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India to grow the fastest for CNN across Asia Pacific
MUMBAI: CNN is banking on India to boost its ad revenue this year as the international news outfit hunts for fast-growing economies in a downturn environment.
CNN expects a 10 per cent growth from the Asia Pacific region. “India, away from recession, will grow the fastest this year as we tap into more clients. North Asia’s contribution in terms of Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong will still be the most. The growth in Asia will be faster compared to the US which was also the case last year,” says CNN vice president ad sales Asia Pacific William Hsu.
CNN International’s top three markets in the Asia Pacific region are Korea, Southeast Asia and India. CNN has 20 Indian advertisers and plans to widen this pool. “A lot of Indian companies are going global. They look at our network for advertising,” says Hsu.
CNN has been growing at about 11 per cent compounded a year over the last decade. “The recession affected us the least. We anticipated the recession before it happened. Throughout 2007, we expected something to happen without knowing when. This allowed us to tweak our strategy. We approached more governments as they tend to up their spends during a recession to stimulate growth. We also built a 360 degree solution around TV and the Internet,” adds Hsu.
The focus on digital, which makes up 20 per cent of CNN’s revenues, also helped the news network to combat the global downturn.
CNN is growing its India content. “Eye On India is coming up and we are promoting it. We are dedicating a lot of our daily news output towards Indian business, which will be aired across the world,” says Hsu.
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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.
