MAM
Colors in top position in week that ends with India’s World Cup win
MUMBAI: In the week that ended with India lifting the World Cup, Colors has occupied the top spot in the Hindi general entertainment channel space amid allegations from some rival networks that it dropped ad inventory.
The Viacom18 channel, following behind market leader Star Plus for almost a year, has added 28 GRPs (gross rating points) during the week.
While the whole nation was gripped by the cricket World Cup fever, all the other GECs were losing viewership in a magical week that saw India triumph over Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Colors, on the other hand, raced up the charts to end the week with 300 GRPs, with four of its shows – Uttaran, Na Aana Is Des Laado, Balika Vadhu and Laagi Tujhse Lagan – ranking among the top 10.
Said Colors spokesperson, “To counter the intensifying cricket World Cup mania, we adopted an aggressive approach as part of our tactical move to minimise viewership-loss to cricket. These included inventory optimisation, storyline peaks in some of our fiction shows and strong movie line-ups. The GEC space is not alien to these tactics. As the ratings suggest, this appears to have paid-off for us, as we experienced minimum viewership loss during the peak of World Cup cricket.”
Star Plus dropped to No. 2 with 261 GRPs in its kitty (last week 291 GRPs), according to Tam data for Hindi speaking markets.
“We refrained from dropping ad ventory to shore up our ratings. We do not believe in tactics which are ‘value-destroying‘ for the industry. For us, it is important to have a sustainable business plan,” said Star India EVP and head, marketing and communications Anupam Vasudev.
Star Plus believes that it will retain its pole position. “India reaching the finals and winning the World Cup was a very big and good thing for the country. It has come after 28 years and is bound to impact the other genres. Viewers will come back to us, now that the World Cup is over,” explained Vasudev.
Meanwhile, Zee TV lost 16 GRPs during the week to stay in third position with 170 GRPs.
Sony Entertainment Television was the top loser during the week. It shed 39 GRPs and slipped one position to take the fifth spot with 120 GRPs, while sister channel Sab, even after losing 8 GRPs, stayed in the fourth position with 128 GRPs.
Imagine TV shed 11 GRPs to end the week with 70 GRPs while Star One and Sahara One were at 28 and 22 GRPs respectively.
MAM
Ad:tech honours 2026: Full list of winners announced
Expanded awards spotlight winners across 22 categories as industry doubles down on intelligent automation
NEW DELHI: Marketing’s tech elite took the spotlight as the ad:tech honours 2026 returned with a sharper focus on AI, data and immersive media, signalling how deeply technology now underpins brand strategy. Held at Yashobhoomi on March 17, the second edition drew industry leaders to celebrate innovation that is reshaping engagement and performance.
Presented with the International Advertising Association India chapter and new partner Huella, the awards expanded from 8 to 22 categories, tracking the rapid convergence of creativity, automation and analytics.
The winners’ list reads like a snapshot of marketing’s future. In affiliate and partner marketing, Lyxel & Flamingo – Boat and Paytm Ads – Giva took silver. Mobavenue Media Private Limited struck gold in AI-driven dynamic creative optimisation, alongside a silver for Laqshya Media Limited.
Creative AI collaboration saw Rediffusion Brand Solutions Private Limited win gold, with Saltinc Consulting Private Limited securing silver. Laqshya Media Limited continued its strong run, taking gold in AI conversation agents and adding multiple wins across categories, including silver in GenAI-led creative and both gold and silver in interactive DOOH campaigns for Tanishq and Tata Coffee.
Predictive AI honours went to Strong Metrics and Tyroo, both silver, while Orient Bell Limited picked up silver in immersive retail tech. In GenAI-led creative, Laqshya Media Limited, Salt – Kotak and Sumimoto each secured silver, reflecting the crowded race in generative creativity.
Publicis bagged silver in influencer management and gold in performance marketing, where it shared the stage with Arm Worldwide and The Trade Desk, both silver. Glad U Came Private Limited stood out with gold in influencer measurement and analytics.
Marketing automation saw CereOne Media Pvt. Ltd. and Globale Media win silver, while ADMOTT Private Limited claimed silver in OTT innovation.
Programmatic media categories highlighted the shift to advanced targeting and connected screens. Mobavenue Media Private Limited clinched gold in connected TV advertising, with Animmoov Digital Media Pvt Ltd – Asus and Lyxel and Flamingo taking silver. Cheggout Services Private Limited won silver in retail media advertising, while Paytm Ads – Versuni secured gold.
On social platforms, Vayner Media India took gold in community and UGC engagement, with Under 25 – Oppo winning silver. Segumento rounded off the list with silver in the innovation category.
Jaswant Singh, country managing director at ad:tech India, underscored the momentum, saying generative AI and data-driven decision-making are now central to marketing impact. Neena Dasgupta, IAA mancom member and chief executive and founder at The Salt Inc Consulting, added that the awards celebrate not just technology, but “the people, the creativity, and the relentless effort behind it.”
Backed by Comexposium Group, ad:tech New Delhi has long tracked digital disruption. Now, with the honours, it is rewarding those who are not just adapting to change but engineering it.
In an industry racing towards automation, the message from 2026 is unmistakable. The future of marketing will be written not just in ideas, but in algorithms.
