iWorld
ESPN bets big on apps for India
MUMBAI: With increasing preference for sports on digital platforms, ESPN is working towards tapping this demand with more content.
The broadcaster, which has been present here for over quarter of a century, owns two digital properties — ESPNcricinfo, a cricket content platform, and a co-branded multi-sport content offering ESPN.in, with its joint venture partner Sony Pictures Networks India that was launched 15 months earlier.
For ESPN, digital video consumption has been growing at 150 per cent, while mobile video demand has been growing even more dramatically, at a rate as high as 350 per cent.
“We believe that India is a mobile-first market and data confirms that. Almost 78 per cent of all our traffic is either on the mobile web or the app. We also believe that, over time, people are shifting from mobile web towards apps,” ESPN International executive vice-president and managing director Russell Wolff has said.
He said the company has been producing more videos for mobile and digital platforms, given the growing interest in digital content.
Broadband
Excitel Broadband names Varun Pasricha as chief executive officer
Former COO steps up to lead broadband firm’s next growth chapter
MUMBAI: Excitel Broadband has elevated its chief operating officer, Varun Pasricha, to the role of chief executive officer, handing the reins to a leader who has already spent nearly eight years shaping the company’s rise.
Pasricha joined Excitel in August 2018 and has since been instrumental in building what he describes as “the most loved broadband brand in the country”. Now, as chief executive officer, he is expected to steer the internet service provider through its next phase of expansion in an increasingly competitive home broadband market.
Before his tenure at Excitel, Pasricha held senior leadership roles at Zomato, where he led sales transformation and served as business head for partner growth across India and the UAE. He oversaw the shift in the company’s advertising model from fixed ad slots to performance driven engagement, migrating more than 7,000 paying clients globally while delivering a 20 per cent upsell on the portfolio.
Earlier, at G4S India, he was senior vice president for strategic business, managing a profit and loss portfolio exceeding Rs 1,000 crore. Over two years, he grew the business by around 50 per cent while improving margins through contract renegotiations and cross selling. He also worked closely with the leadership team as vice president for strategic projects, focusing on corporate strategy, restructuring, and new business launches, including entry into last mile logistics.
His career spans strategy and operations across sectors. At Max Healthcare, he was senior manager for business strategy, working on planning and joint venture rollouts in tier II cities. He co-founded Edventure Online, an education advisory venture aimed at helping students make informed career choices. At Indus Towers, he served as senior business manager in the central strategy team, helping convert the energy vertical from a cost centre into a profit engine.
Pasricha began his career at McKinsey & Company as an analyst, building the consulting toolkit that would underpin his later operating roles.
With a résumé that blends boardroom strategy and frontline execution, Pasricha’s appointment signals continuity with ambition. For Excitel, the message is clear: the company is betting on a leader who already knows where the cables run and where the next connections must be made.
