iWorld
ZEE5 makes user registration mandatory to augment segmentation and targeting capabilities
KOLKATA: ZEE5 today announced its plans to enrich its audience data by building quality and diverse audience clusters with engagement capabilities in a cookie less world. The ConTech platform takes a strategic step towards making ‘user registration mandatory’ and thus augmenting astute audience segmentation and targeting capability.
Brands are slowly shifting their marketing budgets to digital platforms as the digital medium becomes all pervasive and consumers increase time spent on this medium. Taking cue from that, ZEE5 with its futuristic Ad:tech construct, promises to build rich customer profiles, serve hyper-personalised content recommendations and ad targeting, based on the holistic personas of these customers to improve experiences and deliver precise targeting for advertisers in a brand safe environment.
ZEE5 India expansion projects business head and product head Rajneel Kumar said, “Data enrichment is the way forward. We are cognizant of the cookie less future and want to reduce dependencies on using third party data significantly. Rise of a new data-driven world, addressable, accountable and increasingly automated is upon us, and brands are longing to create more individualized experiences that can tap into the targeting and personalisation capabilities available within the digital video realm. With a robust Ad:tech architecture at play, we want to empower the advertiser to do end to end optimisation on the back of cutting-edge technology coupled with ZEE5’s massive reach and rich consumer profiles.”
ZEE5’s indigenous CDP platform ‘Infonomix’, a key offering from ZEE5 Ads, will allow brands to leverage the flexibility and the prowess of Ad Suite to target precisely and harness segmentation for very measurable results. The convergence of data from various sources including, social data from the recently launched HiPi – a short video platform, will allow Infonomix to not only power the content discovery on the platform but also support CLM team to devise a personalised push notification strategy.
With the uncertainty on when the lockdown will end, ZEE5, India’s Entertainment Super-app foresees not only increased consumption from existing customers but also many new customers joining the platform for the first time in the coming months. ZEE5 aims to ramp up their content strategy but also, their consumer insight data points for hyper-accurate and hyper-relevant content and ad optimization.
iWorld
Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square makes $64 billion bid to acquire Universal Music Group
Ackman pitches NYSE relisting plan as UMG board weighs unsolicited offer
The hedge fund has proposed a business combination that values UMG at €30.40 per share, representing a hefty 78 per cent premium to its current trading price. The offer includes €9.4 billion in cash alongside stock in a newly formed entity, with shareholders set to receive €5.05 per share in cash and 0.77 shares in the new company for each UMG share they hold.
Under the proposal, UMG would merge with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings Ltd and re-emerge as a Nevada-based entity listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The move is designed to boost investor visibility and potentially secure inclusion in major indices such as the S&P 500.
Pershing Square Capital Management ceo Bill Ackman argued that while UMG’s operational performance remains strong, its market valuation has lagged due to external factors. “UMG’s stock price has languished due to a combination of issues that are unrelated to the performance of its music business,” Ackman said, pointing to concerns ranging from shareholder overhang to delayed US listing plans.
Ackman also flagged what he sees as untapped potential in UMG’s balance sheet and a lack of clear capital allocation strategy. He added that the market has not fully recognised the value of UMG’s €2.7 billion stake in Spotify, alongside gaps in investor communication.
The proposed transaction would also result in the cancellation of around 17 per cent of UMG’s outstanding shares, while maintaining its investment-grade balance sheet. Pershing Square has said it will fully backstop the equity financing, with debt commitments secured at signing. The deal is targeted for completion by the end of the year.
UMG, however, has struck a measured tone. The company confirmed that its board has received the non-binding proposal and will review it with advisers. It reiterated confidence in its current strategy and leadership under Lucian Grainge, signalling no immediate shift in stance.
The proposal comes at a time when global music companies are navigating evolving investor expectations, streaming economics and capital allocation pressures. For Pershing Square, the bet is clear: sharpen the financial story, relist in the US, and let the music play louder in the markets.
Whether UMG’s board is ready to change the tune remains to be seen, but the spotlight on its valuation just got a lot brighter.
