iWorld
Deshpande appointed Network18’s non-exec director
MUMBAI: Eros International Group CEO and MD Jyoti Deshpande has been appointed as non-executive director of Network18 Media & Investments. The appointment was approved by the board of directors of Network18 at a board meeting today.
The board has also noted the resignation of KR Raja from the directorship of the company with effect from 21 March.
Deshpande, who is stepping down from her executive role after more than 17 years, will move on to head the media and entertainment (M&E) business at Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) as president of the chairman’s office.
She will start her role at RIL from April 2018 but will continue to remain as a non-executive director on the board of Eros.
In her new role at RIL, in Deshpande will lead the company’s initiatives M&E to organically build and grow businesses around the content ecosystem such as broadcasting, films, sports, music, digital, gaming, animation as well as integrate RIL’s existing media investments such as Viacom18 and Balaji Telefilms with a view to build, scale and consolidate the fragmented $20 billion Indian M&E sector.
Deshpande has over 25 years of experience in media and entertainment across advertising, media consulting, television and film. She has been part of the leadership team of Eros International Plc since 2001 and as Group CEO & MD, she has spearheaded Eros’s growth as a global leader in Indian filmed entertainment.
Prior to joining Eros in 2001, Deshpande has worked for 7 years in the field of advertising, media consulting and television with companies such as J Walter Thompson India, Mindshare, Zee Television and B4U Television. Ms. Deshpande has a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce and Economics from Mumbai University and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from SPJIMR, Mumbai University.
MUMBAI: Network 18 has announced Jyoti Deshpande as new non-executive director. The media professional with overall more than 25 years of experience in media and entertainment field worked as group CEO and MD of Eros International group earlier.
Network 18’s Board of Directors approved the decision on Wednesday. The resignation of KR Raja from the directorship of the company with effect from 21 March has been noted by the board too.
From next month, Deshpande will take up the responsibility in Reliance Industry Limited. She will lead the company’s initiatives M&E to organically build and grow businesses around the content ecosystem.
Prior to her role in Eros, J Walter Thompson India, Mindshare, Zee Television and B4U Television.
Though stepping down from her executive role after more than 17 years, Deshpande will continue to remain a non-executive director on the board of Eros.
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Eros Digital ropes in former Google exec Ali Hussein as COO
iWorld
WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
