Sonia Huria set to join as communications lead for Amazon Prime Video in India this October

 7th September 2020    PR News 
 Paarul Chand

Sonia Huria who was senior vice president & head, corporate marketing, communications and sustainability at Viacom18 Media Private Limited will be joining Amazon as the head of communications, India for Amazon Prime Video in October 2020.

She becomes the first person in this India role to report directly to the APAC and Canada Prime Video communications chief, Tobias Tringali.

Amazon Prime Video has been driving a strong content push in India with several original India content series including the recently released Season 2 of Breathe : Into the Shadows helmed by Abhishek Bachchan and the upcoming new season of gangster crime drama Mirzapur.

COVID has further spiked OTT viewing numbers in India. In March, during an earnings call, Amazon reported a doubling of viewing number globally for Amazon Prime Video. In India the firm is also helped by attractive price points that offer bundled Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime and Amazon Music at one integrated price point.

Ramping up Amazon Prime Video’s communication outreach, Huria will bring in her extensive experience of entertainment and corporate communication. She will be directly responsible for driving the PR narrative for Amazon Prime Video while also leading communication and reputation management across the media spectrum.

With over 18 years of experience in the entertainment and the consumer space, Sonia Huria led brand and corporate communications for Viacom18 across all its five lines of business – broadcast entertainment, filmed entertainment, digital entertainment, experiential entertainment and consumer products – as well as led one of the industry’s most decorated internal communication functions. 

Sonia began her journey with Viacom18 in 2008, as part of the team that launched Hindi GEC – COLORS which became the no.1 channel in the category within a span of 9 months from launch. 

Huria also successfully created a model of multi-partner funded behaviour change communication content at Viacom18. First with the TV series Navrangi Re! which focused on sanitation in peri-urban India to more recently with MTV Nishedh. In addition to managing internal and external communication, Sonia also leads trade marketing and digital media for the organisation – ensuring streamlined messaging across touchpoints.

As an industry thought leader, Huria serves as managing committee member at The Advertising Club.