News Broadcasting
Vice strengthens foothold in APAC, Hosi Simon made CEO
MACAU: Vice Media has announced a major expansion of its offerings across the Asia Pacific region, with a plethora of new deals that will allow it to reach hundreds of millions of additional viewers.
Vice India will launch in early 2018 through a partnership with the Times of India Group, allowing it to produce and distribute local programming for online, mobile and linear platforms. New offices in Mumbai and Delhi will host full-scale Vice operations, including a local offering of virtue worldwide and a full-service content production studio producing scripted, film, news and culture content from India for television, SVOD, OTT and digital platforms.
With an online video market that is expected to hit $ 46 billion over the next five years, the APAC region is home to 60 percent of the world’s young people, according to the United Nations, demonstrating a significant opportunity for the youth-focused media brand.
Vice global general manager Hosi Simon will relocate to Singapore, the new headquarters of Vice APAC, to become chief executive officer for the region. Simon announced the new role and the series of partnerships today at the CASBAA Convention 2017 in Macau.
In addition to opening a full-service content and commercial hub in Singapore, which will offer a studio for local documentary, scripted and film content production, and provide creative services through Virtue Worldwide, Vice announced new offices and partnerships that will allow the youth brand to expand its reach and library of intellectual property.
Vice is building on its partnership with Docomo Digital in Japan across several territories in Asia. It has also entered into partnerships with leading global and local brands in the region, with more territory launches, partnerships and employee appointments to be announced in the coming weeks.
“We believe there is a huge opportunity for Vice to build out a deeply relevant, highly local, youth media company across the Asia Pacific region,” said Simon. “With the growing importance of local culture to young people, along with a surging youth population and increased connectivity, some of the most dominant forms of global youth culture across technology, music, fashion, consumer brands, food and identity will come from this part of the world. We hope to play a significant role in creating and giving a voice to these movements, and helping to bring them to the rest of the world.”
The full slate of announcements to expand in the APAC region include:
Vice Singapore – Under the direction of new Vice Asia Pacific CEO Hosi Simon, the Vice Singapore regional headquarters will serve as the nucleus for Asia Pacific activity, becoming a content hub offering the full scale of Vice services, including complete production capabilities, locally staffed editorial content, and creative services through Virtue Worldwide. Vice Singapore will be fully operational by January 2018.
Vice Indonesia – Vice remains in close partnership with JawaPos TV, which will air branded Viceland blocks and Vice news tonight episodes, and digital content in primetime slots beginning this month. Young people aged 18-34 comprise 50 percent of Indonesia’s overall population,opening the door for it to reach the young audience on whatever platform they consume content.
Expansion of Vice + Docomo Digital partnership: Based on the success of Vice Japan’s partnership with Docomo Digital, Vice and Docomo have significantly expanded their partnership to bring Vice+, Vice’s subscription video on demand (SVOD) service, into Singapore, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and other territories to be announced. This will allow Vice content to reach millions of new young people in a region with a fast growing youth population.
Virtue worldwide brand partnerships: Virtue worldwide has entered into major brand partnerships that will see the creative agency that was born out of Vice provide creative services throughout the Asia Pacific region. Launch partnerships in the region include Unilever in Indonesia, National Basketball Association in China, Budweiser in Australia, Nike in Thailand and the Philippines, and a BMW/Alexander Wang collaboration around a new vehicle launch in China.
Vice has operated in the Asia Pacific region since 2003 and currently has offices in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China and Indonesia. This vast expansion in the region follows the series of deals Vice announced earlier this year, providing major inroads into the nascent mobile content market in the APAC region, and furthers Vice’s ability to bring content directly to young people on whatever screen they are watching. The series of deals will allow Vice to further cultivate the growing young audiences across the APAC region, growing its presence across multiple screens and reaching millions of new viewers across the region.
Simon assumes the role of CEO, Vice Asia Pacific after serving as global general manager of Vice Media for over a decade, where he oversaw the strategy, growth and operations of Vice digital assets around the world, including Vice’s owned and operated channels, publishing and large-scale brand partnerships, and mobile and OTT platforms, and launched many of the newer offices around the world.
Vice has developed an outstanding global reputation for producing the gold standard of video content for young people, forging innovative distribution partnerships across mobile, digital and linear platforms with A+E Networks, HBO, YouTube, Snapchat, Sky, 20th Century Fox, Verizon, Canal+, and more to take its programming to young people everywhere.
These deals significantly increase Vice’s vast international footprint, ushering in new audiences, revenue streams, and content production. With these deals, Vice’s award-winning multi-platform programming across lifestyle, culture, news, sports, food and more, will be delivered to over 80 territories by Q1 2018.
News Broadcasting
Induction cooktop demand spikes 30× amid LPG supply concerns
Supply worries linked to West Asia tensions push households and restaurants to turn to electric cooking alternatives
MUMBAI: As geopolitical tensions in West Asia ripple through global energy supply chains, the familiar blue flame in Indian kitchens is facing an unexpected challenger: electricity.
What began as concerns over the availability of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has quickly evolved into a technology-driven shift in cooking habits. Households across India are increasingly turning to induction cooktops and other electric appliances, initially as a backup but now, for many, a necessity.
A sudden surge in demand
Recent data from quick-commerce and grocery platform BigBasket highlights the scale of the shift. According to Seshu Kumar Tirumala, the company’s chief buying and merchandising officer, demand for induction cooktops has risen dramatically.
“Induction cooktops have seen a significant surge in demand, recording a fivefold jump on 10 March and a thirtyfold spike on 11 March,” Tirumala said.
The increase stands out sharply when compared with broader kitchen appliance trends. Most appliance categories are growing within 10 per cent of their typical demand levels, while induction cooktops have witnessed explosive growth as households rush to secure an alternative cooking option.
Major e-commerce platforms including Amazon and Flipkart have reported rising searches and orders for induction stoves. Quick-commerce apps such as Blinkit and Zepto have also witnessed stock shortages in major metropolitan areas including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
What was once considered a convenient appliance for hostels, small kitchens or occasional use has suddenly become an essential addition in many homes.
A crisis thousands of miles away
The trigger for this shift lies far beyond India’s kitchens.
Escalating conflict in the Middle East has disrupted shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy corridors. Nearly 85 to 90 per cent of India’s LPG imports pass through this narrow waterway, making the country particularly vulnerable to supply disruptions.
The ripple effects have been swift.
India currently meets roughly 60 per cent of its LPG demand through imports, and tightening global supply has already begun to affect domestic availability and prices.
Earlier this month, the price of domestic LPG cylinders increased by Rs 60, while commercial cylinders rose by more than Rs 114.
To discourage panic buying and hoarding, the government has also extended the mandatory waiting period between domestic refill bookings from 21 days to 25 days.
Restaurants feel the pressure
The strain is not limited to households. Restaurants, hotels and roadside eateries are also grappling with supply constraints as commercial LPG availability tightens under restrictions imposed through the Essential Commodities Act.
In cities such as Bengaluru and Chennai, restaurant associations report that commercial LPG availability has dropped by as much as 75 per cent, forcing many establishments to rethink their kitchen operations.
Some restaurants have reduced menu offerings, while others are rapidly installing high-efficiency induction systems, creating hybrid kitchens where electricity now shares the workload with gas.
For smaller eateries and roadside dhabas, the shift is less about sustainability and more about survival.
A potential structural shift
The government has maintained that there is no nationwide LPG crisis and has directed refineries to increase production to stabilise supply.
Nevertheless, the developments of March 2026 may already be triggering a longer-term behavioural shift.
For decades, LPG has been the backbone of cooking in Indian households. However, recent disruptions have highlighted the risks of relying on a single fuel source.
Increasingly, households appear to be hedging against uncertainty by adopting electric cooking options to guard against price volatility and delivery delays.
If the current trend continues, the induction cooktop, once viewed as a niche appliance, could emerge as a quiet symbol of India’s evolving kitchen economy.
