MAM
Epson to be Helsinki World Championships in Athletics’ official IT partner
MUMBAI: Epson has announced its sponsorship of the 10th IAAF World Championships in athletics, to be held in Helsinki, Finland, from 6-14 August 2005. Epson’s sponsorship marks the fifth time that it it has attached itself as the official IT partner since its initial involvement in the Athens Games of 1997.
This year’s Championships, which are being held in the Finnish capital for the first time since the inaugural tournament in 1983, will involve more than 2,000 of the world’s finest athletes from over 200 countries and territories. With an estimated total of more than 6 billion viewers worldwide, the event ranks not only as the world’s leading tournament for track and field events, but also as the largest sporting event to be held in 2005.
With Epson’s Performance Evaluation (EPE) System, for example, TV viewers will be able to enjoy field events three-dimensional analysis of the long jump, triple jump, and javelin throw immediately after the jump or throw. Moreover, the analysis also enables athletes to better understand and thus improve their performances according to the company. Epson’s Commentator Information System (CIS), will be able to able to collate and transmit in real time results from the track and field, in addition to a host of information about the athletes and past events.
This up-to-the-minute information is the basis for the data provided to enthusiastic athletics fans worldwide by TV and Internet media, including the official website of the IAAF (http://www.iaaf.org).
These systems will be backed by an international team of approximately 50 Epson technical staff, with other support to include high-speed, high-performance laser printers for the pressroom and for all the print needs of the local organizing committee.
“Epson believes that the spirit of challenge and the desire to exceed shown by the athletes matches perfectly with its corporate ethos of creativity and challenge,” said Seiko Epson Corporation president Seiji Hanaoka. “And just as the athletes drive themselves to exceed ever higher targets, we are dedicated to providing products and services that exceed the expectations of our customers. This is embodied in our global tagline – “Exceed Your Vision,” added Hanaoka.
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.
