iWorld
Viu and Star Suvarna launches McDowell’s no1 Soda No.1 Yaari with Shivanna
MUMBAI: Friendship and brotherhood is the support system that sees millennials through moments of self-doubt and obstacles and is truly responsible for shaping them. McDowell’s No1 Soda by Diageo India and the global Video-on-Demand OTT service by Vuclip and PCCW – Viu, are now bringing alive such friendships of well-known personalities from real to reel life in a brand-new talk show called No. 1 Yaari with Shivanna in collaboration with Mindshare & Group M. The series will be hosted by superstar Shivrajkumar, who is known to be a true friend in the entertainment industry. The show will be simulcast on Viu & Star Suvarna starting 25th February, 2018, every Sunday 8.00-9.00PM
The show brings together for the first time as guests, Sandalwood stars and their real-life BFFs who will share their behind-the-door secrets, friendship defining moments & play interesting games with Shivrajkumar, while the fans will be treated to some never seen before videos and the audience, get to ask their favorite stars questions to know them better.
“No. 1 Yaari is a first of its kind entertaining show curated for the viewers that will help celebrate the spirit of brotherhood and friendship. I value friendship since it has been one strong support pillar in my personal journey. As much as the stars are public figures, they have a side that is still private and under wraps and my job will be to help them open-up. I would love them to share how their friendships have shaped them as individuals as well as have the fans privy to some unrevealed fun and friendly moments from their lives,” Actor & Anchor of the No.1 Yaari Show, Shivrajkumar said.
Commenting the new show Diageo India, Executive Vice President & Portfolio Head, Marketing, Amarpreet Singh said, “Curating a show that is all about Yaari by joining hands with people who matter, was always on our agenda. With McDowell’s No. 1 soda No.1 Yaari with Shivanna we are excited to co-produce a show that brings you closer to such stories of brotherhood between renowned artists which is something audiences would look up to. Also, with this we look to take a step forward in creating more engaging content to connect and engage with the millennials of today!”
Elaborating on the show, Viu India, Head of Monetization & Distribution, Sameer Gogate said, “With an endeavor to show premium content, we at Viu are extensively establishing content franchises that will appeal to the millennials nationwide. The franchise ‘No. 1 Yaari’ is one such exciting addition to our original content library that brings fans in touch with the personal life of popular celebrities. After Success of the show in Telegu we are glad to extend our long-standing partnership with Group M as we expand our content library with yet another engaging show hosted by an Iconic superstar of the Kanada film industry”
“It’s a great moment of delight for us to have Shivanna as the host for the very emotional and feel good show. It is a treat to see him with stars getting connected to one another and give the audience glorious joyous time on Sundays at 8pm” –Spokesperson, Star Suvarna.
Mindshare South Asia, Chief Innovation Officer, Mac Machaiah Commented- “After the grand success that it enjoyed on its previous runs, this time, No. 1 Yaari will celebrate the timeless friendships built between stars in the Kannada entertainment industry. Mindshare is pleased and proud to have been able to co-produce it, and deliver such enriching, branded content to Indian viewers. Shedding light on the often unknown bonds built behind the scenes, it celebrates the wonderful spirit of brotherhood and friendship. This is yet another stepping stone on Mindshare’s journey of creating unique shows and programs for viewers in the country, spanning a variety of novel areas and subjects, by utilising machine learning, creativity, adaptive marketing, and more.”
e-commerce
ONDC names Vibhor Jain MD and CEO; Rohit Lohia joins as CBO, Manoj Thakur as CTO
Leadership formalised as open commerce network sharpens focus on scale and user value
The Open Network for Digital Commerce has formalised Vibhor Jain as managing director and chief executive officer, cementing a leadership transition at India’s ambitious open commerce platform as it pushes for scale and relevance.
Jain, who had been serving as acting chief executive officer since April last year following the exit of Thampy Koshy, steps into the role with effect from 7th April , according to a report by The Economic Times. He previously served as chief operating officer at the government-backed network, which enables buyers and sellers to transact across applications through an open, interoperable system.
Setting out his strategy, Jain underscored the network’s differentiated architecture. “Going forward, we are concentrating on what open, interoperable infrastructure can uniquely enable, things that no single platform has the incentive or the architecture to do,” he said.
He added that the immediate priority is to widen ONDC’s impact across user cohorts often underserved by platform-led commerce. “My priority is to deepen the value ONDC creates for the people it exists to serve: kisaans, karigars, kiranas, gig workers, first-time investors, and daily commuters across India,” he said.
Jain also flagged leadership reinforcement within the organisation, noting that ONDC has “a strong and exciting leadership team in place”, with Rohit Lohia joining as chief business officer and Manoj Thakur as chief technology officer.
With over 18 years of experience spanning entrepreneurship and consulting, Jain brings a track record in technology-led, large-scale transformation programmes and internet businesses. At ONDC, he has been closely involved in shaping strategy and operations as the network seeks to move digital commerce away from platform-centric models towards an open network approach.
Before ONDC, Jain worked with JUMO, where he helped set up the fintech firm’s India operations, and led the India launch of Mobike, handling regulatory, policy and operational aspects of its market entry. Earlier, he co-founded Atlanta Healthcare, an air quality management company, and spent more than a decade in consulting roles at Andersen and EY, advising governments on public policy and technology-driven reforms, including work on the Aadhaar programme and tax systems.
The mandate is clear but the path is complex. As ONDC attempts to rewrite the rules of digital commerce, Jain now carries the burden of turning open architecture into mass adoption, in a market still dominated by platform power.
