MAM
Shweta Mehrotra elevated to vice president at Tute Consult
Mumbai: Tute Consult, an independent communications and PR agency from India, has announced the elevation of Shweta Mehrotra to the position of vice president.
Mehrotra joined Tute Consult in 2020 and has been spearheading strategy and operations at Tute Consult nationally over the last four years. During her tenure, she has played a pivotal role in securing brand partnerships, creating winning integrated communications strategies for diverse industries including technology, luxury, lifestyle, hospitality, beauty and wellness, F&B, corporate, fintech and retail. She has also successfully led and grown the 20+ member strong team of Tute Consult across their Mumbai and Delhi offices and global partnerships.
Mehrotra is a seasoned communications professional with over 22 years of experience spanning across fashion, beauty, FMCG, aviation, technology, real estate, e-commerce, hospitality, F&B, media and entertainment, telecom, and more. Before Tute Consult, she has held key positions at renowned agencies such as Good Relations India, Lintas Live, Avian Media, and MSLGroup where she contributed towards award-winning campaigns. She has also consulted for industry giants like Ogilvy and Davidson PR.
In addition to her industry expertise, Shweta also teaches PR and communications at SCoRe (School of Communication and Reputation) and has previously been associated with EMDI and the University of Madras.
Tute Consult founder Komal Lath shared, “With Shweta’s extensive experience in brand strategy, coupled with her proven track record of building and managing high-performing teams, it was only time that a larger role was carved and crafted for her expertise. We have shared a wonderful journey at Tute over the past years and collectively we create magic!.”
“I am thankful to all my mentors and peers who have played a pivotal role in shaping me into a fine professional. 22 plus years later I can proudly say that I know what effective communication is, with a commitment to learning one new thing every day. Joining Tute Consult was one of the best professional decisions and under Komal’s leadership, we have been able to push the envelope, challenge ourselves and do the unthinkable. It’s been a fulfilling journey, only onward and upward,” said Mehrotra.
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.
