MAM
Goafest Creative Abby judging begins in full earnest
MUMBAI: The Goafest Creative Abby judging began in full swing at Mumbai with juries being appointed in different verticals. The Jury chairs were released by the Goafest Creative Abby Award Governing Council.
Taproot’s Santosh Padhi will be chairing the Abby Print and Print Craft Jury this year. Publicis’ Bobby Pawar returns after a gap of five years to head the Abby Film Jury. Contract India’s Ashish Chakravarty is Jury Chair of Radio and Radio Craft Abby, while ideasatwork’s Prashant Godbole is heading the Out of Home (OOH) and Ambient Abby Jury. Scarecrow’s Manish Bhatt is heading the Integrated Abby Jury.
Chairing the Creative Abby Direct Jury this year is Pi Communication’s Rakhshin Patel. KA Advertising and Design’s Prashant Kanyalkar is the Jury Chair in Design Vertical of Creative Abby. Hungama’s Carlton D’Silva is the Jury Chair for Digital Abby, while White Light Moving Picture’s Namita Roy Ghose is heading the Film Craft Abby Jury.
DDB Mudra’s Aneil Deepak is the Jury chair in brand activation and promotion Abby Jury. Big Synergy’s Anita Kaul Basu is Jury chair in branded content Abby, whereas Madison PR’s Paresh Chaudhry headed the Public Relations Abby Jury. On the other hand, Network 18’s Avinash Kaul led the Broadcasters Abby Jury, while Sakal’s Shailesh Amonkar is Jury chair of Publishers Abby.
Ad Club president Pratap Bose said, “Our heartfelt thanks to the Jury members who gave their time and passion debating the selection of winners.”
Abby Awards Governing Council member in charge of Jury appointments and judging Ajay Chandwani added, “We are very fortunate to have the time and cooperation of very high powered juries in each of the verticals. Many of our jury chairs and judges have been judging at major international festivals over the years. An award derives its prestige from the standards set by juries and Abby has indeed retained its leading status in India.”
MAM
Microdrama Specialist COL Group International Builds Out With Narativ, Rock Networks & BlingWood Deals
MUMBAI: Microdrama powerhouse COL Group International is building out its distribution network, with its CEO saying vertical video is about to enter its “next competitive chapter.”
The microdrama arm of publicly-listed Chinese company COL Group appointed Narativ Media as its official distributor in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and CIS regions and Africa, and a struck new content deal with a new Dubai-based microdrama platform.
The deals were unveiled this morning at MIP London, and also included Rock Networks as its exclusive Southeast Asia telco distribution partner for its app, FlareFlow. MIP London is now into its second day at the Savoy Hotel and adjoining IET London complex.
The deals come soon after COL appointed Harbour Rights to represent its titles in Europe and Latin America, as we reported yesterday in our extended feature on microdrama distribution.
COL’s Singapore-based microdrama unit says its “coordinated global distribution architecture and significantly expanded international content slate” would help to scale its catalogue to more than 1,700 microdrama titles worldwide. These hail from South Korea, Japan, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the UK and roll out across Sereal+, FlareFlow and 17K.
A deal with Dubai-based BlingWood, which recently launched as an OTT platform, will expand COL’s access to Middle Eastern and Indian microdramas, and includes a broader pipeline of Indian series from storytelling platform Pratilipi, Korean titles from BeLive Studios and British reality-led formats from Tattle TV — the UK’s first dedicated microdrama app, including titles such as Dog Dates.
“Microdrama is entering its next competitive chapter, where quality, retention and monetization standards are increasingly shaped by data and operational discipline,” said Timothy Oh, General Manager of COL Group International.
“As pioneers in both China and the U.S., scaling some of the world’s leading platforms in this space, we understand what it truly takes to win sustainably. Our role is not simply to offer catalogue volume, but to help partners select, position and scale the right content for their platform and audience. By bringing together a broad, constantly refreshed slate from across regions, we enable smarter curation, clearer differentiation and long-term growth for serious industry players.”
Narativ deal
COL and UAE-based Narativ described their deal as a “strategic expansion of premium vertical content distribution across high-growth emerging markets,” and comes as the microdrama continues to boom financially. The growth of the medium will be among the key topics of conversation today at MIP London, where COL chief Oh will be speaking.
The pact extends beyond content representation and is being billed as part of a more “structured micro-drama distribution infrastructure.”
Narativ will spearhead market development, platform alliances, broadcaster relationships and digital monetization frameworks across the MENA and CIS regions and Africa, where they have identified “rapid mobile-first consumption growth and strong demand for short-form, high-engagement storytelling formats.”
“Micro-dramas are reshaping global viewing habits, particularly across mobile-first markets like MENA, Africa and CIS,” said Manjyot Sandhu, CEO and co-founder of Narativ. “Our appointment as official distributor for COL Group in these territories reflects Narativ’s strategy to build sustainable distribution architecture.
“A key pillar of the collaboration includes integration with FlareFlow, enabling strategic telco partnerships, bundled carrier offerings, and alternative monetization pathways designed to accelerate scale across mobile ecosystems and OTT platforms.”
Oh added: “We are building more than a content slate – we are building the global infrastructure for microdrama. With hundreds of new titles launching every quarter, scale and regional strength are critical. Narativ with its deep foothold in MENA, Africa CIS and other key markets makes them a natural strategic partner as we expand FlareFlow and bring microdrama to new platforms, telcos and audiences.
Narativ, which is joint venture Sandhu operates with Copyright Capital, manages around 7,000 hours of content and has a digital network spanning 150 million subscribers across 21 language.
COL Group has emerged as one of the biggest microdrama platforms, running platforms such as FlareFow. It is also a part-owner of ReelShort.
