iWorld
CCI approves Jio Cinema OTT and Viacom 18 Media merger
Mumbai: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the proposed merger of Jio Cinema OTT and Viacom18 Media on Monday.
Following an investment by BTS Investment and Reliance Projects & Property Management Services, the CCI announced in a tweet on Monday that it had approved the merger of the Jio Cinema OTT platform with Viacom18 Media.
Commission approves amalgamation of the Jio Cinema OTT platform with Viacom 18 Media, following an investment by BTS Investment and Reliance Projects & Property Management Services pic.twitter.com/CWIXEJXx1t
— CCI (@CCI_India) September 19, 2022
In April, Reliance Industries (RIL) and Viacom18 announced a strategic partnership with Bodhi Tree Systems. According to an agreement signed, Bodhi Tree was obliged to invest Rs 13,500 crore in Viacom18, and Reliance Projects & Property Management Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIL, was informed to invest Rs 1,645 crore in the broadcaster, forming one of India’s largest TV and digital streaming firms. As a result, Reliance’s popular Jio Cinema OTT app was transferred to Viacom18.
Bodhi Tree Systems (BTS) is a joint venture between James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems and the former chairman of Star India and Disney India Uday Shankar.
IT support services are provided by Reliance Projects & Property Management Services. Through its portfolio of channels and streaming service Voot, Viacom18 Media engages in the business of offering media and entertainment services.
Deals that exceed a specific threshold require regulator permission, which keeps an eye on unethical commercial practices in the market.
iWorld
WPP Opendoor and Snapchat launch AI Lens for Prime Video India
Generative AI Lens personalises content discovery with real-time user integration.
MUMBAI: In the age of main characters, Prime Video is handing users the script and the spotlight. WPP Opendoor, WPP’s dedicated Amazon unit, has teamed up with Snapchat to roll out an India-first generative AI-powered Lens for Prime Video’s latest campaign, ‘Stories for Your Every Era… it’s on Amazon Prime’. The activation taps into the rising “era-core” trend, where identities shift with moods, moments and mindsets and content is expected to keep up.
The Lens does exactly that. Using generative AI, it places users directly into the worlds of popular Prime Video titles such as Maxton Hall, Beast Games, The Boys and The Traitors, embedding their faces into key visuals in real time. The result is less browsing, more becoming.
The idea is rooted in a behavioural shift: audiences increasingly see themselves as the centre of their own narratives, especially on social platforms. By turning viewers into participants, the campaign blurs the line between content discovery and content experience.
It also introduces a layer of personalisation that goes beyond algorithms. Whether someone identifies with a “trust no-one era” or an “infinite aura era”, the Lens curates recommendations that align with that evolving identity making discovery feel intuitive rather than instructed.
This marks a shift in how streaming platforms approach engagement. Instead of pushing titles, the focus is on pulling users into the story itself transforming passive scrolling into interactive storytelling.
The collaboration also underscores how platforms like Snapchat are becoming key playgrounds for content marketing, particularly when paired with emerging technologies like generative AI. The format is native, immersive and built for participation three things traditional discovery often struggles to deliver.
In a crowded streaming landscape, where attention is the real currency, Prime Video’s bet is clear, if viewers feel like the story is about them, they are far more likely to press play.
