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Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's OTT giant, JioCinema, is reportedly preparing to onboard a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as it enters the next phase of growth, challenging the dominance of Disney+Hotstar and other OTT platforms operating in India.
According to a Bloomberg report, the company plans to onboard Kiran Mani, a former Google executive, as its new CEO, and he has already started working for the company. However, there has been no official confirmation from the company regarding Mani's appointment.
The report stated that Kiran will oversee technology development for the OTT service and facilitate partnerships with Hollywood studios in his latest role.
Who is Kiran Mani?
Currently, Kiran Mani is the General Manager and the Managing Director of Android and Google Play in the Asia Pacific Region (APAC).
He has been with Google for almost 14 years and has held several senior leadership roles, including Managing Director of Global Partners in Asia Pacific & Japan, Managing Director of US Retail, Director of Global Accounts, and Head of Sales in India.
Prior to joining Google, Kiran had worked at Microsoft as the Senior Director of Marketing, Strategy, and Operations.
Interestingly, he has been involved in entrepreneurship and is an investor in James Murdoch and Uday Shankar’s Bodhi Tree. In 2009, he co-founded Fosbury Flop, an adtech platform for last-minute media buying and crowdsourcing marketing solutions. The company was later acquired by an undisclosed entity.
He started his professional career as an Account Planner at Ogilvy & Mather and later joined the technology company IBM, where he held several leadership roles, including General Manager, Vice President, and Country Manager.
The rising popularity of JioCinema
Viacom18, the parent of JioCinema, is a joint venture between billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RIL), Paramount Global, and Bodhi Tree.
The development follows the popularity JioCinema gained since it offered free streaming of the Tata IPL 2023 tournament to lure more paying subscribers. Subsequently, The OOT giant introduced a streaming plan that costs Rs 999 annually, or $12.
As it enters the next phase of growth, JioCinema started forging partnerships with several companies, including PUBG maker Krafton.
Recently, Viacom18 signed a multi-year deal in India with Warner Bros. Discovery to make JioCinema the new platform for HBO, Max Original, and Warner Bros content. The deal will enable streaming of popular Hollywood content, including HBO shows like Succession and Game of Thrones.
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