iWorld
Vodafone to get new shine from Idea; merger on its last leg
MUMBAI: The team at Vodafone India is gung-ho about its merger with the Aditya Birla-owned Idea Cellular.
Consolidation between the networks is in its last leg with most of the approvals already through. “We are just awaiting approvals from National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and it should happen over the next few months,” says Vodafone India CEO Sunil Sood.
What the senior executive is quite keen on is building a new fighting-fit telco machine with the right imagery. Says Vodafone India COO Balesh Sharma: “We are very optimistic about the merger. We want to give Vodafone a new shine with this merger. All options are open in terms of branding. However, haven’t decided what our brand journey after the merger will be.”
While that may be true, with the two major behemoths coming together, they will have to deal with the strong messaging that each of these has been pushing out to customers. Vodafone is known for its ZooZoos while Idea rolled out its new tagline of ‘LookLook’ early this year. Vodafone will continue to push the characters of Asha and Bala for all its campaigns post the merger as well.
While Vodafone has a strong presence in urban areas, Idea has captured a significant chunk of interior India. Together they will surpass Bharti Airtel to become the largest telecommunication company with a combined subscriber base of over 400 million.
Idea Cellular, our own homegrown brand that was launched in 1995, has a subscriber base of 193.96 million as of July 2017 whereas Vodafone India is the Indian subsidiary of UK-based Vodafone Group, the world’s second-largest mobile phone company. The network enjoys a subscriber base of 250 million and has a 20 per cent market share.
Under the terms of the deal, Vodafone will hold 45.1 per cent stake in the combined entity, the Aditya Birla Group will hold 26 per cent and the remaining shares will be held by the public. With this deal, Vodafone India would have a valuation of Rs 82,800 Crore and Idea at Rs 72,200 Crore.
In the ongoing battle for customer acquisitions, Vodafone and Airtel have revamped their tariffs to lure customers. With IoT being the new talk of the town, networks are fighting to seize Reliance Communication customers.
With the current telecom war between the giants – Vodafone, Airtel and Jio – it will be interesting to watch which one bites the bullet and which bites the dust.
iWorld
Atrangii OTT partners with Amazon MX Player to expand global content reach
Deal brings originals and catalogue to Prime Video, widening audience access
MUMBAI: Atrangii OTT has entered into a strategic content partnership with Amazon MX Player, in a move designed to significantly expand the reach of its content across India and global markets.
As part of the agreement, Atrangii’s existing library along with select upcoming originals will also be made available on Amazon Prime Video, giving the platform access to a far wider audience base.
The partnership positions Amazon MX Player as a key hub for Atrangii’s content slate, which includes titles such as Koi Jaaye Toh Le Aaye, Shiddat, Marham, Khamosh Aahatein, and Kanpuriya. Known for its focus on thrillers, romance and unconventional narratives, Atrangii has been building a niche with bold, genre-driven storytelling.
Atrangii OTT CEO Avinash Dugar said, “We are delighted to partner with Amazon MX Player to bring Atrangii OTT’s storytelling to a much wider audience. This collaboration allows us to scale our creative ambitions while continuing to produce compelling originals.”
The move reflects a broader trend of OTT platforms leveraging partnerships to scale distribution without compromising on content identity. For Atrangii, it offers both visibility and scale, while for Amazon’s platforms, it strengthens content diversity.
With audiences now able to access Atrangii’s catalogue across multiple platforms, the partnership sets the stage for wider discovery and deeper engagement, as competition in the streaming space continues to intensify.
