Digital Agencies
Tribune Digital Ventures buys out What’s-ON
MUMBAI: Atul Phadnis’ What’s-ON, a television search and electronic programme guide (EPG) data provider for India and the Middle East, has been acquired by Tribune Digital Ventures, a technology and innovation arm of Tribune Company.
The move expands Tribune’s TV listings and video metadata footprint to more than 50 countries in 30 plus languages, reaching more than 600 million pay TV subscribers.
What’s-ON provides EPG data and TV search products for 16 countries, including India, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, Indonesia, Kenya and Sri Lanka. Today, What’s-ON delivers data for more than 1,600 TV channels and helps power more than 50 million set-top boxes through the region’s top cable and IPTV services. What’s-ON customers include some of the biggest TV networks, service providers and consumer electronics manufacturers, such as Star TV, Discovery Networks, Hathway Cable, Qatar Telecom, Samsung and Sony.
Earlier this year, Tribune had acquired music and video technology and metadata leader Gracenote. The company’s sizable presence in EPG data in Europe, combined with Tribune Media Services’ (TMS) presence in North America, immediately positioned Tribune as a leading provider of TV data, as well as music, around the globe. The addition of What’s-ON further extends this reach and strengthens Tribune’s position internationally.
“The acquisition of What’s-ON fits with our broad strategy of diversifying revenue and scaling our metadata business to meet increasing client demand,” said Tribune Company CEO Peter Liguori.
“The strategic investments we made over the last year expand Tribune’s presence internationally and enable us to offer a trusted solution to cable, Internet and consumer electronics clients globally. I’m pleased that with What’s-ON we will have a new presence in markets with significant opportunity and What’s-ON’s founder and CEO Atul Phadnis and his team will work together with Rich Cusick and Tribune’s existing TV metadata team to grow this area of our business,” he added.
India is the world’s third largest TV market, after the US and China, with an estimated 175 million homes and a growing base of digital cable subscribers, according to ABI Research. The expansion of digital TV in Asia, featuring popular shows and movies, will enable Tribune to develop new technologies and services on top of its entertainment data that fuel discovery and recommendations on cable, satellite and over-the-top services.
“We felt it was important to find a company that shares our vision for the business and understands the growth potential for TV data and services in Asia. And we believe we have found that with the Tribune team. Tribune’s portfolio of entertainment technology and metadata will provide us a solid foundation to grow the business and expand our services throughout the region,” said Phadnis.
“Electronic program guides remain the primary vehicle for the discovery of TV shows and movies around the world,” said Rich Cusick, who oversees the TV metadata business for Tribune. “While data remains the foundation of what we do, our evolution will be centered on data-driven services and features to help define new TV platforms and experiences for viewers around the world,” he added.
What’s-ON will continue to operate out of its headquarters in Mumbai. Its leadership team, including Atul Phadnis, will remain with the company. Tribune’s Asian subsidiaries, including Tribune Digital Ventures Singapore, are purchasing all of the shares of What’s-ON for $27 million subject to standard adjustments.
Edelweiss Capital served as the Investment Bank for What’s-ON.
BENGALURU: For years, creative teams have learned to live with ambiguity. Vague comments, last-minute changes, feedback that arrives without context, clarity, or conviction. It became part of the job – something teams worked around rather than getting it solved.
But as we head into 2026, that tolerance is wearing thin.
Creative work today moves faster, scales wider, and involves more stakeholders than before. Teams are producing more content across more formats, often with distributed collaborators and tighter timelines. In this environment, guesswork is no longer a harmless inconvenience. It’s a cost – to time, to budgets, and to creative mindspace.
The real problem isn’t feedback, it’s how it’s given
Most creative professionals you see today will tell you they’re not against feedback. In fact, they rely on it. Good feedback sharpens ideas, strengthens execution, and pushes work forward. The problem is ‘unclear’ feedback. When someone says “this doesn’t feel right” without context, they aren’t just revising – they’re basically decoding. They’re guessing what the problem might be, trying different directions, and burning time in the process. Multiply that by a few stakeholders and a few rounds, and suddenly days disappear.
In 2026, when teams are expected to deliver faster without compromising quality, interpretation is a luxury most can’t afford.
Scale has changed rverything
Creative projects used to be smaller and simpler. A designer, a manager, maybe one client contact. Feedback loops were short, even if they weren’t perfect.
Today, the same project might involve internal marketing teams, agencies, freelancers, brand reviewers, and regional teams. Everyone has a say. Everyone leaves comments. And often, those comments don’t agree. More people reviewing work means alignment matters more than ever. Clear feedback isn’t just about being nice to creative teams, it’s about keeping projects moving when complexity increases.
Guesswork quietly wears teams down
One of the less talked-about impacts of unclear feedback is what it does to people.
When feedback is vague or contradictory, creatives second-guess their decisions. They hesitate. They overwork. They keep extra time buffers “just in case.” Over time, confidence drops. Ownership fades. Work becomes safer, not stronger. Creative energy gets spent on managing uncertainty instead of pushing ideas forward. And in an industry already grappling with burnout, unclear feedback adds unnecessary mental load.
Actionable feedback is a shared skill
Clear feedback doesn’t mean controlling creative decisions or dictating every detail. It means being specific enough that someone knows what to do next.
Actionable feedback answers three basic questions:
What exactly needs attention?
Why does it matter?
What outcome are we aiming for?
This applies whether you’re reviewing a video frame, a design layout, or a copy draft. The clearer the feedback, the fewer follow-ups it creates. In 2026, teams that treat feedback as a skill and not an afterthought, will move faster with less friction.
Tools shape behaviour (whether we admit it or not)
The way feedback is delivered is often dictated by the tools teams use. Comments buried in long email threads, messages split across chat apps, or notes detached from the actual work all contribute to confusion.
When feedback lives outside the work, context often gets lost. When it’s disconnected from versions and timelines, decisions get questioned. When it’s scattered, accountability disappears. More teams are starting to realise that feedback problems aren’t just communication issues, they’re workflow issues. How work moves between people matters just as much as the work itself.
From Opinions To Alignment
One of the biggest shifts happening in creative teams is a move away from purely opinion-driven feedback. Instead of “I like this” or “I don’t,” teams are asking better questions:
● Does this meet the brief?
● Does this solve the problem?
● Does this align with the goal?
This change reduces unnecessary back-and-forth and helps feedback feel less personal and more productive. It also makes decisions easier to explain and defend. As creative work becomes more strategic, feedback has to support that shift.
2026 Is About Fewer Loops, Not Faster Loops
There’s a misconception that speed means moving through feedback cycles faster. In reality, the most creative teams aren’t just accelerating loops, they’re reducing them. Clear, actionable feedback upfront leads to fewer revisions later. Clear approval stages prevent last-minute surprises. Clear decisions stop work from circling endlessly.
In 2026, efficiency won’t come from working harder or longer. It will come from designing workflows that respect creative time and attention.
Ending guesswork is a mindset change
Ultimately, ending creative guesswork isn’t just about better tools or processes. It’s about mindset. It’s about recognising that clarity is an act of respect – for the work, for the people doing it, for the time invested and for the mindspace used. It’s about moving from “figure it out” to “here’s what we’re aiming for.”
Creative teams that embrace this shift will find themselves not only delivering faster, but also enjoying the process more. And in an industry built on imagination, that might be the most valuable outcome of all.
