MAM
DQE appoints Sun-Mate as global toy partner for The Jungle Book
MUMBAI: DQ Entertainment International (DQE) has appointed global toy manufacturer Sun-Mate Corporation to be the master global toy partner for the new 3D, CGI international animated TV series, The Jungle Book.
As the appointed global master toy partner, Sun-Mate will design and manufacture a large variety of toys for the new The Jungle Book including play sets, figurines, plush, electronic toys, walkie-talkies, role-play and outdoor adventure sets.
Sun-mate will preview the new toy line at the forthcoming 2013 Hong Kong Toy Fair, New York Toy Fair and Nuremberg Toy Fair events, as part of their initial global sales launches for the brand. The Company will also announce, in the near future, key appointments for regional distributors in conjunction with the new series’ growing popularity internationally.
DQ Entertainment International Chairman and CEO Tapaas Chakravarti said, “We are happy to leverage on the strengths of our partners, Sun-Mate Corporation in bringing a wide variety of toys and collectibles to Jungle Book fans globally. With the immense success of the first season of The Jungle Book, we are now poised to receive maximum traction on the licensing of this much loved brand as we are on the verge of launching the second season of this series.”
“The Jungle Book, new 3D, CGI animated series, is a phenomenal success internationally. With current international broadcasters anxiously anticipating the second season and additional broadcast partners being added all the time, our expansion into the international marketplace is well-timed. Our global toy distribution plans will seek to satisfy the growing demand for toys by young fans and their parents everywhere who have come to love these celebrated characters even further,” Sun-Mate Corporation President Rami Ben-Moshe added.
The deal follows Sun-Mate’s appointment, earlier this fall, by SMC Entertainment Group, INC (SMC) to be the North American master toy licensee for the brand. SMC holds the North American rights for home entertainment, licensing, merchandising and promotional rights for the new 3D CGI animated TV series brand.
SMC also secured the master toy rights for “The Jungle Book” for Australia and New Zealand and all licensing and merchandising for South Africa. DQ Entertainment (DQE) is the producer and global rights owners of new “The Jungle Book” animated TV series.
The Jungle Book, new 3D, CGI animated series, is airing in 165 countries across the globe, and currently has over 100 licensees worldwide in key categories of publishing, gaming, digital, apparel, accessories, home furnishings, back-to-school, games, puzzles, HBA, confections, amusement, Halloween and seasonal products.
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.
