MAM
Chennaiyin FC onboards GenX as associate sponsor for the upcoming season
Mumbai: Two-time hero of the Indian Super League (ISL), Chennaiyin Football Club (CFC) announced men’s innerwear and athleisure brand GenX as the club’s associate sponsor for the 2022-23 Indian football season.
This partnership will see GenX utilise various marketing rights in order to engage with the passionate fan base of the club. The brand’s logo will feature on the front of all match and training kits of the Marina Machans below the neck throughout the season.
GenX, an affiliate of Lux Industries, is a range of men’s athleisure and innerwear manufactured by J.M. Hosiery and Company. This is their first association with a major football club.
Chennaiyin FC co-owner Vita Dani said, “GenX is a youth-centric addition to the Lux Industries’ JM Hosiery Group and is a homegrown brand from Tirupur. We at Chennaiyin FC welcome them on board in what is going to be a special season back home at the Marina Arena. We have always enjoyed working with Tamil Nadu-based brands, and look forward to a fruitful association with GenX.”
“We are thrilled to join the Chennaiyan FC family as a sponsor and collaborate with a club that has a legacy of winning the ISL and inspiring individuals,” said Lux Industries director Navin Kumar Todi.
He added, “As GenX is a youth brand catering to men, we believe that this opportunity is ideal to engage with our target audience. GenX, the brand that deals with innerwear, casual wear, and athleisure wear, has been expanding rapidly, and we are optimistic that this association will enable us to expand our consumer base and accelerate growth. Together, we are confident in our ability to excite the Chennaiyin FC fans this season. We look forward to a great season for the club and wish them the best of luck!”
Chennaiyin FC will kick off their campaign for the new season against ATK Mohun Bagan on 10 October, followed by a clash against Bengaluru FC at the Marina Arena on 14 October.
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.
