Film Production
Ekta ties up with Lemon Advisors for Alt Balaji global launch
MUMBAI: Ekta Kapoor’s Alt Balaji, which is gearing up for launch in early 2017, has announced a strategic partnership with Lemon Advisors, a Singapore based technology consulting firm. With this tie-up, the tech company will assist and strengthen business development activities in key global markets with significant Indian diaspora and demand for Indian content.
“We are delighted to have Lemon Advisors on board. Their impressive network spanning across 30 countries worldwide will certainly help us in reaching out to the global audience. Technology will play a huge role in shaping the growth trajectory of digital entertainment industry in India and globally, and as we make our foray into the domain with disruptive content, we are proud to have an established technology and business development partner,” said Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sameer Nair.
Lemon Advisors will help Alt Balaji forge alliances with distribution partners like telecom operators, internet service providers and OEMs. They will also assist in exploring brand alliance opportunities with major international brands along with planning& executing marketing and on ground activities. In addition to this, they will also be a representative entity for Alt Balaji at various trade shows & exhibitions.
“Balaji is a name that every Indian content consumer worldwide is extremely familiar with. It’s a privilege for us to partner with Balaji as they embark on their digital journey in the form of Alt Balaji. We are happy that we will have a chance to contribute to the overall success of their endeavour”, added Lemon Advisors founder and chairman SubhashR. Ghosh.
Film Production
Disney to cut 1,000 jobs under new chief executive
The entertainment giant’s freshly installed boss inherits a restructuring already in motion, with marketing and corporate roles bearing the brunt
CALIFORNIA: Walt Disney is preparing to slash up to 1,000 jobs in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, as the entertainment giant’s freshly installed chief executive moves swiftly to trim fat and tighten the ship.
The cuts, less than 1 per cent of Disney’s global workforce of 231,000, will fall hardest on marketing and corporate roles. The planning, notably, began before D’Amaro formally took the top job in March, suggesting the new boss inherited a restructuring already in motion rather than one of his own making.
Driving the push is Asad Ayaz, Disney’s newly appointed chief marketing officer, who in January assumed command of a unified, company-wide marketing operation spanning film, television and streaming. His consolidation drive has been given a suitably cinematic internal name: Project Imagine.
The move is modest by Disney’s recent standards. Between 2023 and 2025, under former chief executive Bob Iger, the company eliminated roughly 8,000 positions across several brutal rounds of cuts, saving $7.5 billion, comfortably exceeding its own targets. As recently as June 2025, several hundred more jobs were axed across Disney Entertainment, hitting film and television marketing, publicity, casting, development and corporate finance.
Disney’s structural headaches are well-documented: shrinking streaming margins, a weakened box office, and fierce competition from Amazon and YouTube gnawing at its flanks. The company is merging its Disney+ and Hulu teams into a single app, has brought in consultants from Bain & Co to guide its broader cost strategy, and is betting heavily on digital growth.
The wider entertainment industry offers little comfort. Sony Pictures, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have all taken the knife to their workforces in recent years, and further cuts loom if Paramount’s acquisition of Warner goes through.
For D’Amaro, the message is clear: there will be no honeymoon period. The magic kingdom still has some cost-cutting spells left to cast.
