iWorld
ZEE5 goes aggressive with OOH marketing for ‘Karenjit Kaur’
MUMBAI: Despite touting digital as the next big thing, brands haven’t given up on traditional modes of marketing. Digital is great for disruption but they cannot still do without the out-of-home (OOH) marketing strategy.
ZEEL’s digital venture ZEE5 has also been doing the same to promote its new flagship show Karenjit Kaur – the untold story of Sunny Leone which went live recently. Hoardings of the show are prominently visible in the top 10 markets which include metro cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. These cities are prime targets because users here have access to the bandwidth and appropriate devices to enjoy the content which is being marketed.
“Outdoor also works as a great medium for impact and driving imagery. Sunny Leone chose ZEE5 as a platform to do her biopic and reach out to her fans. Of course there’s a big statement in that. Therefore, one reason is awareness, making more and more consumers aware that Sunny Leone’s biopic is available on ZEE5 as a platform. The other of course is purely impact and imagery perspective as well,” said ZEE5 India’s new business head Manish Aggarwal.
You can channel a channel when an ad comes on linear TV, you can skip an ad on YouTube or another platform but you cannot miss a hoarding when you travel. It isn’t just ZEE5 but even Netflix, Amazon, TVF etc who don’t miss out on OOH.
Sunny Leone’s past definitely makes her a target. The Mankind brand ambassador faced a backlash from ‘sanskari’ India last year when outdoor banners featuring her condom ad in Gujarat were criticised, forcing Mankind to pull them down.
ZEE5 hasn’t yet seen any such backlash except for the normal social media’s abusive comments. Aggarwal says that the overall sentiments for the show are “extremely positive”.
Apart from OOH, ZEE5 partnered with several radio stations. Digitally, it made use of Leone’s social media assets. Zee channels are featuring show promos during prime time.
“We looked at searches for Sunny Leone on YouTube, Google and which market drives searches for us. We have triangulated our market strengths, Google trends, YouTube trends etc. Then we formulated a strategy based on where our audience resides and accordingly we reached out to them through various mediums – outdoor, digital, radio,” he said.
The series is available in four regional languages too, including Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Marathi. The premise of ZEE5’s launch was to ensure India’s languages aren’t deprived of good content. “You want to watch good content whether its drama, thriller or comedy. Zero KMS is a dark thriller, we dubbed it and saw other language people are also watching it,” Aggarwal said.
iWorld
Netflix cuts jobs in product division amid restructuring
Layoffs hit creative studio unit as leadership and strategy shifts unfold.
MUMBAI: The streaming wars may be fought on screen, but the latest plot twist is unfolding behind the scenes. Netflix has reportedly begun laying off several dozen employees from its product division as part of an internal reorganisation, according to a report by Variety. The cuts are believed to have primarily affected the company’s creative studio unit, which works on marketing assets such as in app trailers, promotional visuals and live experience content for the streaming platform.
The company has not disclosed the exact number of employees impacted.
According to the report, the layoffs were not tied to employee performance. Instead, the restructuring eliminated certain roles while other employees were reassigned to different teams within the organisation.
The roles affected are understood to include designers, producers and creative specialists responsible for marketing and brand experience initiatives.
The job cuts come as Netflix adjusts its leadership structure and reshapes its product and creative teams. Last month, Elizabeth Stone was promoted from chief technology officer to chief product and technology officer, giving her oversight of product, engineering and data operations across the company.
Earlier, in December 2025, Netflix also appointed Martin Rose as head of creative for global brand and partnerships, a move seen as part of a broader restructuring of the company’s brand and product functions.
Despite the layoffs, Netflix remains one of the largest employers in the streaming sector. The company is estimated to employ around 16,000 people globally, with roughly 70 percent of its workforce based in the United States and Canada. In 2023, the company reported approximately 13,000 employees, indicating that its headcount had grown significantly before the latest restructuring.
The workforce changes arrive at a time when Netflix is navigating a shifting financial and strategic landscape in the global entertainment industry.
The streaming giant recently secured $2.8 billion in additional cash after receiving a breakup fee from Paramount Skydance following its withdrawal from a deal involving Warner Bros. Discovery.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Netflix co chief executive Ted Sarandos explained that the company had evaluated multiple scenarios during the negotiations but chose not to match the competing offer once it learned that a higher bid had been submitted.
Netflix had capped its offer at $27.75 per share and ultimately stepped back rather than pursue Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition deal, which included a personal guarantee.
Sarandos also cautioned that the financing structure behind the Paramount Skydance transaction could have ripple effects across the entertainment industry.
According to him, the debt heavy deal could trigger significant cost cutting, with David Ellison, chief executive of Paramount Skydance, expected to eliminate about $16 billion in costs and potentially cut thousands of jobs as part of the integration process.
For Netflix, the current restructuring appears to be part of a broader attempt to streamline operations while continuing to invest in product, technology and global content even as the streaming industry enters a new phase of consolidation and financial discipline.
