MAM
Times TV Network to up ad rates by 20% across channels
MUMBAI: Times Television Network (TTN), which claims a reach of 90 million urban affluent Indians with Zoom, Times Now, ET Now and Movies Now, has decided to increase ad rates across the four channels by over 20 per cent from today.
TTN MD and CEO Sunil Lulla said, “Times Television Network is a very uniquely positioned television bouquet which offers distinctive entertainment and quality information to urban affluent audiences and reaches 35 per cent more viewers than the previous year. Each of our channels has a successful track record and has contributed to growing its category. The ad rates reflect the true value we offer to our very valued customers. We will continue to be differentiated, competitive and ahead of the curve.”
A total of 2000 brands are present across the four channels. “Movies Now is off to a strong start while Times Now has been dominating in its genre. This, coupled with the completely distinctive offering of Zoom and the rapid rise of ET Now, seems only appropriate for the Network to command a premium over its competitors,” Lulla added.
A media buyer said that while he hasn‘t received the proposal from TTN increasing ad rates by over 20 per cent, it is a challenge at a time when there are many players. “Due to the fragmentation of viewership, it is already costing more to reach the same number of viewers. From our point of view, delivering efficiency while maintaining costs is a challenge. Right now we are in a complex web. It is not a simple equation. There would have to be a serious justification for a client to agree to such a hike.”
In the news genre, there are many players and Times Now has had a see-saw fight with CNN IBN.
The media buyer also noted that while Movies Now has been doing well with its HD quality of broadcast, it might be too soon to go to the market for a hike as it has been operating for less than a year.
Earlier, Movies Now channel head Ajay Trigunayat had told Indiantelevision.com that the aim would be to double rates. He argued that the rates it charges were not comparable with competition. “Competition gets Rs 3500-5000 per-10 second spot. We want to reach Rs 3000 per spot by increasing the effective rates by 100 per cent over the next three months,” Trigunayat had said in the interview.
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.
