy, Gupta Niwas, Jaunpur, Papa Ka Scooter, Aghaat, Cheaters – The Vacation, Sarhad, Mystery Dad, JaalSaazi, Dark Destinations, It’s My Pleasure, 4 Thieves, Love Crisis, Ardhsatya, Chhoriyan, and Rakhta Chandana along with also having original influencer shows like Look I Can Cook and Bikhare hain Alfaaz.
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.
