MAM
Saatchi & Saatchi Propagate ropes in Deepak Prakash as South Lead
New Delhi: Saatchi & Saatchi Propagate, the digital agency from L & K Saatchi & Saatchi has roped in Deepak Prakash as the South Lead for Saatchi & Saatchi Propagate. He has joined the agency as associate vice president and will be reporting to Sabah Iqbal, senior vice-president, head – Saatchi & Saatchi Propagate.
Prakash’s mandate will be to drive new business growth and creative output while also strategically supporting existing clients to achieve business goals. He will also manage relationships for brands including AbInbev, Practo, Scripbox, Bharti Axa, Wipro, Stovekraft, said the agency on Friday.
Welcoming Prakash to the agency, Sabah Iqbal said: “Deepak has high levels of strategic prowess and an unparalleled enthusiasm. His multi-vertical experience will help identify new innovative solutions for our clients. He is the perfect mix that we were looking for in this next stage of our growth journey.”
Prior to joining Saatchi & Saatchi Propagate, Deepak was with FoxyMoron Media Solutions as account director. He was involved in driving business growth and media activities for multiple brands, and ensuring timely delivery of services and products to clients. Some of the accounts he worked for included AO Smith, Amazon Prime, Fashion & Pantry, InMobi, Ampere Electric Vehicles, Sero, Skore Condoms, Ikea, Mercedes Benz Financial, Betway, Freshworks, Swiggy etc.
Apart from FoxyMoron, he has also had previous professional stints with Digitally Inspired Media – Chennai, DDB Mudra and Ogilvy. He played a central role in managing brands like Saint-Gobain India, Gold Winner oil, Green Trends, Fedora Olive oil, Cardia Life, Zee Tamil, Sun Pictures, Sun Life, Sun Nxt, Vroom, TTK Prestige & Aircel, IBM among others.
Talking about his new role, Prakash said: “An average consumer today is well connected, aware, and evolving faster, and it is a must for all brands to evolve with the consumers in tandem. This gives us an opportunity to be an enabler for brands through smart solutions and to stay relatable at every step of the user journey. Saatchi & Saatchi Propagate has been such an enabler for brands over the years by producing some great work in the digital spectrum and I am happy to be part of this journey.”
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.
