MAM
Auburn Digital Solutions appoints Manish Kumar to bolster its Delhi team
Mumbai: Auburn Digital Solutions, a full-service omnichannel digital agency has announced the appointment of Manish Kumar as AVP – client consulting and strategic initiatives. He will be based in Delhi.
In this role, Kumar will focus on developing and strengthening the agency’s national digital services and helping existing and new clients transform their digital processes and marketing strategies as well as achieving ROI-driven marketing outcomes, said the agency in a statement. “He will focus on digital PR and other strategic and innovative solutions, and the continued development of the company’s approach to an omnichannel digital strategy that cuts across programmatic, paid, social, search and e-commerce,” it added.
“We are delighted to welcome Manish into Auburn. His experience will be instrumental in further strengthening our senior leadership talent pool and is marketing acumen will add to our omnichannel digital strengths,” said Auburn Digital Solutions co-founder Ashish Tripathi
“We are expanding rapidly, and with digital remits becoming even more important in the marketing mix today, Manish is well poised to strengthen our service offerings as we leap into our new phase of growth,” added Auburn Digital Solutions co-founder Harsh Kedia.
Kumar has over two decades of experience in managing large-scale marketing, communications, PR and digital programs for clients like Cairn India, NIIT, ISWAI, and TUI. He joins Auburn Digital Solutions from Eventcombo, a USA-based virtual event and digital technology platform which provides virtual event solutions.
His previous assignments include BG India, Bharti Group and Reliance Energy among others. He has the cross-category experience, and exposure to diverse domains like food and beverages, alcobev, power, IT, education, oil and gas, training and several others.
“I am elated to be part of a team which is at the forefront of the digital confluence of brands, creativity and innovation,” said Manish Kumar. “I look forward to working with brands to explore and co-create the best marketing and brand outcomes.
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.
