e4m in 2023: Our most-loved stories this year
We bring you a recap of stories published on exchange4media that earned significant readership
As 2023 comes to an end, we take a look at some of our stories that drew a significant amount of attention from the readers.
From the Times Group split, to the Amazon-MX Player deal to Mindshare winning the Maruti Suzuki account, here are some big stories that exchange4media reported this year.
A quick recap:
Times Group: Inside details of the MoU finalized between Samir & Vineet Jain
On May 20, we reported that the much-awaited MoU of the Times Group is believed to have been finalized. Once the deal is finalised, Samir Jain is likely to get hold of the entire Print businesses of the conglomerate, including the Times of India, Economic Times and language papers like Navbharat Times and Vijay Karnataka along with their online editions.
Zee-Sony merger likely to be sealed, says industry
While the Zee-Sony merger is still making news, our report on July 11 evoked considerable interest among industry readers. In this report, we quoted industry observers who said that the deal was likely to be finalised.
Amazon India buys MX Player at a marked-down value
In April, we learnt that Amazon India is believed to have acquired OTT platform MX Player from Times Internet Ltd after multiple rounds of talks. TIL cracked the deal shelling out substantially less money than the last acquisition price.
Mindshare wins Maruti Suzuki's account worth Rs 1200 crore
Mindshare bagging the Maruti Suzuki account got a large number of hits from our readers. In March, our Editor Naziya Alvi Rahman reported that the account, earlier handled by dentsu India, was believed to be around Rs 1200 crore. The mandate covered tradional, outdoor and digital media.
Jio to stream IPL for free in 11 regional languages
The Indian Premier League is one of the most awaited cricketing events in the country and this year we reported how Sports18 had decided to air IPL free on the Jio app. The report by Naziya Alvi Rahman said that as part of its strategy to take TV head-on, the app is expected to sell its inventory, not only on impressions but also as 10-second slots, exactly like how it is sold on TV.
Times Internet hands out pink slips to 200 employees
Amidst the host of lay off stories this year, one of the most significant ones was that of Times Internet handing out pink slips. In the August report, the media company said that streamlining of the company’s operations has resulted in reducing about 5% of the workforce.
Disney Star pitches ICC WC Co-Presenting at Rs 118cr for TV, Rs 150cr for Disney+ Hotstar
We broke the news in July about how Disney+Hotstar, the IPL broadcaster, had set a price tag of Rs 150 crore. Brands eager to get high visibility as "Powered by" sponsors will need to invest Rs 75 crore, while those opting for associate sponsorship will have to allocate Rs 40 crore, the report said.
Amazon Prime Video & Jio front runners in race to host HBO content?
In March, we reported about HBO being in talks with several OTT platforms in India with Jio Cinema and Amazon Prime Video believed to be the front runners in the race.
Sreenivasan Jain joins News24 as Consulting Editor
Sreenivasan Jain taking over as Consulting Editor at News24 was another big people movement story. The senior journalist had already made headlines when he moved out of NDTV.
Sylvester daCunha, the man behind Amul Girl, no more
We were among the first to report about advertising legend Sylvester daCunha’s passing in June. We joined the industry in bidding farewell to the creator of the iconic Amul girl.
