iWorld
Flick registers 42 mn+ views, 100 mn+ impression across social media
KOLKATA: The Zoom Studios’ short-format content brand Flick has registered 42 million+ views and 100 million+ impression across The Zoom Studios YouTube channel, Facebook and Instagram. With powerful 40 individual stories, Flick has produced an exclusive suit of short format videos that captures a series of universal moments taken out of our lives and portrayed through a heart-warming narrative. It was launched during the lockdown last year.
With a central theme on how individual moments from our lives, if placed in a timeline, is nothing short of a film, Flick stories reflect the essence of life and celebrate its little moments. Delivering relatable stories which are brought to life with strong narratives and power packed performances, Flick has featured a talented pool of artists including Priyank Sharma, Benafsha Soonawalla, Harleen Sethi, Namit Das, Karishma Sharma, Shruti Vyas, Aashim Gulati, Mahesh Thakur, Shreya Gupto, Barkha Singh, Archak Chhabra, Ritvik Sahore, Pankhuri Awasthy, Vaibhav Tatwawaadi and many more.
Times Network COO and EVP Jagdish Mulchandani said: “With the pandemic induced lockdown last year, content consumption patterns and preferences evolved significantly. The Zoom Studios took a leap forward with Flick during this time, exploring short format entertainment, offering viewers a differentiated yet wholesome content that can be watched in one go. We are really excited and encouraged by the overwhelming response from our viewers and the strong brand resonance and preference that Flick has achieved in a short span. I am confident that Flick will continue to resonate with our viewers who are looking for short stories that are real and heart-warming.”
Building a strong connect with young male and female viewers alike, Flick has not only gained a loyal millennial fanbase but also received appreciation and recognition from the industry. The Flick titled Tape, A Love Story was awarded with ‘Content Debut of the year’ title and Flick was declared ‘Top 25 content brands & enterprises’ at Inkspell’s Indian Content Leadership Awards 2020. The brand also won Gold at the (Drivers of Digital) DOD Awards 2021 in the category of Top 10 Digital Brands/Enterprises.
A robust integrated brand campaign #StoriesToTell has also been rolled out across print, digital, OOH and TV platforms. Popular brands like OkCupid, Unilever, Korea Tourism and Tru Hair have associated Flick.
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.
