iWorld
Akamai Tech & AVIA partner for Asia Pacific Media Summit
MUMBAI: Where do you get 20 of the brightest minds in the media and gaming industry under one umbrella? Well, come 23 Jun 2021, they will be converging at the second virtual APAC Media Summit, which global cloud technology and security leader, Akamai Technologies, is producing in association with the Asian Video Industry Association (AVIA).
“It’s an event that both Akamai and Industry leaders look up to ever since we started in 2019. We had a phenomenal debut when we kicked it off in Mumbai, and we are happy that the journey did not stop because of the pandemic,” said Akamai India, Solutions engineering lead, Deepa Parikh. “2021 is going to be an interesting year. The pandemic has led to increase in digital adoption and increase in digital transformation, across industry sectors and especially in media. In that context, this APAC summit gains significance because the region has so much in common in terms of the operating environment, learnings and outlook.”
The event will include a keynote conversation around content and monetization strategies and the future of streaming and an overview of the APAC media and gaming industry which has been growing by leaps and bounds. It will also focus on the innovations and tools that could help media houses and esports organizations to secure and protect their content and connect with key players.
Registered users will get a chance to hear the experiences of industry leaders such as Disney+ Hotstar, president & head, Sunil Rayan; Seven West Media, Technology director, Scott Favelle; Rooter, founder and CEO, Piyush Kumar ; Kayo Sports & Binge, CEO, Julian Ogrin; IQyi, head of international business development, Anna Pak Burdin; Viettel Media, CEO, Vo Thanh Hai; Viacom18 Digital Ventures, COO, Gourav Rakshit; Akamai Technologies, vice president sales, and MD APJ, Parimal Pandya; Sky TV New Zealand, head of information and media security, Steve Lang; Akamai Technologies, APAC marketing director, Sheng Thong Hsin; Akamai Technologies, Regional VP sales APJ, Sid Pisharoti; Mobile Premier League, senior vice-president, strategy and operations, Naman Jhawar and Picture Board Partners, founder, Unmish Parthasarathi among many others.
Some of the key issues that are to be discussed during the summit include
• The future of video and its impact on business strategies
• Securing your content and customers – How is the ecosystem adapting together?
• Protecting your video consumption journey – Is your bottom line protected?
• Creating esports experiences during Covid and beyond – What are some of the recent/popular moats in enhancing gaming experiences whilst staying protected?
The Indian media houses have been going through a digital transformation for a long time now and Akamai has been a long-term partner to many of them in India, right from being their technical infrastructure partner to being a trusted advisor helping them accelerate this evolution online and through their digital transformation journey.
Through this event, both Akamai and AVIA hope to highlight how some of the new trends in the video industry will play out over the coming year in the Asia Pacific region and how media organisations can position themselves for greater success in the new normal.
“Over the last year, the pandemic gave another push to help these media houses further this digital transition. It has forced media houses to diversify, to pivot to new revenue streams and to secure their content and data. In addition, Akamai has also enabled Media houses to transition seamlessly to working remotely,” said Parikh adding that a lot of these digital media houses have been innovating their new revenue models and moving towards more subscription-based services and having new products bundled in.
“They are not just relying on ad revenue but exploring other newer formats like podcasts, video reportage, webinars, and Artificial Reality/Virtual reality to enrich their information delivery. Another key trend has been growing vernacular language content consumption both digital print and video largely due to the growing mobile user base,” added Parikh, discussing some of the new trends that have shaped the industry over the last decade.
This digital transformation has also been accompanied by the rapid growth of streaming video services, especially over the last six years. . According to a report by Media Partners Asia (MPA), the Asia Pacific online video industry grew revenue by 14 per cent to reach $30.5 billion in 2020, mainly due to the lockdown which scaled the adoption of online services. Total online video revenues are projected to reach $54.5 billion by 2025.
With the rise in engagement during the pandemic, a lot of new data was generated by publishers, OTT providers, and social media platforms, which faced emerging issues around privacy, content scraping, and large-scale cyberattacks.
“Content lies at the heart of any digital media platform. In today’s digital age, cyber-threats are common and happening in all different forms all across the globe. The most common form of attack on corporate enterprise networks is phishing and the presence of malware. The third layer that needs protection is the End-user data, which can come under threat of credential stuffing attacks and account takeovers. We, at Akamai, feel that digital publishers need to adopt a multi-layered approach and rely on a zero-trust framework to protect themselves from various cybersecurity attacks, ransomware, phishing, advanced persistent threats, identity frauds, web skimming and content encryption to keep them away from content piracy,” added Parikh.
Some of these issues and topics will also take centre stage at the upcoming event. To know more about how these and other challenges can be addressed by Media companies, interested participants can register at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/mediasummitapac/524244/r/indianongamingnc
“The attendees can really benefit from the collective insights of industry veterans, analysts, and thought leaders from across the APAC region. We look forward to hosting the summit this year,” she added.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
