iWorld
ZEE5 decrypts future of digital entertainment with Contech.ED 2020
Mumbai: ZEE5 will air the final episode of their Contech.ED 2020 series on December 12, 2020. #BingeNomics is an eight-partknowledge series to discuss the trends and triggers behind changing media and entertainment consumption patterns and how companies are responding to it. Bringing together renowned industry personalities like Ajay Kakkar from Aditya Birla Capital, Vikram Sakhuja from Madisson Media, Siddharth Banerjee from Games24x7, Pankaj Parihar from Godrej Consumer Products, the discussions aim to capture expert viewpoints to holistically address the challenges that befall the industry.
Entertainment consumption patterns have witnessed a dramatic shift in 2020 – from appointment viewing on TV to on-demand viewing on-the-go. Combined with several technology innovations propelling this growth, the steady penetration of connected devices, and smartphones giving rise to parallel second screen viewing, consumers are discovering newer ways to satiate their content needs. The #BingeNomics series brings to fore various questions with the aim to decode the preferences of the current end consumer, market growth drivers, the importance of storytelling and need for superior consumer experience to decipher what the future has in store for the media and entertainment industry.
Zee5 chief revenue officer Rajeev Dhal opined, “OTT saw a comeback in Q2 compared to Q1 post the lockdown. ZEE5 has grown more than 2X in terms of numbers, in Q2:Q1 our user base has grown 50 per cent and engagement rates have grown 4X – basically, everything consumed at-home has only been growing, and OTT is here to stay. There is no debate that digital ad expenses are only growing, and by 2026, 50 per cent of the AdEx will be digital oriented and bigger than TV or print. While consumption rates grow exponentially, users are going to choose to be discreet by limiting ad tracking, removing cookies which will inevitably disrupt the system. BingeNomics is ZEE5’s way of having such thought-provoking, engaging and inspiring conversations on the fast-paced, always evolving media and entertainment industry.”
ZEE5 India business head expansion projects and head of products Rajneel Kumar added, “Technology plays a very important role across all material changes we’re witnessing in the media and entertainment space. Consumers are now multi-device, multi-platform users and in order to know where their right audience is, brands must track them closely and accurately in order to understand where they spend their time and why. The more attuned we are to understanding these technological shifts, the better prepared we will be to entertain our consumers and make their content viewing experience superlative.”
Moderated by SheThePeople founder Shaili Chopra, ZEE5’s Contech.ED 2020 #BingeNomics kicked off in October 2020 and airs a new episode every Saturday. The first three episodes delved into the disruptors that are currently shaping the digital entertainment landscape, storytelling in digital content, and how innovations are changing the way we look at the rise of digital. The next four talk about the future of advertising in the digital age, who the new digital video consumer is, regional markets driving digital growth, and if and how digital media is poised to overtake traditional media.In the final episode,experts will discuss the nuances of ensuring a brand safe environment on digital media.
iWorld
Tips Music CEO Hari Nair to step down
Girish Taurani and Sushant Dalmia to jointly steer the company as the hunt for a new chief begins
MUMBAI: A leadership shuffle is under way at Tips Music. Hari Nair, the company’s chief executive, will step down on April 30 as the music label begins the search for a successor.
The company said Girish Taurani, executive director, and Sushant Dalmia, chief financial officer, will jointly oversee operations during the transition while the board identifies a permanent replacement.
Nair joined Tips Music in 2023 and set about reshaping the veteran music label into a more digital, data-led enterprise. During his tenure, the company secured licensing and partnership deals with global platforms including Sony Music Publishing and TikTok, while renewing agreements with Warner Music Group.
Drawing on earlier experience in technology and entertainment, including a stint at ByteDance, Nair pushed the organisation towards a performance-driven culture. He built a brand partnerships division and introduced proprietary software systems aimed at strengthening digital distribution and data capabilities.
Kumar Taurani, chairman and managing director, credited Nair with embedding a data-led culture within the company and driving revenue growth in line with shareholder commitments.
In his resignation note, Nair said that after helping transition the label into a modern, digitally focused and process-driven organisation, the time had come to pursue his next leadership challenge.
The leadership change comes as the broader Tips Films group shows signs of financial stabilisation. In the third quarter of FY26 the company reported a net loss of Rs 2.86 crore, narrowing sharply from Rs 14.2 crore in the previous quarter. For the nine months ended December, losses stood at Rs 12.37 crore.
Yet revenue told a more volatile story. Income from operations slid to Rs 4 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 56 crore in the preceding quarter, taking total operating income to Rs 4.56 crore.
For a company built on a catalogue of more than 34,000 tracks and decades of Bollywood hits, the next chief will inherit both a digital engine and a volatile music market. The playlist may be familiar, but the next act at Tips Music is only just beginning.
