MAM
History TV18’s challenge will be to build a profitable revenue scale
MUMBAI: Faced with severe competition from strong rivals like Discovery and NGC channels in the infotainment genre, late entrant History TV18’s strategy of offering the most number of regional feeds will attract a wider range of advertisers but the challenge will be to build a profitable revenue scale.
Madison Media Group CEO Punitha Arumugam pegs the infotainment genre ad market at Rs 1.5 billion and believes that regional is still a developing space. The major chunk of the revenue, however, is taken away by the two big league players, leaving most of the others in the genre struggling.
For History TV18, the best approach was to have an alternate strategy. Already available in seven languages (Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Hindi and English), the plan is to launch two more regional feeds.
Arumugam favours such a strategy. “The future for not only infotainment channels but for every channel in the market is to have regional feeds. As more and more advertisers are exploring better targeting of audiences and localisation of messaging, the need of the hour is for regionalisation of national telecast beams,” she says.
Several media experts agree that channels up against much bigger rivals should woo advertisers by creating a viable local alternate to the national option.
Says Lodestar UM COO Nandini Dias, “Infotainment channels have had regional language feeds for quite a while now. Whenever a channel adds a language feed, the ratings in the state increase. This is more evident in the south of India rather than markets like Gujarat or West Bengal. But an increase in viewership is always welcome, however marginal. I am sure the channel would have done a cost-benefit analysis before going ahead with this strategy.”
The success of regional feeds also depends on the region where the feed is launched. And of all of History TV18’s language languages, Gujarati seems to be the most debatable. Gujarat remains largely a Hindi TV-viewing market.
Says Spatial Access joint CEO Nikhil Rangnekar, “Having a Gujarati feed will not affect the viewership much.”
Some even question the profitability of starting a feed in so many regional languages.
“When Discovery started a feed in Hindi, its viewership experienced a huge leap. But now, if you notice, most of the audiences are attuned to watching infotainment channels in either Hindi or English. These two languages cover most of the TG. Having so many regional language feeds will not really make a difference in the ad market share,” says Rangnekar.
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History TV18 plans to add two language feeds, boost rev
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ABBY Awards 2026 names 3 jury chairs across digital, PR and publisher
Aditiya, Dharmaraj and Puri to lead key categories at Goafest 2026
MUMBAI: The Ad Club has announced the appointment of PG Aditiya, Deepshikha Dharmaraj and Pavita Puri as jury chairs for the Digital, PR and Publisher categories respectively at the ABBY Awards 2026, powered by The One Club and The One Show.
The awards are set to take place during Goafest 2026 from May 20 to 22 at Taj Cidade de Goa Horizon, bringing together some of the biggest names in advertising and marketing.
PG Aditiya, founder and CCO at Talented, will chair the Digital jury. A former chief creative officer at Dentsu Webchutney, he now leads Talented, an employee-owned independent agency known for its unconventional structure and award-winning work for brands such as Meta, Google, Britannia and Tanishq. The agency has also been recognised as a global ‘Best Place to Work’ by Campaign magazine for two consecutive years.
In the PR category, Deepshikha Dharmaraj, CEO at Burson Group India, brings over three decades of experience in public relations and integrated communications. She oversees multiple entities including Burson Genesis, GCI Health India and Hill & Knowlton India. Known for her strategic counsel and leadership, Dharmaraj has also served as president of industry bodies such as PRCAI and PAFI, and has been a jury member at global platforms including Cannes PR Lions and D&AD Awards.
Pavita Puri, chief brand and marketing officer at The Indian Express Group, will chair the Publisher category. With over 15 years of leadership experience, she has been instrumental in driving the group’s transition into a digital-first media powerhouse, overseeing brands such as The Indian Express, Financial Express, Loksatta and Jansatta. Her earlier stints in advertising include roles at Rediffusion and Lowe India, where she handled marquee clients across sectors.
The appointments reflect a strong mix of creative, communications and media expertise, underscoring the awards’ focus on recognising excellence across evolving industry segments.
As the industry gears up for Goafest, the ABBY Awards 2026 promise to spotlight standout work, with seasoned leaders at the helm of jury deliberations shaping the benchmark for creative excellence.
