MAM
Sam Balsara unveils 2nd OOH agency Platinum; ropes in Arminio Ribeiro as CEO
MUMBAI: Madison’s chairman Sam Balsara has unveiled a second outdoor agency – Platinum Outdoor. Set to function as an independent agency, the company has roped in former Portland India president Arminio Ribeiro as chief executive officer. Ribeiro will join in early April.
Commenting on the new venture Balsara said, “I see Outdoor as playing a more important role in the Advertisers’ marketing plans in the near future, given the clutter in established mass media like Print and TV. Whilst some sectors like Telecom, Financial and Media Sectors have used Outdoor to their advantage, many others haven’t, because Media Agencies are not convinced or are not alive to the opportunities that Outdoor can offer.
“We need an Agency that can evangelise the medium and exploit every out-of-home opportunity. I am confident that Arminio with his wealth of experience in Advertising and Out-of-Home will do just that. We are looking to making Platinum our second network with its own repertoire of specialist units including Media.”
On being asked what will be different about the offering of the new outdoor agency Ribeiro said, “At Platinum Outdoor, we will deliver a market advantage to potential clients’ OOH needs – one that moves beyond a business-as-usual approach to delivering the right OOH solution and demonstrates the value in a confident manner.
“The focus will be on creative and innovative planning and spending, adding value and ensuring clients are delighted with their Return on Investment. We believe that if we want to be a significant player in developing the brand activation market and get into the new consumer congregation points we then need to build those capabilities.”
Additionally, former Primesite vice president Gour Gupta and former Poster Publicity GM Lokesh Kumar have been appointed as COO and VP – business director respectively, informs an official release.
To achieve this offering, a paradigm shift in talent base has been planned; a team consisting of brand and idea – thinking and experienced individuals with a culture of partnering clients is being put together. “Platinum Outdoor will make every effort to lift the bar in all out-of-home activities and from traditional formats to new formats coupled with accountability and measurability,” said Gupta.
“The specialist OOH agency that adapts effectively to the increasingly changing outdoor environment and societal trends and invests in people and productivity tools will succeed in the near future,” said Kumar.
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.
