MAM
MTV India adopts a new ‘Raw’ look
MUMBAI: MTV, the youth brand channel, will go “raw” as it repositions for its Indian viewers from 27 November.
The new philosophy – ‘Stay Raw’ – will be supported by a new logo and packaging that will start promoting across Viacom18 network channels, print, outdoor and Internet.
Changing its earlier gameplan, MTV is also upping its music quotient as the M in MTV gets a boost to play a key role in India‘s rapidly changing marketplace..
Says MTV India channel head Aditya Swamy, “What we have started is not an ad campaign or new tagline. It’s a philosophy. It’s an idea that is based on what young people today believe, expressed in an edgy yet tongue in cheek manner which is trademark MTV. A powerful idea has a limitless canvas and way this has come together is proof of just that.”
In a strategic content shift, MTV is creating four music blocks – MTV BBM (Big Bang Mornings); MTV Music Xprs; MTV Mash Ups; and MTV International.
MTV BBM will play latest Bollywood music in the morning, while the afternoon music block (MTV Music Xprs) will have film music from across the years.
In the evenings, the global MTV phenomenon will hit India. MTV Mash Ups, the unique concept of East meets West, will see VJ Nikhil mashing up the Indian and International tracks from the same genre.
And the channel has decided to get back the global music charts with MTV International, the midnight block.
“The success of pure music channels 9XM and the newly launched Mastiii is, perhaps, forcing the older music channels to relook on their music content. MTV and Channel [V] had taken steps to reduce their music content as they repositioned themselves as youth brand channels. MTV could now be trying to play a fine balance between their reality and music content,” says a media tracker.
Swamy, however, feels that there is a need for youth channel brands to reinvent themselves from time to time to stay ahead of the curve. “Our core TG evolves very fast, and so we have to reinvent ourselves. We are just resonating,” he says.
On the reality content front, MTV is feeling the heat from UTV Bindass that has succeeded with bold homegrown reality shows like Emotional Attyachaar and Dadagiri.
Swamy denies that the move has anything to do with competition in the youth genre. “Today MTV is much bigger than a TV channel. Only 50 per cent of our revenues come from airtime sales,” he says.
For years, music channels in India have struggled to develop subscription and licensing and merchandising as strong revenue streams.
MTV has taken progressive steps to reduce its overarching dependence on advertising revenue. In an interview in mid-2009, the then MTV India head Ashish Patil had told Indiantelevision.com that ad sales accounted for 65 per cent of the overall revenues, of which 5 per cent comes from international clients. “Around 15 per cent comes from affiliates, which is also increasing. 15 per cent comes from Viacom Brand Solutions (client lead stuff, events and advertiser funded programming) like The Fast and The Gorgeorus, Stunt Mania etc. The remaining 5 per cent comes from L&M and movie previews (Ghajini).”
For promoting its new ‘raw‘ look, the channel is going ad free over the weekend for the first time, doing a “roadblock for itself.”
The new look of MTV is designed by UK-based Petrol, while the creatives are done by Bates 141.
The channel is going to promote the change heavily with graphics. It has created a series of 3D channel IDs and over 100 creatives that will communicate its ‘Stay Raw’ philosophy through mass media and digital.
MTV said Friday it is launching the second season of ‘Kurkure Desi Beats Rock On with MTV’ on 27 November at 7 pm and ‘Vodafone MTV Splitsvilla Season 4’ on 3 December at 7 pm.
“The channel has got rock band Indian Ocean and music director and composer Pritam to judge the singing reality show this season,” says Swamy.
MTV recently launched its first ever magazine globally, MTV Noise Factory. It also launched a website mtvplay.in, which captures and shares what’s going on in the minds of young people with marketers and advertisers.
“MTV plans to enter a new growth phase. All its new moves are a step in this direction. The challenge is for it to succeed on the content front as well as on the new brand position it has taken,” says a senior executive from a rival network.
Brands
Wipro hires 7,500 freshers, withholds FY27 hiring outlook
Profit rises to Rs 3,522 crore, Rs 15,000 crore buyback announced.
MUMBAI- Hiring may be on, but visibility is off, Wipro is adding talent even as it pauses the crystal ball. The company hired 7,500 freshers in FY26 but stopped short of offering any hiring outlook for FY27, underscoring the uncertainty gripping the IT services sector as it pivots towards an AI-led operating model.
The disclosure came alongside its fourth-quarter earnings, where management flagged volatile demand conditions and refrained from committing to future workforce expansion. Chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil noted that over 3,000 of the total hires were onboarded in the March quarter alone, signalling continued intake despite a lack of clarity on deployment pipelines.
This divergence active hiring without forward guidance reflects a broader industry pattern where talent acquisition continues even as deal conversions remain uneven and client spending cycles stretch. Wipro expects its IT services revenue for the June quarter to range between a decline of 2 per cent and flat growth sequentially in constant currency terms, reinforcing near-term caution.
Chief executive officer Srini Pallia pointed to artificial intelligence as both a disruptor and an opportunity. He said evolving client priorities are pushing the company towards outcome-driven engagements, with Wipro increasingly focusing on a services-as-software model through its AI Native Business and Platforms unit. The shift marks a structural change from traditional headcount-led growth to AI-enabled delivery frameworks.
The company has already committed over $1 billion to its AI ecosystem, with investors closely watching how these investments translate into revenue. For now, the numbers present a mixed picture. Net profit rose sequentially to Rs 3,522 crore, while revenue grew 3 per cent to Rs 24,236 crore. However, core IT services performance remained under pressure, with full-year revenue declining 0.3 per cent in dollar terms and 1.6 per cent in constant currency.
Large deal bookings offered a counterpoint, rising 45.4 per cent year-on-year to $7.8 billion, highlighting a widening gap between deal wins and actual revenue realisation. On a quarterly basis, IT services revenue slipped 1.2 per cent sequentially, signalling continued softness in execution.
Margins, however, told a more optimistic story. Operating margins expanded to 17.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, up from 14.8 per cent in the previous quarter, reflecting improved cost discipline. That said, the company cautioned that upcoming wage hikes and the ramp-up of large deals could exert pressure going forward.
Attrition stood at 13.8 per cent in the March quarter, indicating stabilisation after periods of elevated churn. Alongside its earnings, Wipro also announced a Rs 15,000 crore share buyback, reinforcing its focus on shareholder returns, with a payout ratio of 88 per cent over the past three years.
Taken together, the numbers capture a company in transition investing in AI, maintaining hiring momentum, but navigating a demand environment where growth is uneven and visibility remains limited.
