MAM
WPP, AwesomenessTV & Verizon invest in Hispanic digital network Mitu
MUMBAI: Mitú – an online Hispanic-focused digital content creator and media company catering to young Latino audiences in the US and Latin America – has raised a sum of $27 million from WPP Digital, DreamWorks Animation’s AwesomenessTV and Verizon Ventures in a round of Series C funding.
With this the company’s total funding till date is now $43 million. The company’s existing investor Upfront Ventures also participated in this fresh round.
Mitú’s clients include America Movil, Kia, MillerCoors, NBCUniversal and Procter & Gamble. Mitú was founded in 2012 and is based in Santa Monica with offices in Mexico and Colombia. It employs around 120 people.
Mitú creates and distributes original content as well as producing branded entertainment on behalf of its clients. Mitú’s technology enables it to efficiently analyze its Latino audience’s consumption of content across social media, thus providing it with a feedback loop for the company to continually create viral content. Mitú has over two billion global monthly views across all platforms in the US, as well as Mexico, Brazil and other Latin American countries.
WPP Digital’s minority interest acquisition in Mitú, continues WPP’s strategy of investing in regions and sectors such as digital.
Mitú founder and CEO Roy Burstin said, “Latinos represent 24 per cent of millennials in the US. That’s why we think of this demo not as a niche but as a part of the mainstream. Mitú’s content brings a distinct point of view that appeals broadly to young, mobile audiences. Brands want to reach these young consumers but accessing them through traditional channels has proved elusive. Mitú has reach where others have struggled.”
WPP chief digital officer Scott Spirit added, “This investment fits perfectly with WPP’s strategy of investing in digital, content and fast-growth markets, such as countries in Latin America, and demographics, such as US Hispanic youth. Clients are trying to reach audiences where they organically spend their time. With young audiences, you need to reach them online and this investment in Mitú is a great vehicle for clients of WPP companies to accomplish that.”
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.
