MAM
Industry veteran Varun Kohli takes over as Sporty Solutionz CEO
Mumbai: In a significant move in the sports marketing industry, Varun Kohli has joined sports marketing and media rights company Sporty Solutionz as its new chief executive officer. Kohli will take charge of all SSPL Group of companies including Sports Media Unit InsideSport.
Kohli has a very distinguished media career in leadership positions for the last 27 years in leading media organisations. Before joining Sporty Solutionz Pvt Ltd (SSPL), he was the CEO of ITV Network for eight long years.
Previously, he worked with Network 18, Bennett and Colman Ltd, HT Media Ltd, Amar Ujala Prakashan and other top media houses in senior leadership roles.
With professional experience spanning over 27 years, Kohli is a seasoned sales specialist and is credited with creating sustainable business development and management strategies.
“The demand for watching top−class sports events on both air and ground is increasingly growing in India and as a company, we are committed to fulfilling the desires of millions of discerning sports fans,” commented SSPL director Ashish Chadha. “Kohli brings a wealth of experience behind him in the media, marketing and advertising industry and has led various organizations to success. We welcome him on board and hope it will be a great mutual association and he will take the company to new heights.”
Delighted with this new responsibility, Kohli said, “Sporty Solutionz has emerged as one of the leading sports content creators and monetiser in the region. SSPL is planning to integrate all its business interests. The company has envisaged some big growth plans and I will channelise those to realities.”
MAM
Reed Hastings to exit Netflix board as company posts steady growth
Shares dip 8 per cent as cofounder exits; revenue up 16 per cent to $12.25 billion.
MUMBAI- When the man who taught the world to binge decides to log off, the credits don’t just roll, they reset the script. Reed Hastings is set to step away from Netflix, marking the end of a defining chapter for a company that reshaped global entertainment even as its latest numbers suggest a business finding firmer footing.
Hastings, who co-founded Netflix nearly three decades ago and transformed it from a DVD-by-mail service into a streaming powerhouse, will not stand for re-election at the company’s annual meeting in June. While the company offered little detail on his next move beyond philanthropy and personal pursuits, the symbolic weight of his departure was immediate. Shares fell around 8 per cent following the announcement, underlining how closely Hastings remains tied to investor confidence and the company’s long-term vision.
The exit comes at a moment of recalibration. Netflix has been working to stabilise growth after a period of strategic turbulence, including the loss of a high-profile $72 billion deal involving Warner Bros. Discovery to Paramount Skydance, a setback that raised fresh questions about its ambitions in large-scale content consolidation. Yet, if the deal slipped, the fundamentals appear to be holding.
For the first quarter, Netflix reported revenue growth of 16 per cent to $12.25 billion, slightly ahead of expectations, while earnings per share nearly doubled to $1.23 from 66 cents a year ago. The company reaffirmed its full-year outlook, projecting double-digit revenue growth, expanding margins and strong free cash flow signals aimed squarely at calming post-announcement jitters.
In its shareholder communication, Netflix struck a careful balance between legacy and continuity. Its mission, it reiterated, remains unchanged: to serve a global audience with diverse storytelling across languages and cultures. The message was clear—while a founder may exit, the playbook stays in motion.
At the same time, the company is quietly redrawing that playbook. Netflix is leaning into newer formats such as video podcasts and live programming, including events like the World Baseball Classic in Japan, reflecting a broader industry shift where streaming, television and live experiences increasingly overlap. Advertising, once an afterthought in its subscription-first model, is now moving centre stage, with the company projecting ad revenues of $3 billion in 2026 roughly double current levels.
Still, some questions linger in the wings. Chief among them is how Netflix plans to deploy the $2.8 billion termination fee from the collapsed Warner Bros deal. With competition for premium content intensifying, capital allocation decisions in the coming quarters could prove as consequential as the leadership transition itself.
For now, Netflix finds itself in a familiar paradox: a company built on disruption navigating continuity. Hastings may be stepping off the stage, but the show by design goes on.
