MAM
College Rivals ropes in Acer and Sony to enhance the grand finale experience
Mumbai: College Rivals, Esports talent hunt, has partnered with gaming giants Acer as the co-powered sponsor and Sony as the official gaming headset partner for its highly anticipated grand finale, set to take place on 3 March at Nesco, Mumbai.
College Rivals, the pioneering intellectual property (IP) of Ampverse, Asia’s largest gaming communities, and IPs, in collaboration with DMI Finance, has harnessed the vast talent pool within college campuses nationwide by offering students an innovative platform to display their gaming skills
Being one of the world’s top ICT companies, Acer will elevate the stature of the LAN finale, contributing to its experiential appeal. Meanwhile the association of Sony, the multinational conglomerate brings an immersive gaming experience with their cutting-edge gaming headphones, Sony Inzone, elevating gameplay for all participants.
Sharing his thoughts on onboarding prominent Esports names for the one-of-a-kind finale, Ashwin Haryani, Country Head of Ampverse, India said, “We are delighted to join forces with Acer and Sony, whose shared vision of transforming India’s Esports landscape through College Rivals resonates with ours. College Rivals, as an impactful IP of Ampverse, is committed to establishing a sustainable ecosystem for the nation’s burgeoning gamers. With the backing of these industry leaders, we will be able to deliver an unparalleled experience for not only our finalists but for all attendees.”
TP-Link, the reliably smart global networking provider has joined the grand finale as the official Networking Partner. The brand’s expertise in providing top-notch networking solutions will ensure seamless connectivity and smooth gaming experience for all finalists.
The event boasts an impressive lineup of partners, including, Nostra as the Associate Partner, Jio Games as the Media Partner, Radiocity 91.1 FM as the Radio Partner, and Crepdog Crew as the Streetwear Partner.
This one-of-a-kind experiential event will feature 24 finalists selected from colleges nationwide, competing across five titles including BGMI, Road to Valor, Valorant, Tekken7, and FIFA 23 on three different platforms.
Distinguished Esports personalities including Naman Mathur (Mortal), Payal Dhare (PayalGaming), Tanmay Singh (ScoutOP), and others will grace the event, engaging with attendees.
In addition, prominent Esports organizations like Revenant Esports, Orangutan Esports, and Entity Gaming will be present at the finale, offering fans a chance to interact and learn from the best in the industry.
Adding to the excitement, music artists Seedhe Maut, Muhfaad, and Char Diwari will deliver electrifying live performances.
Attendees will also be able to enjoy arcade gaming zones, a cosplay competition, racing simulators, and various food and beverage options.
Fans can avail their tickets for the grand finale on BookMyShow, the event’s official ticketing partner.
For those who are unable to witness the action live, the grand finale will be streamed live on Youtube, Facebook Gaming, Twitch, Kick, Glance, JioGames, JioTV, Loco, and Rooter.
The production of the College Rivals grand finale will be handled by Gently Altered.
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
