MAM
Amar Chitra Katha to enter mobile phones
MUMBAI: Mobile marketing is becoming ubiquitous, and it means much more than just sending SMSs to mobile phones. Amar Chitra Katha, the flagship brand of India Book House (IBH), is exploring options to exploit its content through mobile. It is also in the process of extending its distribution through e-commerce.
“Mobile marketing is an exciting medium. We are diving into it as it allows instant access to people wherever they are,” says IBH chief marketing officer Saumitra Srivastava.
The company is in talks with mobile service providers. “Elements like phone wallpaper and comic strip are conducive for carrying brand messaging,” notes Srivastava.
IBH is aiming at a wide range of applications which are now available, such as logos, ring tones, MMS, SMS quizzes and games, and mobile greetings. This will allow extensive interactive possibilities enabling the users to be linked to a quality and branded image, says Srivastava.
On quizzing as to how the publication house would benefit with this new initiative, Srivastava informs that the revenue sharing pattern would be on the basis of per download. Mobile operators, however, will enjoy a major chunk of the revenue.
IBH is also in talks with Bazee.com and Indiatimes.com to create an e-commerce platform for its products.
Currently, IBH possesses approximately 300 titles. Various scenarios can be created which involve the introduction of new products or modification of existing products to determine the effects of these changes on market preferences.
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.
