MAM
O&M Mumbai bags creative duties of two DirecTV packages for South Asians in US
MUMBAI: Ogilvy & Mather, which has long managed the creative duties of most of the Star India channels, is taking some of that expertise to the US.
O&M Mumbai has been mandated to handle the creatives of the News Corp-owned DirecTV platform’s HindiDirect and CricketTicket packages, which essentially cater to the large ethnic South Asian community in the US. The online promotions will be handled by OgilvyOne and the mandate includes both online media and creative duties. OgilvyOne will handle creative and WPP owned Group M’s mOne will handle online media buying and planning. (In the US, BBDO New York is the creative agency for DirecTV.)
An ad brandishing the Star channels on DirecTV featured on Rediff
HindiDirect features Star One, Star Plus and Star News and the CricketTicket package, which is a part of the DirecTV WorldDirect service, will have 180 days of live international cricket from around the world. DirectTV has exclusive rights to some of the tours that involve countries like Australia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa and England.
The CricketTicket proposition featured on www.timesofindia.com
The other Indian channels that are available on DirecTV are Star Vijay, Aastha Channel, ETV Gujarati, ETV Bangla and ETV Telugu. DirecTV’s biggest rival in the US is EchoStar, which beams the various Zee channels and Sony.
O&M Mumbai’s directive is to provide communication on two parallel platforms: (i) Hardcore information on various packages that DirecTV has to offer, and (ii) Driving the packaging through the content provided by the various channels. A mass media and online campaign for the same has recently been rolled out in the US.
Speaking exclusively to Indiantelevision.com from the US, DirecTV senior manager international programming Anu Babber says, “We are looking at tapping the South Asian community in the US in a big way and we felt that since O&M Mumbai handles some of the Star Group channels in India, they would be most suitable as our agency as they understand the brand and the Indian consumer very well.”
Babber further said that the initial promotions have already been rolled out in various media such as the print, outdoor, radio and Internet. Television too would be looked at, but at a later stage.
Commenting on the “account win”, O&M Mumbai business director Meenakshi Bhalla says, “We were approached by DirecTV because they felt that we would be rightly suited as we work on the entertainment category in India. Also, as we handle Star Plus in India we understand the brand well.”
OgilvyOne vice president and chief technology officer Prasanth Mohanachandran elaborates, “Our task is twofold — firstly, to convince people to shift to DTH from cable and secondly, to convince people to shift from existing DTH platforms to DirecTV.”
He further added, “OgilvyOne has invested in research around the NRI (non resident Indian) and his/her online habits to help address the need to market to this base. It’s our strong belief that Indian agencies are best placed to understand and market to this base and Ogilvy, India serves this need. Also interesting is that the media mix, for marketing to the NRI, has always had a leaning towards the online media primarily because of the targetting offered, the lower costs and the high return on media investment.”
With this move, DirecTV plans to strengthen the Star brand in the US, where people still look at Zee TV as the number one channel. The initial campaigns will be programme specific, which kick-started with the launch of Miilee. Consequently, new shows launched on the channels will also be promoted.
DirecTV was launched in 1994 and was the first entertainment service in the US to deliver all digital-quality, multi-channel TV programming to an 18-inch satellite dish. It provides over 225 channels and delivers local television stations reaching more than 93 per cent of US television households. DirecTV is a unit of Hughes Electronics. Rupert Murdoch’s Fox has a 34 per cent stake in the company.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI:Â Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
