MAM
Bharat Gupta steps down as CEO of Jagran New Media
MUMBAI: After 25 years with Jagran Prakashan Ltd nd Jagran New Media, Bharat Gupta is stepping down as CEO, swapping boardroom battles for the unknown horrors of “new opportunities.”
“It has been an extraordinary journey,” said Gupta. “Leaving isn’t easy, but I do so with gratitude and optimism.”
Under Gupta’s reign, the company became a digital juggernaut, with him steering the organisation through an era of rapid technological change and shifting media consumption habits. From tackling misinformation to driving audience engagement, his leadership has left an undeniable mark:
* Strengthening Journalism: Launched VishvasNews.com, India’s pioneering fact-checking platform in 12 languages—because someone had to clean up the internet. In an age where facts are as slippery as politicians’ promises, the platform became a beacon of credibility.
* Expanding Reach: Led a multi-language expansion to bring credible journalism to the masses, whether they wanted it or not. Thanks to his initiatives, Jagran New Media now caters to audiences across India, ensuring no one is left out of the loop.
* Innovating Digital Media: Introduced HerZindagi.com, a bilingual, women-centric platform that dared to tell women what they already knew but in a way that algorithms would actually let them see it.
* Forging Alliances: Partnered with Google, Meta, and other overlords of the digital world, ensuring that Jagran New Media remained in the good books of the tech titans who decide what the internet looks like on any given day.
* Driving Growth: Earned global recognition and awards, which are great for press releases but still don’t pay the bills. Despite the industry’s turbulent nature, Jagran New Media remained a key player, balancing business sustainability with quality journalism.
With Gupta leaving, the question arises—who now will take over? For now, COO Gaurav Arora will take the wheel. Jagran New Media, meanwhile, reassures everyone that it will remain laser-focused on digital innovation, journalistic integrity, and convincing people to read beyond the headlines instead of just angrily reacting to them on social media.
Gupta remains deeply invested in the future of digital media—just not from behind the CEO’s desk. “The industry is evolving rapidly. This is a time for reflection and new beginnings,” he said.
MAM
IAS launches Total TV suite to boost transparency in CTV ads
New solution offers programme-level insights across platforms and publishers.
MUMBAI: In the world of streaming, what you see is not always what advertisers get and that’s exactly the problem IAS is looking to fix. Integral Ad Science (IAS) has unveiled ‘IAS Total TV’, a new suite of Connected TV (CTV) solutions aimed at bringing what it calls “linear-like” transparency to the fast-growing streaming ecosystem. In simple terms, it is an attempt to make digital TV advertising a lot less of a black box.
The offering aggregates programme-level data covering genre, ratings, language, shows and specific content from major platforms including Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount and Prime Video, along with opted-in publishers via Publica. All of this is housed within the IAS Signal interface, giving advertisers a unified view of where their ads actually appear.
The timing is hardly accidental. According to Nielsen, as of Q4 2025, 74.2 per cent of all TV viewing in the United States is ad-supported. Of that, streaming alone accounts for 45.6 per cent outpacing traditional television and cementing its position as the largest ad-supported medium. Advertisers have followed suit, funnelling premium budgets into CTV, but often without a clear, standardised view of performance or placement.
That gap is precisely what IAS is targeting. By combining content insights with media quality, supply path data and campaign outcomes, the platform aims to give marketers more control over when, where and alongside what content their ads run. The goal is not just visibility, but accountability ensuring ads land in brand-suitable environments rather than disappearing into opaque inventory pools.
The suite also promises practical gains. Marketers can access real-time, aggregated transparency across shows and platforms, streamline campaign controls across digital video channels, and leverage third-party verification to improve efficiency and pre-bid decision-making. Measurement tools extend to quality reach and incremental conversions, offering a clearer link between spend and outcomes.
At a time when high CPMs and fragmented data make CTV both attractive and complex, the push for transparency is becoming less of a luxury and more of a necessity. IAS’s move reflects a broader industry shift, where the race is no longer just for eyeballs, but for clarity on what those eyeballs are actually watching.
Because in streaming’s premium playground, knowing the content may just matter as much as owning the audience.
