Brands
Syfy and LG team up to deliver interactive TV experience
MUMBAI: Syfy and LG Electronics USA have launched a new interactive TV consumer experience. The new Syfy Sync for LG Smart TV app allows viewers to go inside their favorite Syfy shows in a whole new way by recognizing the episode viewers are watching and delivering contextual content to their LG Smart TV in real time.
Syfy Sync for LG Smart TV launched with the Season 3 premiere of Defiance on 12 June on Syfy. Viewers with LG Smart TVs can get behind-the-scenes trivia, participate in interactive polls and learn more about the backstory of the series. The Syfy Sync app responds to what viewers are watching and delivers a whole new level of interaction while they are actively watching their favorite Syfy shows on their LG Smart TV.
The Syfy Sync app for Defiance is available exclusively on LG Smart TVs, delivering an engaging new dimension to home entertainment with fun, interactive features paired with leading LG TV display technology.
The interactive feature will be available on Automatic Content Recognition (ACR)-enabled LG TVs with Netcast since 2012, and will be available soon on LG Smart TVs featuring LG’s award-winning webOS Smart TV platform. LG webOS makes the Smart TV experience fast and simple with an intuitive interface that enables users to spend more time enjoying their home entertainment experience, and less time finding and switching between content options.
“From its inception, Syfy Sync has always been seen as a multiplatform play and we’re thrilled to be partnering with LG to bring the experience it to a new platform with season 3 of Defiance. The LG Smart TV platform provides an incredible user experience along with an incredible TV picture quality for Syfy’s devoted fans to go even deeper into our programming,” said Syfy vice president of digital media and strategy Matthew Chiavelli.
LG Electronics USA vice president of marketing David VanderWaal added, “Interactive TV with Syfy’s Defiance delivers a new, engaging TV experience, leveraging the power and simplicity of LG’s webOS Smart TV platform along with our incredible picture quality. Syfy and NBC Universal have been pioneers in real-time interactive TV for second-screen viewing, and LG is enthusiastic to work with them to bring this integrated experience to the big screen.”
Syfy engaged Watchwith to power the in-program interactive engagement that appears as a subtle broadcast graphic-style overlay in the upper left portion of the screen. Watchwith’s unique in-program interactive audience engagement platform delivers an award-winning Syfy Sync experience right to the living room screen.
LG’s recognition and interactive platform is powered by Cognitive Networks, the leading provider of ACR services on Smart TVs. Cognitive’s system allows Smart TVs to become contextually aware, enabling the launch of intelligently synchronized HTML5 web applications and the real-time seamless connection of live or time-shifted over-the-air programming with services delivered via broadband.
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
