MAM
IMG Worldwide acquires US-based Catalyst Public Relations
MUMBAI: Global sports, fashion and media company IMG Worldwide has announced the acquisition of Catalyst Public Relations, the US based communications firm that specialises in developing consumer-facing integrated marketing programmes focussed on three core platforms — sports, entertainment and active lifestyle.
The company will operate as Catalyst at this moment and will become a part of IMG‘s consulting business, headed by IMG Consulting senior VP, global MD David Abrutynr . Financial details of this strategic transaction are not disclosed.
IMG chairman, CEO Mike Dolan said, “The acquisition of Catalyst is a perfect fit for IMG‘s client-oriented businesses. They have a long history of success in working across all the major US Sports Properties as well as global properties such as the Olympic Games and Fifa World Cup and boast a strong base of corporate clients. Their expertise in Public Relations, Content Development & Digital and Social media services will significantly enhance our ability to fully service the sports and entertainment agency needs of our clients here in the U.S. and in all of our key international markets”.
IMG‘s Sports and Entertainment Group president George Pyne said, “This acquisition is part of an ongoing plan to further expand our portfolio of key marketing services we can provide our Consulting clients around the world. We plan to integrate their capabilities into our global Consulting practice that includes our fast growing PR services in the UK and expand these Communications services into key markets in Europe, Middle East, South America and Asia. They will also be able to work with other IMG Divisions where these types of corporate partner communication services are needed.”
With the acquisition, Catalyst‘s current management team of Bret Werner, Bill Holtz and Ted Fragulis will all join IMG, as will their staff of full-time employees in their New York, Charlotte and Los Angeles offices. Werner will continue in his role as Managing Partner for the business and will report to David Abrutyn. Holtz and Fragulis will continue to work with Werner in managing the business.
Catalyst managing partner Bret Werner said, “We‘ve enjoyed a strong and productive working relationship with IMG for many years. The ability to join IMG Consulting and continue with our current client service model as well as expand our traditional PR and digital expertise globally provides us with the opportunity to evolve and grow well into the future.”
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.
