iWorld
Sony Liv adds Hollywood blockbusters for subscribers
MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks’ (SPN) VOD service Sony LIV has announced the launch of a cinematic extravaganza for all movie fans with its Hollywood library. Besides a wide range of TV shows, sports properties, Bollywood flicks, songs and original web content, cinema aficionados can now enjoy instant access to internationally celebrated movies anytime and anywhere.
Sony Liv is going the extra mile to enhance the entertainment experiences for its viewers wherein the biggest upcoming Hollywood blockbusters will premiere on the platform before their television airing.
Sony Liv EVP and head for digital business Uday Sodhi said, “At Sony Liv, we are committed to continuously enhance the entertainment experience of our viewers. After receiving an overwhelming response for our Bollywood library, we are now extending our catalogue to allow English movie buffs to catch up with their Hollywood dose of entertainment- right from award-winning favourites to unseen gems. Our endeavour is to make an entire bouquet of eclectic yet engaging cinematic properties accessible at ease since Sony Liv is a complete digital entertainment destination that consumers can turn to for riveting content of every kind.”
The library gives viewers a chance to access a wide selection of hugely popular American movies on their own preferred digital devices. The platform claims to offer comprehensive and attractive for its discerning digital audience through its Hollywood library.
Liv already offers an extensive Bollywood library with over 1,000 films from across genres. It already has a portfolio of critically acclaimed films like The Pursuit of Happyness, Django Unchained, The Da Vinci Code, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Angels and Demons and the Spiderman series, etc.
The platform also rolled out a web-series for the online platform called #LoveBytes. It has also rolled out a digital film entitled Chhoti Khushito support a social media campaign, #LIVThisDiwali.
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.
