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Rana Barua joins Contract Advertising as COO
MUMBAI: Rana Barua, the former Chief operating officer (COO) of Law and Kenneth, has joined Contract Advertising India in the same position.
Barua succeeds Umesh Shrikhande, who recently left to pursue other opportunities. He will partner the senior leadership team at Contract to ensure the best value proposition for clients.
JWT South Asia CEO Colvyn Harris said, “Rana has diverse management experience with a proven track record that makes him an ideal choice for Contract, one of India‘s leading independent integrated advertising agencies. I am confident that Rana with his experience across advertising and integrated brand solutions will ensure that Contract continues to be a very successful agency.”
Barua said, “I am excited with the opportunity of being a part of the Contract story. It is a wonderful time for our industry as it continues to evolve so rapidly. Contract is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this and I am confident I will be able to facilitate this process by partnering with the senior management team.”
In his 19 years of experience Barua has served varied roles like COO of RED FM and the head of marketing for Radio City where he successfully repositioned the radio station to make it amongst the top two stations in the country.
He started his career in advertising having worked at HTA (JWT), Ogilvy, McCann and Y&R. His category experience includes working with brands like Renault, eBay, ING Life, Godrej, Reckitt Benckiser, J&J, Gillette Parker, Microsoft, HP, Tata Tea, Zydus Cadila, Levers, Tata AIG & AIA, Marico, Virgin Atlantic, and ITC.
MAM
Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
