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A case for disruptive innovations
MUMBAI: Disruptive innovations like the Indian Premier League (IPL) can break through a cluttered market, several experts said.
Kolkata Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore noted that the IPL was about challenging the norm. “Viewership has leapt sixfold and the reach has gone beyond traditional cricket lovers. From a business perspective, it was about creating a platform to reach out to a passionate public. The IPL was packaged to catch the people’s attention,” he said.
Particpating in a panel discussion at The Mindshare Brand Equity Compass, LinkedIn India country manager Hari V Krishnan noted that Linkedin created a disruptive innovation in the talent economy. The traditional ways of employment did not give transparency. “We extract insight from data. We are not just about helping somebody find a job but also helping them become more productive in their jobs,” he elaborated.
Disruptive innovations can be fought by rival companies by moving into another arena to strike. This is what Cirque Du Soleil did in the circus arena. Microsoft joint MD Hemant Sachdev said that innovation is what makes a company tick as it impacts the consumer experience. “Going forward, the Natural User Interface will be important like Xbox. It is a community that is real and experiential. Telecom is another example of disruptive innovation which gives real value not just to businesses but also to consumers.”
Leaders must provide fertile ground for innovations to grow. Companies, in the process, must be more open to failures and take the risk of adopting disruptive trends so that they break patterns. The interesting thing is that while 95 per cent of ideas fail, innovation is still the only way to succeed.
MAM
Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
