MAM
Henkel moves from Lodestar to Mediaedge:cia
MUMBAI: Henkel India, has moved its media duties from Lodestar to Mediaedge:cia as part of a move to globally align their accounts.
The account size is pegged at between Rs 200-250 million, according to the client. Lodestar has been Henkel’s media agency for the last five years.
Confirming the move to Indiantelevision.com, Henkel India president and managing director Satish Kumar says,”The shift from Lodestar to Mediaedge:cia is primarily due to global alignment.”
Says Mediaedge:cia India managing director Shubha George, “We are delighted to partner with Henkel in India. Mediaedge:cia has a strong realtionship with Henkel in many countries across the world. We are happy to progress this into the Asia Pacific region with India.”
The range of portfolio includes laundry with Henko and Pril and consmetics with the Fa franchise, Margo and the recent launched Schwarzkopf hair colour range .
Globally, the account is handled by Mediaedge:cia, OMD and Carat. Interestingly, four agencies participated in the pitch in India – Lodestar, Media Direction, Optimum Media Solutions (OMS) and Mediaedge:cia. While Lodestar is the incumbent, Media Direction and OMS both have its roots internationally with OMD. So, a question in point here is – Why did Carat not take part in the pitch? Kumar refused comment.
No straight answers here.
Henkel India’s product portfolio includes international brands like Henko, Mr. White, Pril and Fa, besides domestic brands like Margo, Neem Toothpaste, Aramusk, Tuhina and Chek.
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.
