MAM
EssenceMediacom & GroupM ESP renew A23’s partnership with Celebrity Cricket League for season 10
Mumbai: EssenceMediacom, GroupM’s newest and largest media agency along with GroupM ESP, the entertainment, esports, and sports division of GroupM successfully facilitated the dynamic partnership renewal between A23, India’s leading skill-based gaming platform, and the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) for its 10th season.
Marking another exciting chapter in this collaboration, A23 returns as the presenting sponsor, building upon the success of their partnership last year. This strategic alliance leverages the shared passion for entertainment and excitement inherent in both brands, promising an unparalleled experience for the audience.
GroupM South Asia head of sports, esports, and live entertainment Vinit Karnik emphasized the strategic importance of the partnership, stating, “Celebrity Cricket League sits at the crossroads on sports and entertainment bringing together the length and breadth of India’s entertainment industry. With a robust distribution plan spanning regional and national sports channels alongside JioCinema; CCL 2024 is poised to break all its previous records. We’re proud to facilitate the dynamic partnership between A23 and CCL for 2nd year in a row. Building on last seasons’ successes, we’re confident of a rewarding season of the league for A23 in the coming weeks.”
Celebrating its 10th year, CCL is the ultimate “sportainment” spectacle, seamlessly blending the worlds of cinema and cricket. As the only sports league in India uniting over 200 actors from eight different languages, it transcends regional boundaries and fosters a sense of national unity. The upcoming season, commencing on February 23rd in Sharjah and continuing with 20 action-packed matches across India, promises electrifying entertainment for a diverse audience.
A23 VP-marketing, head digital works Gunnidhi Singh Sareen expressed excitement about the renewed collaboration, stating, “We are thrilled to announce our renewed collaboration with Celebrity Cricket League (CCL), a partnership that seamlessly aligns with the essence of A23. CCL, with its massive and diverse fan base spanning across the nation, breaks all barriers and boundaries, creating an experience that fosters the feeling of ‘playing together.’”
Last season, CCL garnered an impressive cumulative TV and digital reach, captivating over 250 million viewers throughout the country. This year’s edition, CCL Season 10, promises to be even grander, bringing together the most beloved film celebrities under one platform for an unmatched entertainment extravaganza.
Celebrity Cricket League founder Vishnu Induri stated, “We are happy to have A23 as the presenting sponsor for the 10th season of CCL. A23 has been a committed partner for CCL since the last season sharing our passion towards talent and the spirit of cricket. With their continued support CCL is scaling and we are looking forward to our biggest season this year.
As EssenceMediacom and GroupM ESP facilitate this dynamic partnership between A23 and CCL for the second year in a row, all stakeholders anticipate a rewarding season filled with entertainment, engagement, and unforgettable moments both on and off the field.
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.
