AD Agencies
Aleph drops the donut as it rebrands Mediadonuts across APAC in digital power play
MUMBAI: When global ambition meets local appetite, even digital donuts don’t last long. Aleph, the international digital media giant, has rebranded Mediadonuts—its regional digital ad business across Asia Pacific—under a single name: Aleph. This move marks the final stamp on its 2024 acquisition of Entravision’s digital operations.
As of 16 June 2025, the rebrand is live across India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. While the sprinkles of nostalgia may linger for Mediadonuts loyalists, Aleph is rolling forward with a streamlined identity aimed at deeper integration and regional scale.
The rebrand embeds APAC into Aleph’s global machinery, unlocking new pathways for advertisers and digital platforms. With over 60 exclusive media partnerships, a presence in 150+ markets, and 1,500+ employees, Aleph now serves more than 26,000 advertisers worldwide.
“Becoming one unique brand under Aleph represents a strategic outcome for our partners and clients, reflecting the significant potential that lies ahead under the broader umbrella of Aleph”, said Aleph in APAC MD Pieter-Jan de Kroon.
Aleph plans to use this unification to deepen its grip on the region, offering global clients local insights, publisher access, and tech-powered efficiency tailored to each market.
“By fully consolidating our APAC operations under the Aleph brand, we are achieving a new level of strategic alignment between global digital media platforms and the region’s vast opportunities,” said Aleph Group CEO & founder Gastón Taratuta.
From media and payments to digital education, the rebrand signals Aleph’s ambition to act as a digital bridge between the world’s fastest-growing consumer regions and its most powerful platforms.
AD Agencies
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.
