MAM
Carat revises downwards ad spend growth to 5% in 2012
MUMBAI: Media Communications specialist Carat, part of Aegis Media, has revised downwards the global ad spend due to economic stresses in Europe and the US.
In its new forecast, Carat has predicted global advertising expenditure to grow at five per cent in 2012, down from its earlier forecast of six per cent.
For 2013, Carat has downgraded the global ad growth to 5.3 per cent from 5.8 per cent. The company had made its previous forecast in March 2012.
These latest forecasts are consistent with the view of the two-speed world whereby we continue to see significant growth from the faster-growing regions of the world versus the lower levels of growth in the developed economies of the US and Western Europe, with Western Europe being impacted by low or negative growth, particularly in Southern Europe.
The data also shows that global investment in Digital Advertising will overtake investment in Newspapers sooner than expected, in 2012 rather than 2013, as audiences continue to move online.
By media, digital remains the driving force in the market in terms of growth, continuing to outstrip growth in other verticals, followed by Out-of-Home (OOH) and television.
Year on year percentage growth at current prices
(Figures in brackets show the previous forecasts from March 2012)
|
2012
|
2013
|
|
|
Global
|
5.0 (6.0)
|
5.3 (5.8)
|
|---|---|---|
|
North America
|
4.9 (5.0)
|
5.3 (4.3)
|
|
USA
|
4.9 (4.9)
|
5.3 (4.2)
|
|
Canada
|
3.3 (5.4)
|
4.3 (6.1)
|
|
Western Europe
|
0.2 (1.5)
|
1.1 (2.2)
|
|
UK
|
2.8 (4.0)
|
2.8 (3.4)
|
|
Germany
|
1.1 (1.2)
|
1.5 (2.0)
|
|
France
|
0.5 (1.5)
|
1.9 (1.9)
|
|
Italy
|
-5.0 (1.2)
|
-0.4 (1.0)
|
|
Spain
|
-8.0 (-4.7)
|
-5.4 (1.6)
|
|
C&EE
|
7.9 (9.5)
|
8.8 (9.0)
|
|
Russia
|
14.1 (15.2)
|
13.1 (12.8)
|
|
Asia Pacific
|
6.8 (8.7)
|
6.5 (8.6)
|
|
Australia
|
1.0 (2.9)
|
2.0 (2.7)
|
|
China
|
11.0 (14.7)
|
9.8 (14.6)
|
|
Japan
|
2.9 (3.0)
|
2.8 (0.7)
|
|
Latin America
|
12.0 (10.7)
|
9.0 (8.2)
|
|
Brazil
|
12.8 (10.5)
|
9.4 (8.0)
|
Commenting on the Carat forecasts Aegis Group CEO Jerry Buhlmann said, “Carat‘s latest ad spend forecasts show the continuation of two fundamental trends which have changed the advertising industry. Firstly, Digital Media continues to grow materially ahead of all the other media and has overtaken newspapers – a year earlier than expected – to become the second largest medium in terms of advertising spend, behind TV. The trend of audiences moving online shows no sign of slowing down, as demand for online content and the proliferation of internet and mobile access increases. In parallel to this, the trend of the two-speed world continues, with the rates of growth in the emerging economies remaining well ahead of the US and Western Europe.
“With these two themes – globalisation and convergence – the media landscape is becoming increasingly complex. In addition, it is creating exciting new growth opportunities for the global advertisers and changing the demands they place on the advertising groups. In these changing times, for those that have the most focused and specialist offerings, along with the global reach and scale to provide innovative integrated solutions that deliver real results, there are exciting times ahead.”
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.
