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
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.
