MAM
Indian TV AD EX to grow at 12 .3 per cent in 2016: Carat report 2016
MUMBAI: Based on data received from 59 markets across the Americas, Asia Pacific and EMEA, Carat’s latest global forecast highlights that advertising spends will reach US$538 billion in 2016, accounting for a +4.5 per cent year-on-year increase. The report also forecasts India growing begun on a positive note with a forecast growth rate of +12.0 per cent in 2016. Carat’s first forecast for worldwide advertising expenditure in 2017 also predicts India’s ad spends will leapfrog to a growth of 13.9 per cent by 2017.
Unlike growth in the other BRIC markets – Brazil, Russia and China – advertising expenditure in India would continue to accelerate in this year, supported by the India T20 Cricket World Cup and the state elections. TV advertising revenues are forecast to grow by +12.3 per cent in 2016, supported by strong spending from e-commerce companies and FMCG brands.
While TV is expected to remain dominant for many years to come, advertisers are increasingly utilising online video as an invaluable complement. In spite of the much talked about digital marketing drive in the country, the overall share of total digital advertising spends in India is still relatively low at 8.9 per cent (2016).
Whereas the global ad spends on news paper are declining in markets like North America and Latin, India shows a positive newspaper advertising spend at +10.5 per cent in 2016, primarily due to investment from e-commerce, automotive and a small contribution from government spending. Retail advertisers also continue to spend on print.
Carat’s first forecasts for 2017 predict continuing strong growth for the advertising market in India with an estimated increase of +13.9 per cent and expected favourable economic conditions in which advertisers vie for the consumers’ attention.
The report makes it clear that while TV will continue to dominate the lion share of advertising spends, digital is the real growth driver. Powered by the upsurge of mobile (+37.9 per cent), online video (+34.7 per cent) and social media (+29.8 per cent) in 2016, the strength of digital is expected to continue to grow at double digit prediction levels of +15.0 per cent this year, and a further +13.6 per cent in 2017.
Overall, Carat predicts the upsurge of digital to account for 27.0 per cent of advertising spends in 2016 and extend significantly to 29.3 per cent in 2017, reaching US$161 billion globally.
Whilst digital is constantly closing the gap, TV continues to command the majority of market share with a steady 42 per cent. In 2015 ad spends is predicted to grow by +3.1 per cent this year as the Olympic Games and US elections are predicted to generate significant TV viewership across various markets. In addition, Carat’s forecasts reconfirm the steady decline in Print* in 2016 and into 2017 with Newspapers declining by -5.4 per cent and Magazines by -1.7 per cent in 2016 whilst highlighting positive year-on-year growth in 2016 for all other media, including Outdoor (+3.4 per cent),
Radio (+2.2 per cent) and Cinema (+2.8 per cent), with the latter expected to grow further at +5.0 per cent in 2017.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
