Brands
Ankkit Gupta transitions to JioStar in brand role from Disney Star India
MUMBAI: JioStar has appointed Ankkit Gupta as a part of the team that oversees brand and marketing strategy for JioHotstar and JioStar platforms.
Gupta has made the transition to Jiostar from Disney Star, where he served as senior manager of brand and marketing strategy for over seven years. During his tenure, he spearheaded several major campaigns, including National Geographic’s ‘One for Change’ sustainability initiative, which reached 50 million viewers across digital platforms. He also led network amplification for IPL 2023 and the release of Avatar 2.
At Disney+ Hotstar, where he previously served as senior manager of commercial and procurement, Gupta was instrumental in the platform’s India launch, securing over 600 titles across Hindi and English content. His media career spans roles at Network18 Media, where he managed key advertiser relationships, and Reliance Broadcast Network, where he developed radio programming strategies.
In his new role, Gupta will oversee brand development and marketing initiatives across JioStar’s expanding digital entertainment portfolio.
Brands
UK’s OnlyFans seeks US investor at $3bn valuation after owner’s death
The adult video platform is seeking stability after the death of its billionaire owner
LONDON: OnlyFans is looking for a new partner. The London-based adult video platform is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake of less than 20 per cent to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, in a deal that would value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).
The move is driven by an urgent need for stability. Leonid Radvinsky, the Ukrainian-American billionaire who owned OnlyFans, died of cancer last month at the age of 43, leaving the future of one of Britain’s most profitable privately held businesses suddenly uncertain.
The choice of Architect Capital is not arbitrary. The firm has deep expertise in financial services, which aligns neatly with OnlyFans’ ambitions to offer banking products to its creators, many of whom have long struggled to access basic financial services because of the nature of their work.
The numbers behind OnlyFans are, by any measure, staggering. The platform posted revenues of $1.4bn in the year to 30th November 2024, with a pre-tax profit of $684m, up four per cent on the prior year. Payments to creators totalled $7.2bn over the same period, a rise of nearly ten per cent. Radvinsky personally collected $701m in dividends from the business in 2024 alone, on top of more than $1bn in such payments he had already received. The platform, run through its parent company Felix International, hosts 4.6m creator accounts, with performers keeping 80 per cent of subscription proceeds and the platform pocketing the remaining 20 per cent. It has 377m fan accounts in total.
The current minority stake talks represent a notable scaling back of ambitions. In January, OnlyFans was reported to be in discussions with Architect about selling a majority stake of 60 per cent. Before that, the company had explored a sale to a consortium led by Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm. Neither deal materialised.
OnlyFans has built an enormously lucrative business on content that mainstream finance has long refused to touch. Now, with its owner gone and a $3bn valuation on the table, it is looking for the kind of respectable institutional backing that might finally persuade the banks to take its calls.
