iWorld
Viacom18’s Sonia Huria to join Amazon Prime Video as communications head for India
KOLKATA:Viacom18 corporate marketing, communications and sustainability head Sonia Huria has ended her 12-years long stint with the organisation. She will join Amazon Prime Video to lead all its communication efforts for India operations.
Huria will be a part of the global communications team – leading PR and Communications for Amazon Prime Video in India. She will be reporting to Amazon Prime Video PR Asia Pacific and Canada PR head Tobias Tringali who is based in Seattle.
Ramping up Amazon Prime Video’s communication outreach, Huria will bring in her extensive experience of the entertainment industry and corporate communication. She will be directly responsible for driving the PR narrative for Amazon Prime Video while also leading communication and reputation management across the media spectrum.
With over 18 years of experience in the entertainment and the consumer space, she led brand and corporate communications for Viacom18 across all its five lines of business – broadcast entertainment, filmed entertainment, digital entertainment, experiential entertainment and consumer products – as well as led one of the industry’s most decorated internal communication functions.
Huria began her journey with Viacom18 in 2008, as part of the team that launched Hindi GEC – COLORS which became the no.1 channel in the category within a span of nine months from launch. Auguring the role of sustainability, Sonia has successfully created a model of multi-partner funded behaviour change communication content at Viacom18. First with the TV series Navrangi Re! which focused on sanitation in peri-urban India to more recently with MTV Nishedh. In addition to managing internal and external communication, Sonia also leads trade marketing and digital media for the organisation – ensuring streamlined messaging across touchpoints.
As an industry thought leader, Huria serves as managing committee member at The Advertising Club. Under her leadership, Viacom18 has won several prestigious awards at PRWeek Asia Awards, South Asia Sabre Awards and Indian PR and Corporate Communications Awards (IPRCCA). She has been featured on Impact Magazine’s Top 50 Women Leaders in Advertising, Media and Marketing for four years in a row.
iWorld
Frodoh, Chaupal introduce non-intrusive first-screen ads for OTT platforms
New ad-tech layer unlocks revenue without interrupting OTT viewing
MUMBAI: Frodoh has partnered with regional OTT platform Chaupal to roll out what it calls an industry-first “first-screen” monetisation framework, aimed at helping subscription-led streaming services generate additional revenue without interrupting content viewing.
The new model focuses on connected TV home screens, introducing ad formats that sit within the discovery layer rather than the content itself. In simple terms, viewers may notice subtle brand placements while browsing, but once they hit play, the experience remains ad-free.
The technology is designed to tap into high-attention areas such as session depth, viewing intent and discovery behaviour, turning previously unused interface space into monetisable real estate. For OTT platforms, this opens up a fresh revenue stream without diluting the premium experience that subscribers expect.
Chaupal chief executive officer Sandeep Bansal said the move balances growth with user trust. “By partnering with Frodoh, we are introducing a sophisticated ‘first-screen’ monetisation layer that integrates seamlessly into our UI, ensuring discovery remains native and non-intrusive while keeping content consumption ad-free.”
From Frodoh’s side, the pitch is clear: expand the ad pie without cluttering the screen. Frodoh founder and chief executive officer Russhabh R Thakkar said the framework creates a new category of advertising by unlocking high-visibility home screen inventory that was previously untapped.
Industry watchers see this as part of a broader shift in OTT monetisation strategies, especially as subscription platforms look to diversify revenue without risking churn. With connected TV usage rising steadily, the home screen is quickly becoming the next battleground for attention.
If the model scales, this partnership could signal a subtle but significant shift in how OTT platforms monetise, proving that sometimes, the most valuable ad space is the one you see before the show even begins.
