iWorld
Prime Video expands Chandru Lakshminarayanan’s role
UK: Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios have widened Chandru Lakshminarayanan’s mandate, handing the senior executive a cross-border role spanning business, strategy and international programming as the streaming wars intensify.
Lakshminarayanan steps into the role of head of business and strategy for the UK, Nordics and Benelux, alongside head of international programming, previously focused on APAC. The move signals Amazon’s appetite for tighter strategic control and sharper programming bets across markets.
Lakshminarayanan has been with Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios since 2023, most recently as head of programming strategy for EMEA. In that role, he helped shape content direction and commercial priorities across a diverse and fast-growing region.
Before Amazon, Lakshminarayanan built a career at the intersection of content and commerce. At BT and EE, he oversaw TV and sports businesses, handling content profit and loss, propositions and commercial performance across aggregated services featuring Sky, Netflix and public broadcasters. A prior stint at Sky saw him run propositions for Sky Cinema, Sky Sports and Sky Store, focusing on packaging, pricing and transactional video on demand.
Earlier chapters were rooted in content creation and youth brands. At Viacom’s MTV in India, Lakshminarayanan led programming and content profit and loss, steered music and unscripted shows, and executive-produced formats such as Coke Studio and MTV Unplugged. Roles at BBH, Disney and TAM rounded out a profile that blends data, marketing and creative instincts.
The promotion comes as global streamers juggle slowing subscriber growth, rising content costs and fiercer local competition. Amazon, with its mix of commerce and content, is betting that sharper strategy and bolder programming can keep viewers — and wallets — inside its ecosystem.
In streaming, scale is common and noise is cheap. The advantage goes to those who can turn strategy into hits. Amazon has placed its wager; now comes the box-office test.
iWorld
JioStar revenue hits Rs 9,784 crore as cricket fuels 22 per cent growth
A surge in digital viewership and sports dominance fuels a blockbuster quarter for the media giant
MUMBAI: JioStar is batting on a flat pitch. The media titan’s fourth-quarter results for the financial year 2026 reveal a business scaling new heights, propelled by an unprecedented appetite for premium sports and digital-first storytelling.
Gross revenue for the quarter soared by 22.15 per cent to Rs 9,784 crore, up from Rs 8,010 crore in the third quarter. Operationally, the momentum was equally strong; revenue from operations climbed 21 per cent to Rs 8,372 crore. These figures underscore the firm’s successful integration following the Reliance and Disney merger, creating a dominant force in the Indian market.
The annual performance has been nothing short of a spectacle. Full-year gross revenue reached a massive Rs 36,248 crore, while annual profit after tax hit Rs 3,210 crore. This rapid expansion reflects JioStar’s ability to capture and monetise the massive growth in India’s media consumption.
Cricket proved to be the ultimate growth engine. The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 and TATA IPL 2026 delivered “record-breaking viewership” across both television and digital screens. The World Cup final alone drew a global peak concurrency of 72.5 million on JioHotstar, cementing its status as the nation’s premier streaming destination. On television, JioStar maintained a commanding 34.2 per cent viewership share, reaching a staggering 810 million viewers nationwide.
The digital numbers were just as impressive. JioHotstar averaged 500 million monthly active users, driven by consistent subscriber growth and innovative AI-led content discovery tools. These advancements are ensuring that JioStar remains at the cutting edge of the global “Race for Attention.”
With a firm grip on the country’s most valuable sporting rights and a rapidly growing digital footprint, JioStar is perfectly positioned for the future. It has built the ultimate content powerhouse—one that is ready to dominate the Indian living room for years to come.
