MAM
AI superstar Naina launches India’s first AI podcast titled ‘The nAIna Show’
Mumbai: India is set to witness a revolutionary moment in the digital entertainment space with the launch of ‘The nAIna Show’, a unique and groundbreaking series hosted by Naina, India’s first AI superstar. This podcast marks a significant milestone as the country’s first AI-driven podcast series, featuring in-depth and insightful interviews with some of the most celebrated personalities in the entertainment industry.
The guest list includes Sobhita Dhulipala, Sanya Malhotra, Richa Chadha, Saiyami Kher, Esha Deol, Hansika Motwani, Ridhima Pathak, Nargis Fakhri, Kritika Kamra and many more.
Naina, known for her remarkable AI capabilities blended with a uniquely Indian perspective, will engage with celebrities from various fields, including Bollywood, sports, music, etc. This platform offers an unprecedented opportunity for fans to experience their favorite stars through the lens of advanced artificial intelligence.
The podcast series aims to delve deep into the lives, careers, and personal stories of these celebrities, providing listeners with a rare and intimate experience. Naina’s ability to analyse and ask thought-provoking questions promises to bring out the most candid and engaging responses from her guests.
Listeners can expect a blend of insights, emotion, and humor in each episode, making ‘The nAIna Show’, not just an entertainment venture but an enlightening journey into the minds of India’s most influential figures.
The podcast will be available on Naina’s and Pop Diaries’ YouTube channels, ensuring easy access for audiences worldwide. Its interactive format will also allow listeners to submit their questions and comments, creating an engaging experience.
Naina’s foray into podcasting is not just a technological marvel but a cultural phenomenon, showcasing the potential of AI in reshaping media and entertainment. This series is a testament to India’s growing prowess in the field of artificial intelligence and its application in creative industries.
Stay tuned for the first episode of ‘The nAIna Show’, where Naina, the AI superstar, takes the art of conversation to a new level, redefining the way we engage with media and technology. The podcast promises to be a trailblazer in the digital era, seamlessly integrating AI innovation with the rich tapestry of Indian culture and celebrity stories.
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Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
