Arjun Nohwar, previously responsible for the launch of HBO MAX in India, will serve as general manager for the country. Megha Tata managing director, South Asia, Discovery Communications India, who had led the launch of the Discovery+ streaming service, will be moving on from the company. Clement Schwebig will continue as president and managing director of Warner Bros. Discovery in India, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea.
“I am extremely excited with the talent we have and the opportunities that lie ahead - from our streaming services HBO GO in Southeast Asia and discovery+ in India to the growth potential of the Kids space in India," Schwebig said in a statement. WarnerMedia had earlier announced three senior content hires in Asia to bolster its original productions teams ahead of the launch of HBO Max in the region.
The legacy businesses of WarnerMedia and Discovery will now run together as one team, under Schwebig’s regional leadership. The footprint of the new-look media organization in India is now significantly larger – bringing together several lines of business. It combines all of its India-based TV networks with streaming, games, consumer products, film or content production, home entertainment and TV distribution (syndication) and theatrical movie distribution. In India, this means that brands such as CNN, Discovery, Cartoon Network, POGO, Discovery Kids, Eurosport, as well as the streaming service discovery+, all sit within the same portfolio. The business also includes the theatrical distribution of Warner Bros. Pictures titles, the syndication of Warner Bros. TV, HBO and Max Originals, Warner Bros. Discovery global brands and experiences and WB Games.
As far as other appointments go, Shonali Bedi will lead affiliate distribution and digital partnerships for Southeast Asia, while she continues to head business development and insights regionwide. On the content (programming, original production and acquisition) side, Magdalene Ew will continue to head entertainment, Christopher Ho will head kids and Lynn Ng will head factual and lifestyle.
For the overall INSEAK (India, Southeast Asia and Korea) region, Kurt Rieder will continue to lead theatrical distribution as well as being part of the international theatrical operations headed by Andrew Cripps. Jae Chang will continue to lead TV distribution and home entertainment. Vikram Sharma will lead consumer products licensing, while he continues to oversee advertising sales for Southeast Asia. Jason Monteiro will head an integrated marketing team across INSEAK in addition to his coordination role for the company’s streaming services.
