MAM
ASCI bags gold award for mobile app ‘ASCIonline’
MUMBAI: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has bagged the gold award for their Mobile App “ASCIonline” to receive consumer complaints against false advertisement at the Global EASA Best Practice Awards 2016.
The Indian self-regulatory advertising watch-dog was awarded the prestigious prize at Athens on 8 May 2017 for launching the best initiative globally providing “Prompt and efficient complaint handling at no cost to the consumer”.
The Consumer Complaint Mobile App – ASCIonline – was launched in June 2015 to provide easy and convenient access for lodging complaints, increasing ASCI’s reach across India.
With a catchy slogan ‘Snap It and App It’, the App lets consumers’ flag complaints against offensive/misleading/vulgar advertisements. For every complaint, they get real-time auto updates within the App every time the status of the complaint is changed with regard to the progress of the complaint.
Keeping the design and interface clean, uncomplicated, and user-friendly, ASCI has ensured to rightly “M(obile)–Power” consumers providing the utility to voice against misleading advertisements.
This Free App which is available on android and iOS platforms continues to contribute upto 10% in the total number of complaints received even today.
ASCI chairman Srinivasan K. Swamy said, “We are delighted to receive this esteemed honour from EASA for recognizing our efforts towards strengthening ASCI’s role in self-regulation in the country. Continuing with the mission to protect consumers’ interest, ASCI embraced technology to connect with the consumers and curb misleading advertisements. This pathbreaking initiative has spurred expand ASCI’s reach significantly across many smaller cities and towns. The App was also referred to by Government Departments in India and appreciated for the pro-activeness of ASCI. After three successive wins in the past, acquiring another Gold has further provided cognisance for the SRO on an International platform as well.”
ASCI is now a part of the Executive Committee of the International Council on Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS), which unites global Self-Regulatory Organisations (SROs) and international Industry Associations to form a powerful body that will facilitate the establishment of new SROs in emerging markets, help empower them and provide a platform to discuss and work on solutions regarding the global challenges faced for self-regulation in advertising.
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.
