Two Army personnel were injured in a landmine blast near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Friday, officials said.
“In the wee hours, during patrolling at Googaldara near LoC in Trehgam area of the north Kashmir district, two army personnel got injured in a landmine blast,” the officials said.
The two personnel have been admitted to the army hospital in Drugmulla and their condition is stable
In many ways, if Viacom18 is flying high today, it owes its current status to a fair extent to former CEO, Sudhanshu Vats.
Vats name, as per the Board of Directors of Pidilite Industries Limited, has been approved as Managing Director Designate. The Board also approved the appointment of Kavinder Singh as Executive Director and Joint Managing Director Designate. They will take charge as Managing Director and Joint Managing Director, from April 2025, after the completion of term of the current Managing Director, Mr. Bharat Puri. Note, you read it right. It’s 2025, not 2024.
Commenting on the announcement, M B Parekh, Executive Chairman of Pidilite Industries, said “The appointments of Sudhanshu and Kavinder will reflect the next phase of the Pidilite leadership journey.”
Vats is currently Deputy Managing Director of Pidilite Industries. Singh is currently Managing Director and CEO of Mahindra Holidays and Resorts.
By Our Staff
Castrol Power1 has joined forces with Viacom18 network for reality shows, and Rajni Academy for Competitive Racing (RACR), bike-racing academy. Together, they are set to launch a motorcycling talent hunt. Actor-influencer and avid biking enthusiast, Karan Kundrra, will headline the content series.
Said Sandeep Sangwan, Managing Director of Castrol India Limited: “Castrol Power1 presents India’s Ultimate Motostar on MTV, is a platform uniting motorcycle enthusiasts, enabling them to showcase their skills and train with the best in India and LCR Honda Castrol MotoGP™ Team in Europe. This initiative underscores Castrol POWER1’s unwavering support for India’s racing community, invigorating and nurturing their passion for premier motorcycling.”
Added Lucio Cecchinello, Owner and Team Principal of the LCR Honda Castrol MotoGP Team: “Castrol’s collaboration with Team LCR Honda symbolises our shared vision of pushing boundaries, fostering innovation, and consistently achieving outstanding performance, both on and off the racetrack. Collaborating with Castrol India Limited on the search for ‘Castrol Power1 presents India’s Ultimate Motostar on MTV’ is a testament to our commitment to tap into India’s moto-racing landscape and elevate it. We are eager to witness the extraordinary moto-racing talent in the country and expect a tremendous response to this initiative.”
Said Mahesh Shetty, Head – Network Sales, Viacom18: “This partnership underscores our dedication towards crafting solutions that intricately weave brand USPs into engaging narratives. Viacom18 is always known for interesting reality formats and with ‘Castrol Power1 presents India’s Ultimate Motostar on MTV’ we harness the passion for premier motorcycling racing and elevate it through captivating storytelling. This format specifically created for Castrol, is a prime example of how we seamlessly integrate brand uniqueness into our content, ensuring that it stands out and leaves a lasting impact.”
By Our Staff
With the presentation of SFA Championships on JioCinema, Sports18-2, and Sports18 Khel channels, school sporting competitions will now make their way to digital and television. The partnership of Sports For All (SFA), tech-enabled multi-sport grassroots competition platform and Viacom18, will together make school sports accessible to millions of sports fans, across the country.
Said Head of Content, TV and Digital, Viacom 18 Sports, Siddharth Sharma: “The partnership with Sports For All (SFA) is our bid to make sporting action from the grassroots level accessible by harnessing the power of digital. We endeavour to continue spotlighting school-level talent by including SFA Championships in our portfolio.”
Added SFA founders Vishwas Choksi and Rishikesh Joshi: “Partnering with Viacom18 is indeed a historic moment, in bringing Indian school sports to the centre stage. The country will now join in to witness the incredible potential of our young athletes”, “Our aim is to enthuse viewers to witness the journey of future champions, through our broadcast content. The SFA Championships entail an international sporting experience through equitable access to world class infrastructure, match videos, analytics and insights for school athletes. Every episode will showcase the energy and sporting talent of that city, their trials and tribulations and how every athlete contributes in identifying the ‘number one school in sports’, for their city.”
By Our Staff
On Children’s Day, JioCinema announced its foray into children’s entertainment with a focused ‘Kids and Family’ offering. With over 3000 hours of well-known global and Indian Ips in five-plus Indian languages. This takes the separate offering for children under Voot Kids to the next level. A communique issued quotes an unnamed spokesperson saying: “At JioCinema, we are deeply committed to building a one-stop destination for all things entertainment. We are invested in understanding Indian audiences and their preferences and continue to evolve as the preferred source for all their entertainment needs.”
On offer will be old Viacom18 Ips like Motu Patlu, Shiva, Rudra, Chikoo aur Bunty, Pinaki and the Bhoot Bandhus, The Twisted Timelines of Sammy & Raj, Kanha – Morpankh Samrat, among others. And then there will be Harry Potter, Transformers, HBO Storybook musical, The Looney Tunes Show, Super Mario Bros, Justice League War World, Garfield, Tin Tin, Trollstopia, Zig & Shark, Peppa Pig, Pokémon, and movies like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, Teen Titans Go, Polar Express, Lego Ninjago, The Flintstones, Boss Baby, etc. Some of this has been inked thanks to partnerships with leading studios including Cartoon Network Studios, Dreamworks, EOne, The Pokémon Company & Animaccord, among others, the offering will add fresh content every week.
Headlining the rollout of the kids and family slate is the Pokemania festival which starts today (November 16).
We spoke with an industry observer to get a perspective on the launch, and this is what she said: “What Jio Cinema has been able to crack is the code on what works for children, something that not many grown-up content heads find it difficult to do. Getting top content from across platform is creditable. The kids category is by far the toughest to please given that what appeals to an seven-year-old will be childish for someone who is 11. Jio Cinema has segmented this further with an age-appropriate approach and a promise of new show or movie every week for kids, something that no OTT or linear television offering is doing.”
By Our Staff
Colors has announced its collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Child Development’s ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ initiative, to address the issue of girl child abandonment, through the launch of its new fiction show Doree.
In addition to launching a primetime show on the subject, as part of this association, Colors will promote the 24-hour emergency toll free Childline India helpline number (1098) for those seeking assistance for any abandoned girl child across the nation.
Said Kevin Vaz, CEO – Broadcast Entertainment, Viacom18: “We are honoured to be partnering with the Ministry of Women and Child Development to raise awareness about the prevalent issue of girl child abandonment through our new show, Doree and the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ initiative. As the country’s most watched primetime entertainment destination, joining forces with the ministry to promote the Childline helpline number through our show is poised to catalyse meaningful behavioural change in society. We are hopeful that Doree will touch the lives of millions of viewers and bring focus on the social evil of girl child abandonment.”
By Our Staff
The all-new edition of reality show Bigg Boss is set to launch on Sunday, October 15 with ‘Dil, Dimaag aur Dum’ as the credo. It will be presented by actor and longstanding host Salman Khan with a slew of sponsors.
After the Sunday premiere, it will air Monday through Friday at 10 pm and on Saturdays and Sundays at 9 pm. That’s on Colors. Plus a 24-hour live channel on JioCinema.
Said Alok Jain, President – General Entertainment, Viacom18: “Bigg Boss is the undisputed king of entertainment in India. No other show has amassed the fandom, viewership, and continued success that Bigg Boss has. It enhances the participants’ celebrity quotient, provides non-stop entertainment to Indians over 100 days, generates social conversations that last well beyond the run-time of the show and delivers unparalleled reach and engagement to partnering brands,” adding: This year we will be disrupting the format of the show by having Bigg Boss play the game with and on the contestants. This ethos of innovation will further extend to our sponsors and advertisers as the integrations and brand commitments playout across our television, digital and social media assets. With the addition of the free 24hour Live Channel on JioCinema, Bigg Boss, this year, will see a scale that is unparalleled in the Indian entertainment ecosystem.”
Hyundai is co-presenting sponsor, Dabur BAE Fresh Red Gel, Tresemmé and Appy Fizz are co-powered partners, Ching’s Schezwan Chutney as Special Partner, Glance as Smart Lock Screen Partner, Harpic as Hygiene Partner, and MakeMyTrip for an experiential innovation.