MAM
Trivago guy Abhinav Kumar joins advisory board of PaisaDukan.com
MUMBAI: Digital marketing strategist and expert Abhinav Kumar, who is also known as the Trivago guy, has joined hands with NBFC-P2P (peer-to-peer) lending marketplace PaisaDukan.com as digital marketing and branding advisor and shall also be on the company’s advisory board.
Commenting on the development, PaisaDukan founder and CMD Rajiv M Ranjan said, “Currently, PaisaDukan.com is growing at a very fast pace, and it is immensely gratifying to have a team of experts to guide us at such a crucial stage. Abhinav will be an asset for us with his vast knowledge and experience in digital marketing. Our aim is to bring digital revolution in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending industry and now with Abhinav alongside we’ll definitely realise this goal. It is our pleasure to have such a credible person on the advisory board of PaisaDukan.com.”
Abhinav Kumar said, “P2P lending has been emerged as an alternate banking option worldwide, in India, the industry is at a nascent stage. The industry needs to create awareness amongst unbanked citizens that will bring revolutionary change for the country’s financial sector. Digital marketing has played a key role in many awareness campaigns due to personalised and budget-friendly approach. I believe awareness campaign will also bring many potential investors on board.”
“I am excited to be associated with this leading peer-to-peer (P2P) lending operator in India. I believe PaisaDukan.com has a lot of potency as a brand. I am now associated to take ahead strategy based digital marketing ahead with my expertise in digital marketing,” added Kumar.
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.
