Brands
Banijay acquires global rights to Battleground fitness-reality format
Rusk Media’s digital hit joins global slate as firm bets on sportainment boom
MUMBAI: Banijay Entertainment has acquired the global rights to Battleground, a high-energy fitness-reality format created by Rusk Media, as it sharpens its focus on digital-first and youth-driven content.
The deal marks Banijay’s entry into the fast-growing fitness-entertainment space, blending sport, creator culture and reality storytelling into a format designed for global audiences.
Battleground follows fitness creators competing across three stages, including a signature Fight Club round, as they are divided into teams and pushed through challenges testing strength, endurance, agility and speed. With continuous filming and strategic gameplay led by team mentors, the format leans heavily on drama, alliances and audience engagement to sustain momentum.
The show has already proven its pull in India, clocking over 20 million views and generating 2.5 billion social media impressions in its first season, signalling strong traction among younger viewers.
Banijay Entertainment head of format acquisitions Helen Greatorex said, “Battleground sits at the intersection of creator culture, community fandom and intense sportainment competition. The large-scale athletic battles deliver genuine spectacle, while evolving alliances, rivalries and gameplay bring fresh competitive energy. This is a format with true global potential.”
Rusk Media CEO and co-founder Mayank Yadav added, “Battleground was built as a premium, digital-first format created for scale, consistency and deep audience engagement. Partnering with Banijay Entertainment brings together creative vision and strategic expertise to take the format further globally, while enabling brands to integrate more meaningfully.”
The format now joins Banijay’s expanding third-party portfolio, which includes titles such as Ninja Warrior from Tokyo Broadcasting System, Werewolves from STUDIOCANAL and Dreamspark, All Star Hide and Seek from Troot and Rabbit Films, and musical format 100 co-developed by Park Wonwoo of Diturn Korea alongside Asahi Broadcasting Group Holdings Corporation and Empire of Arkadia. It also includes comedy format You Laugh, You Lose from Yoshimoto.
With Battleground, Banijay is not just adding another format to its catalogue. It is doubling down on a content trend where fitness meets fandom, and where digital-native storytelling is fast becoming prime-time material.
Brands
Vodafone Idea elevates Vineeth Jayendranath as VP, marketing head Mumbai
Telecom marketer takes charge of Mumbai circle with growth and brand focus
MUMBAI: Vodafone Idea Limited has promoted Vineeth Jayendranath to vice president, marketing head for the Mumbai circle, marking a key milestone in his career as the telecom operator sharpens its regional strategy.
In his new role, Jayendranath will lead marketing efforts across prepaid and postpaid segments in one of the country’s most competitive telecom markets. His mandate includes driving revenue growth, strengthening brand positioning, and deepening customer engagement, while also managing profit and loss responsibilities for the circle.
Sharing the update, Vineeth Jayendranath said, “Excited to share, I am starting my new stint as Vice President, Marketing Head for Mumbai circle at Vodafone Idea Ltd. Would like to thank everyone who has supported me in this journey.”
Jayendranath brings over 12 years of experience spanning telecom and IT, with a strong focus on customer value management and data-led marketing. Since joining Vodafone Idea, he has held multiple leadership roles, most recently serving as general manager leading customer value management and prepaid business across Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa.
During this period, he handled large subscriber bases and multi-billion rupee revenue portfolios, while rolling out hyper-personalised campaigns and a “segment of one” strategy to improve customer retention and upgrades. He also championed a digital-first approach, pushing adoption of data services and unlimited plans through targeted, insight-driven initiatives.
Earlier, he worked with Idea Cellular Ltd in strategy and business intelligence roles, and began his career at Infosys as a systems engineer. A brief stint at Hyundai Motor India Ltd during his internship added early exposure to marketing strategy.
An alumnus of SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Jayendranath has steadily built a reputation for combining analytics with marketing execution.
His elevation comes as telecom players double down on circle-level strategies to stay competitive, and Vodafone Idea appears to be betting on data-backed marketing to keep Mumbai firmly in its corner.
