India Tightens IT Rules to Combat Deepfakes and AI Misinformation

The Indian government has proposed significant amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, aimed at curbing the misuse of deepfakes and generative AI content. Here's a breakdown of the key changes:

New IT Rules Targeting Deepfakes (2025 Draft Amendments)

• Definition Introduced
  Synthetically Generated Information: Defined as content created, altered, or modified using computer tools to appear real.
• Mandatory Labelling
  Platforms with over 5 million users (like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram) must:
  • Ask users to declare if uploaded content is synthetic.
  • Take reasonable steps to verify these claims.
  • Clearly label synthetic content with visible or audible markers.
  • For videos: markers must cover at least 10% of the screen.
  • For audio: markers must be present in the first 10% of the clip.
  • These markers cannot be removed or altered.
• Legal Protections
  Platforms acting in good faith to remove or block synthetic content will receive legal protection.
• Takedown Oversight
  Only senior officers (Joint Secretary or above) can issue takedown orders.
  All takedown actions will undergo monthly review by a Secretary-level officer to ensure legality and proportionality.
• Timeline & Feedback
  Draft rules were released on October 22, 2025.
  Public feedback is open until November 6, 2025.
  Final rules are expected to take effect from November 1, 2025.

Youtube is One of the World's Most Valuable Media Companies with Worth at Least $455 Billion

YouTube is one of the world's most valuable media companies and worth at least $455 billion on its own, which is more than 50% above Netflix's market cap, according to analysts at Needham & Co., reported Bloomberg.

Parent company Alphabet's revenue from subscriptions, platforms and devices, which includes YouTube subscriptions, is also poised to expand in the coming years.

YouTube's dominance in online video sharing and content creation is undeniable. With over 2 billion monthly active users, it remains the go-to platform for video content, generating substantial revenue through ads, sponsorships, and other monetization methods.

YouTube, often overshadowed by its parent company Alphabet Inc., is a media giant hiding in plain sight. According to analysts at Needham & Co., the streaming unit is worth at least $455 billion on its own, which is more than 50% above Netflix Inc.'s market cap. Despite this massive valuation, YouTube's true worth remains underappreciated due to Alphabet's conglomerate structure.

If even a small portion of YouTube were separately tradable, it could add significant value to Alphabet stock. However, there are no immediate signs of Alphabet considering such a separation. Regardless, YouTube's impact on the media landscape is undeniable, and its dominance in streaming continues to shape the industry.

YouTube primarily generates revenue through advertisements. It embeds targeted ads directly into the video clips users watch and promotes featured content. In the first three months of 2023, YouTube earned $6.69 billion from advertising, and in 2022, it generated $29.23 billion.

Additionally, YouTube's other revenue sources include YouTube Premium subscriptions, channel memberships, Superchat donations, YouTube TV, and merchandise commissions.

YouTube has a dominant and growing share in streaming, as consumers shift to such platforms and away from broadcast and cable TV. Ad revenue from the platform is expected to grow by nearly 17% to $37 billion in 2024 and by another 14% to $42 billion in 2025, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Alphabet’s revenue from subscriptions, platforms and devices, which includes YouTube subscriptions, is also poised to expand in the coming years. At Netflix, revenue is expected to be about $38.7 billion in 2024, with almost all of that derived from streaming, while YouTube accounts for about 10% of its parent’s total sales.

A recent survey of streaming platforms by TD Cowen showed that while Netflix still dominates in most TV categories, YouTube is often not far behind. And, it’s the top choice for watching content on a mobile phone.

Germany's Handelsblatt Media Group Ties-Up with Infosys To Enhance Its Digital Storytelling Using AI Technologies

Infosys and German media company Handelsblatt Media Group have announced a strategic collaboration to make complex reports on global economic and finance issues more accessible and easily consumable for the public.

As part of this partnership, Infosys will work with the Handelsblatt Research Institute (HRI), an independent economic research institute under the umbrella of the Handelsblatt Media Group.

As part of their collaboration, In the first year of this partnership, Infosys will work with Handelsblatt Research Institute (HRI), an independent economic research institute under the umbrella of the Handelsblatt Media Group.

Infosys will leverage Infosys Topaz, an AI-first platform, to make complex reports more accessible and consumable for the public. This partnership aims to redefine the storytelling experience for economic and financial reports, making them smarter and more reliable

This collaboration will enable new-age customizations such as chat functionality, text translation, text-to-speech, and automatic data updates, making the reports smart, reliable, and widely accessible.

Soon after the announcement of this collaboration shares of Infosys Ltd gained as much as 1.7%.

Handelsblatt Media Group is a German media company specializing in business and financial journalism. Founded in 1946 and Handelsblatt group started with the publication of the newspaper Handelsblatt which evolved from a thrice-weekly to a daily publication focused on economic and financial news. Over the years, the group expanded to include other specialized magazines and digital platforms.

The Handelsblatt Media Group publishes two prominent titles — Handelsblatt, a leading German newspaper covering business, finance, and economic topics, and — Wirtschaftswoche, a weekly magazine that provides in-depth analysis and insights into the business world.

The group has actively embraced digital media. Their digital activities include websites, apps, and other online platforms.

Kuku FM partners with WhizCo for Influencer Activities and Campaigns

WhizCo, India’s leading Influencer Marketing and creator management agency, has announced that it has partnered with Kuku FM, India’s leading podcast platform for an influencer marketing campaign. The collaboration aimed at helping Kuku FM promote its wide range of audiobooks, Podcasts, Talk shows, Stories, and more diverse audio content.

As part of the collaboration, WhizCo worked for complete influencer campaign management- from shortlisting, evaluating, and onboarding influencers to conceptualising the campaign, gathering feedback, and tracking the performance of the campaign.

Bringing together YouTube influencers from various categories, WhizCo conceptualized a Video Integration campaign for Kuku FM that uses influencers’ videos as a marketing platform by integrating the product ad into the natural flow of the video. By shortlisting the best influencers and providing creative direction to the campaign, WhizCo was able to strategize the campaign in the best way possible to help promote Kuku FM. WhizCo reached out to creators and influencers with a good outreach YouTube presence that could help boost Kuku FM’s brand awareness in the most effective way possible.

"We are so thrilled to be collaborating with Kuku FM and devising influencer marketing campaigns for them. Everything about the campaign, from conceptualizing to executing this campaign, was really fun and exciting, and I’m glad we were able to meet the expectations and goals of the brand. We look forward to creating and designing more such campaigns for Kuku Fm," said Prerna Goel, Co-Founder, and Chief Marketing Officer, WhizCo.

“Working with Whizco has been amazing. Their team who understands the brand requirements and needs is truly amazing! Deepanshu from Whizco went beyond his work hours to get things done for us. They provide you with insights and suggestions, which you otherwise don’t think of. My experience has been amazing” said Rahul Chiplunkar, Influencer Marketing Manager at Kuku FM.

WhizCo is one of India’s leading influencer marketing and creator management agencies. The agency, which manages over 10,000 content creators on almost every short-video app and social media platform in the country, has also plunged into Live Commerce and started working with India’s leading e-commerce platforms for Live Commerce campaigns

WhizCo has successfully completed various influencer marketing campaigns with leading brands in the past and is currently in the process of launching its very own influencer and creator discovery portal that will take things to the next level for both brands and influencers alike and allow users to search from a database of 50,000 creators across 25+ categories. The portal, which is expected to launch soon, will provide data-driven full campaign management, help bridge the gap between brands and influencers, and help brands craft the perfect influencer marketing campaign for their business.

What Is The Role Of NLP Technology In Creating Fresh Content?

NLP is a key branch of AI. So, what is its role in creating fresh content?

NLP is one of the leading AI aspects in today's world. In 2025, NLP's market worth is expected to go around a whopping $43 billion. If these estimates are to be believed, then AI is one of the most profitable sides.

But profits aside, what exactly does it do to help us create content? What is its role in it? Today, we're going to analyze a few cases in which NLP helps. So, let's find out.

What Is NLP?

Natural language processing is the ability of a computer to understand human speech. It has the potential to change how we interact with computers and how they interact with us. It is a specific branch of artificial intelligence.

Its job is to understand human language as it is written or spoken in order to either generate intelligent text or speech.

Computers are becoming more intelligent and can process language like humans do, leading to better communication between humans and machines.

One such example today is assisting tools for writing, such as a grammar checkers, paraphrasing tool, and a plagiarism finder.

These tools thoroughly employ NLP to read and comprehend with the help of machine learning, then execute intricate tasks accordingly.

4 Key Roles Of NLP In Creating Fresh Content

NLP is one of the key branches of AI, that's for sure. But, it needs to work with other AI algorithms to produce and create content. In this section, we will explore four cases where NLP stands out as the most valuable aspect of AI in creating fresh content. So, let's dive right into it.

1. Capture The Essence Of A Topic

The first thing to understand here is that NLP allows us to thoroughly capture a topic's essence. In other words, it allows us to understand not only a topic's basics but also an idea's key aspects. But how exactly does it happen?

The purpose of NLP is to convert human languages for computers to understand. So, when we use tools like a paraphrasing tool or summary writing, it's NLP that allows the tool to understand the basics, as well as the nooks & crannies of a topic.

2. Metric-Based Content Creation

Metrics are everywhere, including SEO and other online marketing factors. However, understanding these metrics is one of the key aspects of NLP in creating fresh content. When we analyze keywords or other content metrics, the pillar of NLP keeps that building standing.

It doesn't only analyze human patterns with the help of other AI elements but also helps us understand which content types perform the best based on their metrics. This allows writers to improve content quality and performance.

3. Originality And Integrity

Content's originality and integrity are two of the key factors in creating content today. NLP is one of the key ingredients in tools that help us get there, such as a paraphrasing tool. But how exactly does it work? Here's how:

• NLP analyzes and reads the content;
• It passes the information on to other AI elements, which comprehend the existing tone;
• When the writer picks another content tone, NLP implements the changes;

• The paraphrasing tool rewords content into a different tone.

These factors can be seen working when you use a paraphrasing tool. Not only does the content's tone change, but it also improves. Which is all made possible with the help of NLP.

4. Repurposing Content

NLP isn't only good at reading and converting content. Instead, NLP-based tools can help you repurpose content. For instance, if you use a viable paraphrasing tool, then you can reuse content or sections from your blogs for various purposes, such as:

• Convert a blog post to a social media post;
• Condense important content for emails or captions;
• Change content's wordings for another platform;
• Post the same blog on two websites by paraphrasing and citing.
• These factors allow you to repurpose content, and NLP is at the center of it once again.

Conclusion

These factors of NLP allow us to understand just how helpful it is in content creation. Not only is it a viable aspect of AI, but a necessary one. Today, not many tools can work without the help of NLP, so to condense the role of NLP in an article like this is impossible—but you get the idea.

Flickstree Raises $5 Mn in its Pre-Series B funding round, led by Venture Catalysts and 9 Unicorns

Flickstree, a content and marketing technology startup secured investment led by Venture Catalysts Group, India’s first incubator and largest accelerator for startups and 9 Unicorns, in its pre-series B round of funding. Flickstree creates AI-based editorial video content for video commerce.

Flickstree is a content led video commerce platform that enables transactions for their brand partners, leveraging in house video content, created using patented AI. The platform uses AI voiceover, AI script, and auto-generates branded video content. These videos are distributed through its own apps and websites such as PlusYou Club, and a network of more than 150 publisher partners. Flickstree currently has an active client base in India, Middle East, South-East Asia, UK, Australia and USA.

Reflecting on leading the funding round for Flickstree, Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Co-Founder, Venture Catalysts & 9Unicorns said, “Flickstree uses the power of Artificial Intelligence to create the most compelling branded video content at scale, at no-cost for brands. Moreover, they use their data engine to promote these videos that keeps churning transactions on an auto-pilot mode. In sum, Brands get videos at no cost and consumers love watching these videos and buy their products and services. This makes it a win-win platform for all brands globally.”

"Content driven ecommerce is the fastest growing segment of online sales across Asia," said William Bao Bean Managing Director Orbit Startups and General Partner SOSV "Flickstree is the leader in India and now positioned to expand across the region helping brands to leverage video to drive sales."

Flickstree is a global product with an extremely asset lite plug-and-play model. Its inception took place in 2016. The company was started by Saurabh Singh, Rahul Jain and Nagendra Sandra, who hold a combined domain experience of over 30 years. With a team that specializes in the fields of branding, sales & distribution, digital marketing, machine learning and artificial intelligence technology, the company caters to over 200 brands worldwide, driving transactions over $50 million annually and boasts an active user base of 25 million on its platform.

On securing funds in the pre-series B round, Saurabh Singh, CEO of Flickstree said, “Consumers love watching video content before making transactions. That’s why content-led commerce is the future of e-commerce. Flickstree’s AI creates great content that consumers love to watch and transact, making this a cutting-edge platform to partner with, for all e-commerce brands worldwide.”

In its pre-series B round of funding, Flickstree secured US $5 million, which it plans to utilize for global expansion, along with strengthening its product and technology. It is also backed by Samsung Ventures, Orbit Startups (SOSV), LionRock Capital, FULD & Co., Lets Venture, AB Claymore, Angelbay, amongst others.

About Flickstree

Flickstree, a video commerce company, was founded by Saurabh Singh, Rahul Jain, and Nagender Sangra in 2016. Flickstree creates editorial video content using AI. It then

promotes these videos to drive sales using world class in-house data engine. With over 25 million monthly active users driving over 150 thousand transactions per month, Flickstree works with over 200 brands worldwide driving transactions over $50 million annually.

About Venture Catalysts

enture Catalysts is India’s 1st integrated incubator for startups. It combines capital, mentoring and network for startups and has a presence in 47 cities across India with international presence in UAE, HK, UK, USA, Canada and Singapore. Venture Catalysts invests in the range of INR 2 - 15 crores per startup through a network of HNIs, Family Offices, CXOs, etc.

R Discovery and Springer Nature Partner to Create An Open-access Content Bank for Global Researchers

The partnership will enable researchers to access Springer Nature’s content in the form of daily recommendations on R Discovery 

R Discovery, a Cactus Communications (CACTUS) brand, has partnered with Springer Nature, global academic publisher, to help broaden the reach of open access (OA) content to the global researcher community. The inclusion of Springer Nature’s OA portfolio into R Discovery means that the platform offers its over 1.4 million researchers access to high-quality OA content in over 32,000 journals worldwide across a breadth of subject areas.

Commenting on the partnership, Abhishek Goel, CEO & Co-founder, CACTUS, said, “Helping the scientific community with access to a vast bank of content is one of our top priorities. Our aim is to bring the most relevant and recently published scientific literature to the fingertips of researchers across the globe. By providing access to full-text open-access papers, we can facilitate content discovery and help save reading time. With this association, researchers will now have access to some of the most valuable OA research published in Springer Nature via the R Discovery app.”

Till Moepert, Vice President Indirect Channels at Springer Nature said, “Researchers are at the heart of what we do and ensuring access and engagement with high-quality content is central to the advancement of knowledge and discovery. With a long history in OA, we are committed to supporting researchers with streamlined routes to high-quality content in the fields of science, technology, medicine and the humanities and social sciences, alongside our wider commitment to supporting open data and open research, for example by creating the largest linked open data set in SciGraph and supporting FAIR data projects through our Text and Data Mining API’s. Partnering with the Cactus Communications R Discovery App enables us to continue this rich tradition of making open research accessible through new platforms and avenues and supporting the research community with access to the widest possible content, tools, and services.”

Among a host of CACTUS products, R Discovery is used by researchers regularly for literature search via the app or the web version. It currently has over 32,000 journals covering over 9.5 million research topics across subject areas such as life sciences, biology, medicine, philosophy, political science, environmental science, social sciences, and psychology. With more than 30 million open access articles available and access to paywalled articles with one’s university credentials, R Discovery is one of the largest repositories of research that is accessible on the go.

Springer Nature is one of the first major publishers to make their content available to R Discovery. By combining Springer Nature’s expertise in publishing high-quality research with R Discovery’s online platform for millions of researchers, both organizations aim to deliver an upgraded and seamless experience for the communities they serve.

To know more please visit- R Discovery (Web | Android | iOS)

Cactus Communications (cactusglobal.com), a technology company accelerating scientific advancement. CACTUS solves problems for researchers, universities, publishers, academic societies, and life science organizations through innovative products and services developed under the brands Editage, Cactus Life Sciences, Researcher.Life, Impact Science, UNSILO, PaperPal and Cactus Labs. CACTUS has offices in Princeton, London, Aarhus, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, and Mumbai; a global workforce of over 3,000 experts; and customers from over 190 countries. CACTUS is considered a pioneer in its workplace best practices and has been consistently ranked a great place to work over the last several years.

About Springer Nature

For over 180 years Springer Nature has been advancing discovery by providing the best possible service to the whole research community. We help researchers uncover new ideas, make sure all the research we publish is significant, robust and stands up to objective scrutiny, that it reaches all relevant audiences in the best possible format, and can be discovered, accessed, used, reused, and shared. We support librarians and institutions with innovations in technology and data; and provide quality publishing support to societies. As a research publisher, Springer Nature is home to trusted brands including Springer, Nature Portfolio, BMC, Palgrave Macmillan, and Scientific American. For more information, please visit springernature.com and @SpringerNature.

Content Marketplace Pepper Content Launches Entrepreneurial Program 'Pepperpreneur'

Pepper Content, a full-stack content marketplace, has launched an entrepreneurial program – Pepperpreneur. The program is a partner-driven catalyst program that helps companies with holistic content solutions at scale by leveraging the network and contacts of interested persons, who would in return earn a commission from the collaboration.

Although networking as a skill is highly sought after by people such as mentors, coaches, industry insiders, sales professionals etc. but contacts on their own remain untapped as far as their monetary value is concerned. This is where Pepperpreneur comes in. It seeks to monetize the network of an individual thereby making him/her an entrepreneur.

How does it work?

Through this program, an individual can introduce Pepper Content to a compatible organization that could scale from Pepper's holistic content services. Depending on the skill and experience of the person, Pepperpreneurs would be provided with guidance and training with respect to business and partnerships. On every partnership, the Pepperpreneur would earn a percentage of the total contract. Along with this, the partner organisations would receive content services from Pepper Content.

The financial benefit to all stakeholders is the mainstay of the program. Be it a budding entrepreneur or an established professional, it will stimulate the trajectory of their personal growth by advancing their clientele network, sales skill, and being part of the exclusive Pepper community.

Commenting on this, Rishabh Shekhar, Co-Founder, Pepper Content said - “At Pepper, we are constantly innovating content delivery while playing in the evolving creator economy. This space is relatively fresh and as such has unlimited potential. Pepperpreneur is one such initiative through which we are trying to expand opportunities that our platform can provide”.

Why Content Entrepreneurship?

In a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) world, brands can be left in the lurch. Content as a strategy can help firms chart a definite course in choppy waters by doing away with ambiguity. Pepper’s main objective is to democratize access to quality content for each business out there and simultaneously create new opportunities in the creator economy.

Pepper is building impact and value for a $400 billion content marketing industry, globally. The company has grown 16x in terms of revenue in the last 14 months alone. The company recently raised funding of $14.3 million (Rs 110 crore) in a Series A round led by Bessemer Venture Partners. The leading and global full-stack content marketplace (SaaS) enables a perfect symphony between creators and brands. It is currently working with 100,000+ creators, and 2,500+ leading global customers such as Amazon, CB Insights, Unilever, Adobe, Adani Enterprises, HDFC Bank, P&G, and Google, and over 85% of all Unicorn startups in India.

About Pepper Content:

Pepper Content is a full-stack content marketplace (SaaS) that connects talented creators to organizations that require content. Founded by two young and passionate entrepreneurs Anirudh Singla and Rishabh Shekhar in 2017 at BITS Pilani campus, Pepper offers customized content solutions by mediating content from the best talent pool of creators across the nation through an AI-enabled platform.

MPOWER Financing Appoints Madhushri Verma as Strategic Communications Lead

Madhushri will spearhead public relations and corporate communications for MPOWER Financing's global business, including India

MPOWER Financing, a mission-driven fintech firm and the leading provider of education loans to promising international students and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students, has announced its appointment of Madhushri Verma as Strategic Communications Lead.

Madhushri Verma, Strategic Communications Lead at MPOWER

In her new role, Madhushri will spearhead public relations and corporate communications for MPOWER Financing's global business, including India. She will work closely with the CEO and Director of Corporate Strategy from MPOWER’s office to develop and fuel MPOWER’s strategic communications.

Madhushri has over eight years of experience in corporate communications (both internal and external), brand management, public relations, reputation management, and crisis communications. In 2021, she was selected to India’s regional PR Awards’ 40 under 40 list in the startup PR segment.

"We are delighted to have Madhushri Verma as a part of the MPOWER team,” said Mr. Ashwini Kumar, General Manager (India) and Vice President of MPOWER Financing. “Her depth of knowledge in the field of communications will help us develop an impactful communication strategy and brand value. Madhushri’s vast experience, core values, and capabilities make her uniquely suited for this role at MPOWER Financing."

Speaking on her appointment, Madhushri remarked, “Access to financing for education resonates with me personally. Coming from a middle-class family, I can't emphasize enough the importance of education.” She continued, “Being part of MPOWER will be an exciting new phase for me, and I admire the brand for its mission and work culture. I am indeed thrilled to be part of the team that MPOWER is trying to fulfill for deserving students globally including students from India.”

Madhushri is a specialist in brand management, public relations, reputation management, and corporate communications. Before joining MPOWER, she was associated with startups like Samunnati, DriveU, Medibox, and KisanKraft. She started her professional journey as a business development intern at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in the UK. Madhushri has earned a master’s degree in public relations from the University of Bedfordshire and a bachelor’s degree in media science from NSHM, West Bengal University of Technology.

MPOWER Financing, headquartered in Washington, D.C., and with employees worldwide, is a mission-driven fintech company and the leading provider of global education loans. Its proprietary algorithm analyzes overseas and domestic credit data as well as future earning potential to serve promising international and DACA students. MPOWER works with over 400 top universities across the U.S. and Canada to provide financing to students from over 200 countries. The MPOWER team consists heavily of former international students and provides students with personal financial education and career support to prepare for life after school.

MPOWER was named one of the best places to work, one of the best tech workplaces for diversity, and one of American Banker’s top fintech firms to work for five years in a row. MPOWER is backed by Tilden Park Capital Management, King Street Capital Management, ETS Strategic Capital, Drakes Landing Associates, Pennington Alternative Income Management, Zephyr Peacock, Breega, Potencia Ventures, Goal Solutions, Gray Matters Capital, Cometa, AI8, DreamIt, 1776, Village Capital, Fresco, K Street and University Ventures.

Shutterstock Acquires Pond5, the World's Largest Video Marketplace

The acquisition solidifies Shutterstock's position as the marketplace leader for premium editorial and commercial video and music content for creative professionals and enterprises

NEW YORK, May 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE: SSTK), the leading global creative platform for transformative brands and media companies, today announced the acquisition of Pond5, the world's largest video-first content marketplace for filmmakers, media organizations, and marketers worldwide. Pond5 is the world's leading online marketplace for royalty-free and editorial video, with customers including Netflix, Disney, NBC, BBC, Discovery Channel and The Wall Street Journal. Pond5's comprehensive collection includes 30 million licensable video clips, 1.6 million music tracks and 1.7 million sound effects assets.

This acquisition solidifies Shutterstock's position as the premium destination for its global customer community for unique access to editorial content, video footage and music. Integrated with Shutterstock's workflow applications, this expansive content library enables Shutterstock's global customer community to create with confidence, and provides value to Pond5's 115K+ contributors, by expanding the distribution of their content to new regions and customers. Shutterstock Studios customers are also able to leverage their access to the offering, integrating clips from Pond5's unparalleled offering into powerful short form and long form content.

Pond5 combines their vast collection – which can be seen in various destinations, ranging from films and TV shows including Succession and The Queen's Gambit, to YouTube videos, video games and Super Bowl ads – with a best-in-class search experience that makes it seamless for creators to find what they need, even for the most unpredictable and niche content searches.

Since its inception in 2006, Pond5 has built an expanding contributor network of over 115,000 active contributors across 180 countries, who upload over 2.5 million assets each month. Additionally, Pond5's premium editorial content partners, such as Reuters, PA Media and British Movietone, will provide Shutterstock's global customer community access to up-to-the-minute and archival news footage.

"The acquisition of Pond5 provides immense value for our global customer base, with unparalleled access to one of the largest collections of editorial and commercial video content in the world," said Jon Oringer, Interim Chief Executive Officer at Shutterstock. "Our contributors will also benefit from having their work showcased on Pond5's platform, expanding their portfolio to new customers."

Jamie Elden, Chief Revenue Officer at Shutterstock said, "With this acquisition, we are able to offer our customers across global agency, corporate, and media channels access to one of the largest premium archival collections in the industry. Shutterstock is constantly reinventing, and this acquisition brings together powerful creators and exceptional content to ensure our customers have world class video, music and editorial collections at their fingertips."

Tom Crary, CEO at Pond5 said, "We could not be more thrilled to join forces with Shutterstock to lead the video and music space. Our combined editorial offerings will be a competitive force in the market, and offer additional choice to customers with highly exclusive editorial video content."

Transaction Highlights: 

• Consideration for the transaction consists of $210 million of cash paid at closing
• Further scales Shutterstock's video business and expands Shutterstock's editorial offering with unique and high-quality exclusive video content
• Complementary customer base with powerful relationships with the world's largest media outlets, social media platforms, and OTT streaming companies
• Maintaining 2022 revenue and adjusted EBITDA margin guidance
• Immediately accretive to 2022 adjusted EBITDA, even after one-time transaction related costs

CapM Advisors acted as financial advisor, and Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP acted as legal advisor to Shutterstock. Jefferies LLC acted as financial advisor, and Goodwin Procter LLP acted as legal advisor to Pond5. Investors can find a link to the presentation materials on the Pond5 transaction at https://investor.shutterstock.com

About Shutterstock, Inc.

Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE: SSTK), is the leading global creative platform for transformative brands and media companies. Directly and through its group subsidiaries, Shutterstock's comprehensive collection includes high-quality licensed photographs, vectors, illustrations, 3D models, videos and music. Working with its growing community of over 2 million contributors, Shutterstock adds hundreds of thousands of images each week, and currently has more than 405 million images and more than 25 million video clips available.

Headquartered in New York City, Shutterstock has offices around the world and customers in more than 150 countries. The Company also owns Pond5, the world's largest video marketplace, TurboSquid, the world's largest 3D content marketplace, PicMonkey, a leading online graphic design and image editing platform; Offset, a high-end image collection; Shutterstock Studios, an end-to-end custom creative shop; PremiumBeat, a curated royalty-free music library; Shutterstock Editorial, a premier source of editorial images and videos for the world's media; Amper Music, an AI-driven music platform; and Bigstock, a value-oriented stock media offering.

For more information, please visit www.shutterstock.com and follow Shutterstock on Twitter and on Facebook.

About Pond5

Pond5 strives to create world-class storytellers by providing creators of all types with the content they need to tell stories, share knowledge, and inspire audiences.

Driven by a commitment to its passionate and growing global community of more than 115,000 professional visual and audio artists, Pond5 provides a platform where creative work can flourish, and artists can make a sustainable living with industry-leading revenue shares. Pond5 serves the needs of creators across industries—from individual users to major corporations—with competitive pricing and an array of purchase options including a unique pay per item model. Purchases are backed by a broad and flexible license, a best price guarantee, and a dedicated team standing by to provide expert assistance.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding guidance, industry prospects, future business, future results of operations or financial condition, future dividends, our ability to consummate acquisitions and integrate the businesses we have acquired or may acquire into our existing operations, new or planned features, products or services, management strategies, our competitive position and the COVID-19 pandemic. You can identify forward-looking statements by words such as "may," "will," "would," "should," "could," "expect," "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "predict," "project," "seek," "potential," "opportunities" and other similar expressions and the negatives of such expressions. However, not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, those discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as in other documents that the Company may file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result of such risks, uncertainties and factors, Shutterstock's actual results may differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements discussed in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made only as of this date and Shutterstock assumes no obligation to update the information included in this press release or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law

OKX Collaborates with South China Morning Post (SCMP) to Transform Legacy Content Into NFTs

• Collectable NFTs consisting of posts, video clips and historical archives collected across its 118 years of legacy
• OKX premium users to get priority access to the NFT collection
• OKX to explore collaboration with Indian media houses for legacy content monetization
• Partnership to create news media-centric metaverse projects

OKX, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by spot trading volume, today announced a partnership with South China Morning Post (SCMP), a Hong-Kong based English newspaper that is operational for the past 118 years. Through this partnership, OKX will enable SCMP to create collectible NFTs of their historical archives collected across 118 years which consists of video clips, stories, coverage of historical events which shaped the world.

Artifacts by SCMP are collectible NFTs from the South China Morning Post's 118 years of archives. OKX is unlocking opportunities, exclusively for its Premium members, a chance to own moments of history and be part of a community enthusiastically preserving history on the blockchain.

In line with its first drop in mid-march 2022, South China Morning Post is looking forward to commemorating the drop around 1997's impact on the consequential history of Asia. The newspaper is all set to highlight contemporary reports revolving around the Handover of Hong Kong from British to Chinese rule, the Asian Financial Crisis, the deaths of Deng Xiaoping and Princess Diana, the Avian flu outbreak, and much more.

Commenting on the development Jay Hao, OKX CEO, said, "We are proud to onboard and serve our global family under the OKX Premium client program. There exists significant potential in the crypto and metaverse space and OKX is striving to create a more welcoming environment for all. Our collaboration with SCMP is just the beginning of this ambitious program.”

Commenting on the development Gary Liu, SCMP’s CEO, said, "Through our artifacts whitepaper, we look forward to inspiring other ‘guardians of history’ to share our vision of making history more discoverable, connected, and collectable. We are delighted to have OKX as our partner in our endeavor to create media-centric metaverse projects.”

OKX has embarked on an exciting journey to bring NFTs to the masses by creating highly engaging platforms for the users. The content driven NFTs will create new revenue streams for legacy media organizations and serve as a connecting link between current generation and rich historical events which shaped the modern world.

About OKX

OKX is an innovative cryptocurrency exchange with advanced financial services. OKX adopts blockchain to build the next-gen financial ecosystem. With OKX, you get access to the leading crypto exchanges by trading volume. Currently, OKX is serving millions of users in 100+ countries with a BTC futures trading volume of $1.5 billion daily. Apart from futures, OKX provides spot, margin, options, and perpetual swaps, DeFi, lending, and mining services.

Start-to-Finish Creator Economy Platform Pluc.TV Crosses Half a Million Users in 2021

Business Wire India

Creators joining the platform over the year included storytellers from 22 new countries, with more signing up everyday at: https://pluc.tv/

Pluc.TV is a start-to-finish creator economy platform where creators can produce, market and monetize content. With growth on the platform catapulting in 2021, it has hit half a million users from countries like India, UK, US, Canada, Africa, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Mexico and Australia. Pluc.TV has also won Silver for best use of online video at the prestigious WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards, second time in a row.
 
More than 50 million people around the world consider themselves creators today and India’s creator community is expected to cross 100 million in the next 5 years. But there’s an immense power imbalance between platforms and creators, and only a few top creators actually get the most amount of money.
 
Pluc.TV is creating a parallel ecosystem that puts creators and their premium stories at the heart of everything. Speaking about the year that was, Founder & CEO of Pluc.TV, Tamseel Hussain explains, "With our platform being used by almost 500,000 people this year, we’ve enabled thousands of creators to enter the creator economy, grow and earn their first buck. These include the creators you haven't encountered anywhere else and we're so excited to take this growth curve further in 2022."

"Combining discovery along with a robust selection of creator tools, we’re tailoring our technology for first time internet users and creating a seamless ecosystem that can enhance storytelling and help more creators create amazing content," says Joe Sebastian, Chief Technology Officer at Pluc.TV.

From a doctor who wanted to offer credible information during the pandemic reaching millions of people to a group of young students from rural India creating their own short film in less than 60 hours - Pluc.TV was used by thousands of creators to not only produce and share their content but also learn new skills via courses and apply for new gigs.

Head of Creator Relations, Shubham Gupta adds, “Right from storyboards to shooting to production to marketing, we have been able to help thousands of creators. We also launched the ‘gigs’ section on our platform listing paid opportunities to earn, which has helped so many creators gain financial independence.”

With presence at global conferences like COP26, I AM Weekend 21, community-led campaigns at Pluc.TV reached new benchmarks. Head of Partnerships, Niharika Maggo explains, “We’ve been able to help brands access a new stream of creators instead of just relying on mainstream influencers. Our health creators were the most popular in brand interactions. Our direct platform pageviews have hit 7.2 million this year, with multi platform views going over 400 million across channels. We’re so excited for 2022!”

Launched in 2017, Pluc.TV communities today comprise of over 31200 creators from 22 countries with more than 7000 published stories in 12 languages that have reached over 500 million people worldwide. For more information, please visit www.pluc.tv

Entertainment Platform Vodra Allows a ‘No Fee’ Ecosystem for Content Creators

Ad-free entertainment platform Vodra on Monday announced a “no-fee” ecosystem for content creators, enabling creatives to earn 100 percent of the revenue from donations and incentivized crowdsourced funding.

Creators simply set up a profile on Vodra, which can be displayed on and integrated into existing creator platforms where audiences already are, allowing them to solicit direct-from-fan support with no fees, regardless of the size of the contributions. Additionally, creators receive a portion of $VDR tokens based on the size of their audience when they join, adding an additional source of income. Unlike most content monetization models, Vodra’s efforts are supported by increasing the value of the $VDR token rather than by taking a percentage of creators’ income.

"Blockchain technology has allowed us to build an ecosystem in which all users are fairly rewarded for their participation, so that creators benefit directly from the growth of the platform" explained Zachary Bys, Co-Founder of Vodra. “Unlike other models, our primary users are our foremost stakeholders, which ensures that the platform serves their interests rather than faceless shareholders."

Additionally, Vodra makes it easy for creators to earn without having to leverage third-party and sometimes manipulative advertising models. Instead, creators have control over their content and are driven by a direct creator to audience relationship rather than creator to an advertiser to the audience.

"Creators are constantly under pressure to tailor their content in an effort to appease advertisers and keep their content monetized,” said Conner Romanov, Co-founder of Vodra. “Vodra allows creators to monetize their passions without sacrificing creativity as they would have to while contending with the existing advertising-based model. Our decentralized platform is shifting online entertainment compensation towards a direct creator-to-audience participation model; this brings the interests of both creators and audiences to the forefront."

Creator profiles are designed to be linked to existing entertainment platforms such as in a video description, creator bio, Livestream panel, or pop-up. Alternatively, audiences can browse through popular creators and projects directly on the Vodra Platform. Creators will also have the option to showcase leaderboards with their top fans and designate certain rewards for their primary supporters. These options encourage a direct, fee-free connection between audience members and creators, which is mutually beneficial.

Newgen Strengthens Mobility Component of Content Services Platform, Launches OmniDocs Mobile 11.0

Enhanced version to provide improved image capture and enhanced user experience

Newgen Software, global provider of digital transformation platform, has launched OmniDocs Mobile 11.0, an upgraded version of its OmniDocs mobile app.

The latest version of the software facilitates advanced image processing capabilities for optimized capture and compression. It offers users the ability to capture quality images under optimum size and control asset quality to optimize disk space usage. Furthermore, it utilizes the latest OS features for improved operation, usability, and user experience. The upgraded version of the OmniDocs mobile application is supported on the latest versions of Android and iOS platforms.

"The OmniDocs Mobile 11.0 release is all about enhanced user experience. Users can easily perform activities, such as browse, capture, upload, view, download, hold or reject, and advance search of documents from their mobile devices for convenience and flexibility. We are taking the complexity out of information, leverage cutting-edge technology to streamline content-centric business processes, and effectively manage enterprise content," said Virender Jeet, CEO, Newgen Software.

Key features of the new version include:

• Image Crop/Rotate Feature: Crop and rotate the images captured through OmniDocs mobile before uploading them into any folder present in the repository
• Image Compression: Compress images while capturing them and change the resolution as per the requirement
• Define File Upload Size Limit: Define file-size limit for images captured through OmniDocs mobile and change it as required.

Newgen continues to help leading organizations globally unlock simplicity in their content-centric business processes by efficiently handling billions of documents, enabling remote, secure collaboration, and enhancing customer experience.

About Newgen Software

Newgen is the leading provider of a unified digital transformation platform with native process automation, content services, and communication management capabilities. Globally, successful enterprises rely on Newgen's industry-recognized low code application platform to develop and deploy complex, content-driven, and customer-engaging business applications on the cloud. From onboarding to service requests, lending to underwriting, and for many more use cases across industries. Newgen unlocks simple with speed and agility.

For more details, visit www.newgensoft.com

Media Literacy: Keys to Interpreting Media Messages

Global Media and Information Week is organized by UNESCO every year in October to review and celebrate the progress achieved towards ‘Media and Information Literacy for All’. The book titled Media Literacy: Keys to Interpreting Media Messages authored by Prof Art Silverblatt Art Silverblatt, Professor Emeritus of Media Communications at WebsterUniversity, St. Louis, Missouri, Prof. Anubhuti Yadav, Professor of New Media at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, India and Dr Vedabhyas Kundu, Programme Officer at Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti is a contribution towards global MIL celebrations from India. This Indian Edition was developed under The Digital International Media Literacy Education Project (DIMLE).

Media Literacy: Keys to Interpreting Media Messages offers a critical approach that will enable students to better understand the information, messages, ideologies and entertainment factors conveyed through the channels of mass communication—print, photography, film, radio, television, and digital media. One of the principal goals of Media Literacy is to enable students
to develop a healthy and critical independence from the influence of the media, all the while maintaining their ability to enjoy interacting with the media and to develop their abilities to create media content.

The Part I of the book presents a theoretical framework for the critical analysis of media text. Part II gives students an opportunity to apply this methodological framework to a variety of media formats: journalism, advertising, and political communications. Part III consists of a brief consideration of mass media issues (violence in the media, media and children, media and social change, and global communications), as well as a discussion of potential outcomes once people become more media literate.

Prof. Art Silverblatt, Prof Anubhuti Yadav and Dr. VEdabhyas Kudu with their rich experiences in the field of Media and Information Literacy decided to bring out this print edition when we are all surrounded with misinformation, disinformation and rumors of various kinds. During the pandemic the world has recognized the importance of Media and Information Literacy to combat infodemic. This timely initiative is steeped in the Indian Media Literacy theoretical perspective and Initiatives taken in the field of Media literacy by the government and non-government organizations in India where the focus is on the construction as well as deconstruction of media messages. The emphasis is on student’s empowerment through education. This edition includes case studies from the Indian Media Industry which is very vibrant and complex AUTHORS.

Madhushri Verma, Lead PR and Corporate Communications Samunnati is Selected as India's Regional PR Awards 40 under 40 2021

Prior to this, Miss Verma was associated with DriveU, KisanKraft and Medibox

Madhushri Verma, Lead PR and Corporate Communications Samunnati is selected as India's Regional PR Awards 40 under 40 2021 under the category Leading PR Campaign for Startups.

IRPRA 40 under 40 awards were announced keeping in mind the due recognition that the regional PR deserves. IRPRA awards were broadly classified into 8 categories namely Award for excellence in CSR, Leading PR campaign for Start-ups category amongst others. The first edition of IRPRA witnessed applications from over 24 states and 360 applicants from the country. These awards are a medium to appraise and acknowledge the commendable job these PR professionals have performed over the years.

Madhushri has 7.5+ years of experience in PR and communications. She holds a master’s degree in public relations from University of Bedfordshire and undergraduate degree from media and communications and is presently associated with Samunnati, a specialized Agri Value Chain Enabler. Ms. Verma joined Samunnati in the beginning of 2020, in her current role, Madhushri oversee the entire gamut of PR/ Comms of Samunnati Finance and Samunnati Agro.
Madhushri is a communications professional with a proven expertise in public relations, corporate communication, internal communication, strategy management and brand reputation management. Prior to Samunnati, she has worked with DriveU, Medibox and Kisankraft.

A Media Planning Guide for your Advertising Campaign

Creating a solid online presence in today’s era is the key to any business’ success. Sharing and advertising content on online platforms is the prime way to increase brand awareness, attract potential customers and in turn increase revenue.

However, attracting customers via media requires detailed planning. Learning media planning can be very lucrative in today’s digital era!

This blog tells you everything you need to know about media planning. Let’s first understand what media planning is.

What is Media Planning?

Media Planning refers to selecting the appropriate media outlets to advertise your business to the target audience at the right time and place. In simple words, it is a strategy designed to achieve media objectives and yield optimum results.

Media planning aims to find a combination of media channels that help the marketer to advertise to a large audience at the lowest possible cost. Hence, it controls wasteful advertising, ensuring optimum utilisation of resources.

What does Media Planning Comprise?

Media planning comprises a brief media plan. It helps the advertising in understanding the budget, the goal of the advertising campaign, the market scenarios along the suitable media channels.

Let's now look at the 5Ws of media planning

1. Which: Which is/are the most suitable media channel(s) for the advertising campaign to be able to communicate effectively with the target audience
2. When: When will the advertising campaign be launched? The date, time, month are answered in this question.
3. What: What kind of message is to be communicated to the target audience via the advertising campaign? Is it an informative announcement, a demonstration etc?
4. Whom: Who is the target audience of the advertising campaign? How many people will be targeted? Age and gender are points to be considered while answering this question.
5. Where: Where is the target audience located? Identifying the geographical location of your audience is important while creating a media plan.

Media Planning Vs Media Buying

Media planning and Media Buying are both closely related to one another. Media Buying starts where Media Planning ends.

The basic difference between both terms is that media planning is the developing stage of the advertising campaign and media buying is the execution of the advertising campaign.

While media planning is the strategy of creating and publishing content on media platforms, media buying is the process of buying ad space on the various media channels to target your audience by negotiating with media vendors.

Hence, Media Buying is a sequel to Media Planning. Purchasing ad space and negotiating with distributors, requires a strategy to reach out to your target audience.

Also Check Out: Amazing Tools & Tips for Startups

Keep reading to know how you can develop your media plan.

Image ~ DVIO Digital

How to Write a Media Plan?

1. Identify Your Goals

Identifying and setting goals is the first step to implementing any business strategy. Building brand awareness, generating new leads, increasing conversion rates, retargeting are a few probable goals that a media planner can have.

Using the SMART goals criteria is the simplest way to develop any strategy that you want to implement. The acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound.

Refer to the 5 questions that you can ask yourself while framing your strategy.

Specific: What needs to be accomplished? How can it be accomplished?
Measurable: Is the goal quantifiable?
Achievable: Is the goal feasible and achievable by the team?
Relevant: How is the goal beneficial to the organization?
Time-Bound: Set a realistic deadline for your plan.

2. Conduct Market Research and Determine the Target Audience

Once you are clear of what you want to achieve through your goals, conduct market research. Conducting market research will help you to create content and formulate a plan according to your target audience.

Creating buyer personas is an effective way to determine your target audience. A Buyer Persona is a detailed description of the people representing your target market. It is created by surveying a predetermined target group.

While determining your target audience, you can consider the following points.

• Determine the Campaign Type - Business to Customer (B2C) or Business to Business (B2B).
• Demographics - Age, Gender. Location, Occupation, Educational Background
• Will they use your product?
• Which media does your target turn to for information?
• How does your product help the target?

Determining target audiences will help you decide the suitable media platforms to launch your ads and share the content on.

3. Implement Your Media Plan

Determining the target audience will easily help you in determining the perfect media mix for your advertising campaign.

Once the combination of the media platforms has been chosen, you can choose your media planning templates. There is a wide range of free downloadable templates available for you. These templates will help you in working efficiently and effectively on your media content. Hubspot, Sprout Social and Google Sheets are simple templates you can use.

Templates provide clarity and enable you to coordinate your content across your media platforms, improve productivity and reach your goals faster.

Source ~ Six Degree SLA

4. Measure Your Performance

After launching the advertising campaign, measure the performance of your plan. Identify glitches and act on them.

Understand which media platform is driving the most engagement and revenue. You can optimize your budget for your existing and future campaigns and track your progress by understanding the following points.

• Which platform is generating the highest revenue?
• Which platform is generating the lowest revenue?
• How can you increase your engagement on the non-performance platform?

Learning Google Analytics and Google Search Console are essential skills for marketers or planners!

To Summarise

Media Planning is an integral part of any business’s success. It is essential for reaching out to the audience by creating appropriate content and collaborating with media vendors to launch advertising campaigns at the right time.

To strategically build a media plan, do not forget to use a suitable media planning template. Follow the above steps and start planning today! And a bonus would be to train in digital marketing professionally to upscale your business ROI even further.

We hope you enjoyed reading the blog! If you have any questions, feel free to drop them in the comments section below.

Team Pumpkin Announces an Exclusive "Leaders of the Future Programme"

Team Pumpkin, a 360-degrees digital and public relations agency, has announced an exclusive "Leaders of the Future" programme for ten selected employees to sharpen their skills and groom strong leaders. For nine months, the candidates will go through an intensive tailored program that will make them future-ready to take on new responsibilities. The Leaders of the Future initiative aligns with the company's intention to skill employees and develop the leaders of tomorrow from their internal pool.

After a rigorous selection process, ten employees have been identified for the first batch of the prestigious Leaders of the Future program. The modules, which include Self Discovery, Personal Branding, Communication, Industry Updates, Skill Development, will be conducted through intensive training by notable industry/domain experts via interactions, case studies, workshops, group discussions, personalized sessions, and projects.

The selected employees, after careful consideration of various factors, are:

• Rida Ateeq - Head Public Relations
• Purvi Dave- Manager Business Development
• Swati Sanchayi - Manager Content Writing
• Athira Nair - Creative Strategy Lead
• Rohit Bagdi - Manager Visual Design
• Ravi Gupta - Business Head
• Sandeep Singh Saini - Head Operations
• Tapan Surana - Finance Head
• Ganesh Patel - Associate Creative Head
• Siddhant Menon - Manager Content Writing

The programme structure creates a classroom-like experience within working hours and through interesting learning modules that help attain new skills and aligns each individual's abilities with the organization's aptitudes as a whole.

Team Pumpkin believes that this program will help its young leaders to build on their strengths, overcome their weaknesses and develop a well-rounded personality that will gear them up to take up new challenges as the company scales up in the coming years. Being part of such a prestigious program will add significant value to their resume and equip them to compete for internal career opportunities when they present themselves.

Speaking about the initiative, Swati Nathani, CEO, Team Pumpkin, said -

We realize that as a growing company, we need to invest in our people as they are our greatest assets. The program is like a mini MBA spread over nine months with in-house expertise and industry leaders as guest speakers. It is a long-term investment that will help groom our employees for higher responsibilities in a growing company like ours or any career inclination they choose to pursue in the future. After all, growing human capital is one of the key responsibilities of good leadership, and Team Pumpkin plans to put that into practice with a structured management program. Our upcoming Leaders of the Future are prepping to bring a change to the industry and building their personal brand. Stay tuned to follow their journey to excellence.

Whether it is succession planning, talent retention, and future acquisition or managing the growth challenges as a company scales up, leadership development training is guaranteed to provide rich dividends.

iTV Network Acquires Majority Stake in The Real Kashmir News

iTV Network has acquired a majority stake in a local news portal The Real Kashmir News and consolidated its presence in the Kashmir Valley.

On this occasion, Kartikeya Sharma, Founder of iTV Network, said, "We are delighted to announce the acquisition of The Real Kashmir News. This is part of our strategic expansion in a hybrid system of print, digital and television to augment the presence of India News in Jammu & Kashmir. With this acquisition, we will be sharing the news from different corners of Jammu and Kashmir to national and global audiences. Also, iTV Network will be launching India News Jammu & Kashmir"

The Real Kashmir News, founded with a vision to promote positive news from the Valley and cover first-hand news from Jammu and Kashmir, is dedicated to providing unbiased stories.

Expressing his views on the acquisition, Sajid Yousuf, CEO, The Real Kashmir News, said, "It's really a proud moment for us all that we have merged with iTV Network, a brand in itself. By merging with iTV Network, we will become the voice of voiceless people."

Yana Mir, Editor-in-Chief, The Real Kashmir News, said, "The Real Kashmir News is proud to announce that we are now a product of iTV Network. Proud moment!"

Speaking on this, Varun Kohli, CEO, iTV Network, said, “iTV Network has expanded further into the regional news space with the acquisition of The Real Kashmir News. We will be reaching out to a wider audience with this tie up."

On this development, Meenakshi Singh, President – Government and Retail, iTV Network, said, "We believe that the partnership with The Real Kashmir News is in keeping with a continued focus to partner and invest into good ideas within the media space in India and globally."

iTV Network is India's fastest growing news and infotainment network with multiple interests in print, electronic and digital media. ITV Network has leading news channels in the country like NewsX, India News, India News Haryana, India News Rajasthan, India News MPCG and India News Punjab.

Mad Influence Launches Mad Studio, A Unique Content Creation Hub for the Influencers and Celebrities

A studio created by the influencers, for the influencers and of the influencers

The 15000 sq ft space will be utilized by influencers and celebrities associated with Mad Influence for networking which is first of its kind in the arena of content industry

New Delhi, 8th June 2021: India’s leading Influencer marketing platform, Mad Influence has launched Mad Studio in Mumbai and Delhi, respectively for the content creators. The platform aims to change the concept of influencer marketing with the launch of Mad Studio benefitting its influencers and the brands they promote.

The unique concept of Mad Studio will pave the way for the influencers partnered with Mad Influence to create good quality professionally generated content (PGC). The newly launched studio offers dance studio, VFX studio, photoshoots and various other top-class facilities required to create the best content that will garner the attention of the influencers from the target audience of the representing brand.

Spread over 15000 square feet space located at Andheri West in Mumbai (8200 sq ft) and Sector-1, Noida in Delhi NCR (7500 sq ft). Located in the primest area of Mumbai, Mad Studio is fully built as per the convenience of its influencers and celebrities. Starting from professional lighting to soundproof rooms, space for broadcast, voice recording, dance and space for workshops every nook and corner of the studio is created as per the needs and requirements for the creators and influencers/celebrities. The studio has professional instructors and videographers who take care of content thus moderating the content quality. It not only provides professional sound, lights and VFX but also well-trained ground staff to create outstanding content. Industry top influencers Chinky Minky, Aadlil khan and Tejas have designed three spaces respectively at MAD Studio according to their desideratum and they are the cover face of the studio.

 
Mad Studio, the one stop solution provided to content creators already saw prominent celebrities like Honey Singh, Nushrat Bharucha, Nora Fatehi, Dhvani Bhanushali and many others coming for the shoot. This platform not only provides them with the right atmosphere, equipment and right guidance to work on their campaigns but it also helped them to get more and more followers in their social media. Honey Singh gained 1.5 million followers on his Instagram after song promotion of Saiyaan Ji at MAD Studio.

On the launch of Mad Studio, a very elated Gautam Madhavan, Founder & CEO, said --

This is a milestone achieved by all of us at Mad Influence. From the beginning of our journey, we have seen that influencers are going anywhere and shooting content without any proper equipment and we realized that the US is doing similar content but their video quality is far better than our Indian influencers’ video quality. This forced us to think about Mad Studio where our influencers will have a better content creation with the right equipment, right atmosphere and have the right guidance to create content.

Also, we have a strong relationship with the entertainment industry and we are working with T-series,Tips,Sony, and Saregama that have made a possibility of association with celebrities and influencers at the same platform without any prejudice and discrimination. With Mad studio we want to negotiate the thin line between the celebrities and influencers.”

Mad Influence is India’s fastest growing influencer marketing platform working with over 10000+ Influencers across India and it has served over 500+ influencer marketing campaigns. The platform brings talents, content creators, influencers, and brands together to do successful campaigns. Since its inception in 2018, the platform has had successful association with Dharma Production, Alt Balaji, Vivo, Pen, Hotstar, Dettol, Parle, Emami etc.

About Mad Influence:

Mad Influence is India's Fastest Growing Influencer Marketing Platform working with over 10000+ Influencers across India. We bring talents, content creators, influencers and brands together to do awesome things together. Website: https://www.madinfluence.com/