iWorld
Saugato Bhowmik may replace Gandhi as Viacom18 Digital COO
MUMBAI: Soon after the news of Gaurav Gandhi leaving Viacom18 was announced last week, speculation was rife about who would take the hot seat to lead the company’s digital arm Viacom18 Digital Ventures, under which Voot operates.
A source close to the development has told Indiatelevision.com that Saugato Bhowmik is the top choice among those gunning for the spot of COO.
Although the company is still said to be considering various profiles, the management seems to have narrowed down its choice to Bhowmik.
Bhowmik currently serves as the executive vice president and business head of consumer products and integrated network solutions at Viacom18 leading two key businesses, which are tasked to build the network’s brands outside the broadcast and movie studio space.
He joined Viacom18 in 2013 and has a rich experience and understanding of consumer behaviour and insights. Bhowmik began his career at Dabur India as the area sales manager in 2002 and moved to Hindustan Unilever in 2004 where he refined his consumer-marketing skills in strategic brand management roles for key brands for India as well as globally.
Gandhi quit Viacom18 after eight years. Launched in 2016, Voot is Viacom’s digital service that offers content in multiple languages, including English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Bengali.
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iWorld
Banijay Asia’s The 50 tops OTT charts with 8.1 million JioHotstar views
Reality competition becomes most watched show on JioHotstar in debut week.
MUMBAI: Fifty contestants walked into a palace, but millions of viewers showed up for the drama. Reality competition The 50, produced by Banijay Asia, has emerged as the most watched show on JioHotstar, clocking 8.1 million views in its debut week. The figure, reported by Ormax Media, places the show at the top of the OTT viewership charts and marks a strong opening for the digital reality format.
Adapted from a popular French format, The 50 brings together 50 personalities from television, digital platforms, music and reality shows inside a grand palace setting. Over the course of a 50 day competition, participants form alliances, compete in unpredictable tasks and navigate eliminations as the field steadily narrows.
Guiding the game is a mysterious figure known as The Lion, an unseen game master whose voice introduces twists, challenges and strategic turns throughout the show, adding an extra layer of suspense to the contest.
What distinguishes The 50 from typical reality competitions is its audience driven prize structure. Instead of the winner taking home the final reward, the prize is awarded to one of the winner’s registered followers through the show’s dedicated app. The mechanism effectively turns viewers into participants, allowing fans to have a direct stake in the outcome.
The contestant lineup features a mix of television actors, reality stars and digital creators, including Karan Patel, Urvashi Dholakia, Divya Agarwal, Mr Faisu and Dushyant Kukreja, each bringing their own fan following to the show.
With its blend of celebrity personalities, strategic gameplay and interactive viewer participation, The 50 has quickly carved out a strong foothold in India’s digital entertainment landscape. Its 8.1 million views in the opening week underline the growing appetite for large scale reality formats designed specifically for OTT audiences.
