MAM
MobiTV in US & UK hires Hallahan to drive video ad platform
MUMBAI: MobiTV which provides television and digital radio services for mobile devices in the US and UK has announced the hire of ad executive Jack Hallahan as VP, advertising and brand partnerships.
As part of the executive team, Hallahan is charged with creating an exciting and interactive advertising experience for MobiTV’s customers and forward thinking brands.
Hallahan brings over 20 years of advertising and marketing expertise to MobiTV, including a combination of both traditional and new media
experience in advertising, integrated marketing, and creating online brands. Prior to joining MobiTV, Hallahan served as Wirestone MD where he drove advertising strategies for Apple Computer and Tivo.
Hallahan said, “MobiTV’s mobile television service provides advertisers with an incredibly powerful new medium that’s capable of reaching hundreds of thousands of consumers today and many more in the near future. I look forward to working with companies to develop interesting ways to showcase their brands, entertain consumers and build brand loyalty in the mobile environment.”
MobiTV chief marketing officer Dave Whetstone says, “Mobile advertising is in its infancy and just as MobiTV pioneered live television on mobile phones, we will be bringing compelling and entertaining forms of advertising to mobile consumers. Jack will be instrumental in our success as we help redefine traditional advertising with this exciting new medium for connecting with consumers.”
Brands
Reserve Bank of India cancels Paytm Payments Bank licence
Central bank cites compliance failures; curbs tighten as wind-up looms
MUMBAI: India’s banking watchdog delivered its sharpest blow yet to Paytm Payments Bank, cancelling its licence and effectively ending its ability to operate as a bank under the law.
The Reserve Bank of India said the entity can no longer conduct banking business under the Banking Regulation Act, citing concerns that its affairs were not being run in the interest of depositors or the public and that it had failed to meet licence conditions.
The move escalates a crackdown that has been building for months. The bank had already been barred from onboarding new customers since March 11, 2022, and later faced restrictions on deposits, credit and wallet top-ups. In January 2024, the central bank ordered it to stop accepting fresh deposits, pointing to persistent non-compliance, including lapses in customer due diligence, use of funds and technology systems.
Operationally, the bank is now on a tight leash. It may process withdrawals of existing deposits and facilitate loan referrals through banking correspondents, but it cannot take fresh deposits.
The central bank said it would apply to the high court to wind up the bank.
Paytm sought to ringfence the fallout. In a regulatory filing, it said the licence cancellation applies to Paytm Payments Bank Limited, a separate entity, and should not be attributed to One 97 Communications. It added that there is no exposure or material business arrangement with the bank and that it operates independently, without Paytm’s board or management involvement.
“As informed earlier, Paytm (One 97 Communications Limited) and its services, which have been operating without interruption, will continue to operate uninterrupted. These include the Paytm app, Paytm UPI, Paytm Gold and all other services offered by its subsidiaries and associated companies,” the company said.
The distinction may reassure users of the app ecosystem, but the regulator’s verdict is unequivocal. After years of warnings, caps and curbs, the payments bank experiment at Paytm is being shut down—decisively, and with little room left to manoeuvre.
