MAM
Zoo Media launches DoyenOink Consulting
Zoo Media has launched DoyenOink Consulting, a transformation, and management consulting firm which leverages data intelligence, technology interventions, inventive strategic thinking and impactful communication to drive systematic solutions for business challenges across the spectrum.
DoyenOink Consulting will be led by director Priyal Sheth Kilachand who will be reporting into co-founder of Zoo Media and FoxyMoron Suveer Bajaj. Kilachand, began her journey with FoxyMoron in 2010, in the business development team and later headed the business development and strategy division.
She’s worked with over 50 brands such as Loreal, P&G, SAB Miller, Mahindra & Mahindra among others.
In 2015, Kilachand joined Sun Pharma, as a digital consultant, where she led campaigns for brands such as Volini, Revital, Suncros, and Pepfiz. Priyal has been working on building DoyenOink Consulting from the ground up since 2019.
Bajaj said “Digital Transformation today has become a necessity for business continuity or risk mitigation in today’s environment. Today, 70 per cent of Indian companies either have a digital transformation strategy or are working on one. Our goal is to empower organisations to adopt digital, deep within their DNA and help them address business challenges to achieve organisational excellence, meet customer satisfaction, and most importantly stay ahead of the competition. Our team of experts or as we like to call them ‘doyens’ are the best minds in their fields, be it technology, product customer journey planning, strategic brand communications, and business and operational strategy.”
Kilachand shared, “While we are a new consulting firm, we are thrilled with the response we've received so far. Currently, we’re working with clients across the sectors of education, consumer products, e-commerce & industrial trading. Our depth of services has spanned from brand position to operational excellence, all the way down to structuring the optimum sales channel mix. 2020 has been the year of accelerated digital adoption and we are confident that our expertise will be of immense value to our partners that are looking for deep and integrated solutions to address their unpredictable business challenges.”
DoyenOink Consulting services will be available across all Zoo Media offices pan-India i.e Mumbai, Delhi-GGN and Bangalore.
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.
