MAM
HT adorns new international look
NEW DELHI: At a time when the print medium is seeing action, Delhi-headqaureterd Hindustan Tinmes has unveiled a new look from 1 May.
The new avatar offers readers added content, new supplements, clarity of picture and better quality of printing to take the “experience of reading news paper to a new high,” a statement from the news paper said.
As part of its aggressive growth strategy, the company has launched its state-of-the-art printing press and facility at Greater Noida in UP, with an investment of Rs 3 billion.
Introducing the new look HT, Hindustan Times Ltd CEO Rajiv Verma said, “HT is for the global Indian reader and as a publication we are focused on the needs of our readers and advertisers.”
“Identifying and offering innovative ways of providing news of interest to readers was a big focus behind introducing the new look of the publication,” he added.
According to HT’s vice president, marketing, Anand Bharadwaj, competing medium of electronic and online media are vying to grab the attention of the news seeking customer andthe new look HT will provide the reader with news and entertainment in contemporary outlook and style.
The weekend package will now have a special supplement on Fridays devoted to food, weekend getaways, TV listings and other stuff one can do to enjoy the end of week.Saturdays will also offer more sports news to spectators and gaming enthusiasts alike, which will be 50 per cent more than offered on other days, the statement stated.
‘Edge’, a special four-page feature pull out focused on reflections, books, arts,culture and the ‘Big Story,’ will take readers on a journey to discover the finer things in life.
The New Hindustan Times is loaded with two extra pages of content daily to satisfy the appetite of the voracious newsreaders.
Hindustan Times also include some regular and branded columns like ‘Delhi by numbers’, which give readers interesting statistics on the city.
The publication features weekly interviews of business personality and policy makers and have business cartoons to entertain the readers. There would also be a column dedicated to personal finance to guide readers with their planning of funds and would carry a carton to bring forth the lighter side of business.
HT Commercial another newly introduced supplement with a special section on tenders and classifieds focuses on providing a convenient platform of interaction between the advertiser and the reader.
Navigation bars help readers conveniently browse news in HT, HT Horizons, HT Power Jobs, HT Estates and other supplements.
Hindustan Times Limited, with an experience in the media for over seven decades, has editions in Delhi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow, Patna, Bhopal and Kolkata. Hindustan (Hindi) has a major presence in Delhi, Patna, Jharkhand and UP.
Nandan, the monthly children’s magazine, and Kadambini, the monthly literary magazine, are also offerings from the Hindustan Times stable. The group also has a significant online presence with HindustanTimes.com.
The Hindustan Times Ltd. plans to consolidate itself as a vibrant and modern media powerhouse through strategic partnerships, ever-increasing scope of operations and a consumer focused approach, which includes plans to launch an edition in Mumbai through a joint venture company, HT Media. HT media, recently, filed red herring IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
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.
