Event Coverage
Stage set for 1st India Television Summit to be held in Mumbai on 29 September
MUMBAI: Indiantelevision.com and Media Partners Asia today announced the launch of the first ever India Television Summit, which is scheduled to be held in Mumbai on 29 September.
Endorsed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, this event will bring together leading industry executives and government agencies to discuss the commercial and regulatory factors shaping the future of the Rs 132 billion television industry in India, with comparative global perspectives.
Indiantelevision.com founder and CEO Anil Wanvari said, “There are many summits that are undertaken each year but none of them focus primarily on television. FICCI Frames is too film focused, other summits like BES Expo, SCAT India, Broadcast India and Convergence India focus on technology and hence there was a need felt to have a summit that would focus entirely on the business of television and areas related to it.”
Wanvari also added that the India Television Summit was going to be an annual affair.
The speakers for the one-day summit include – Federal Communications Commission (the United States regulator) commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting secretary SK Arora, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chairman Pradip Baijal, Sony Entertainment Television India CEO Kunal Dasgupta, Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea, Madison World chairman Sam Balsara, Sahara One CEO Shantonu Aditya, UTV CEO Ronnie Screwvala, Eastern Multimedia Co chairman Faizal N Syed, Reliance Infocomm president Prakash Bajpai, DSP Merrill Lynch Investment Banking/M&A senior vice president Saurabh Agarwal, Morgan Stanley TMT Investment Banking head Paul Aiello, CLSA Media Investment Banking head Simon Dewhurst, Dish TV CEO Sunil Khanna, Tata Sky Ltd CEO Vikram Kaushik, NDS Asia Pacific vice president and general manager Sue Taylor, Group M South Asia CEO Ashutosh Srivastava, CNBC TV18 CEO Haresh Chawla, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia vice president ad sales Soumitra Saha and TAM India CEO LV Krishnan .
Wanvari added, “The Indian television industry is poised to leap forward in the coming months with the government discussing norms on uplinking, content regulation, and digitisation and with DTH expected to substantially grow in the future with the gradual success of Dish TV and the impending launch of Tata-Sky. Putting together the Summit was a good idea as it provides a platform for discussion and strategic exchange for various industry constituents with useful perspectives from global regulatory heavyweights such as the FCC in the US and various regional and international groups involved in cable, satellite and broadband TV distribution, technology and financing.”
Media Partners Asia executive director Vivek Couto said, “The Summit comes at a time when media regulation, competition and consumption is at a critical stage and the Indian economy is on the cusp of a period of sustained and significant expansion. India’s TV industry has grown rapidly over the past decade and a half, driven by entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation. This, however, is only the beginning. TV has room for much greater expansion. The Summit provides a platform to assess whether future regulation, economic growth and competition in the distribution of TV channels cable, DTH satellite and broadband networks, will enable India to consolidate its status as Asia’s leading media market along with China, extending its leadership in content, and, reversing its weakness in infrastructure development.”
The India Television Summit has been divided into five panels:
Regulatory Panel
Strategic Panel
Digital and Distribution Presentation (International)
Digital and Distribution Presentation (Domestic)
Niche Content Panel
Media Financing Panel
The sponsors for the Summit include Cartoon Network, CSG Systems, NDS, Pogo, Sahara One, Star TV and Tandberg Television. Bright Advertising is the outdoor partner and NDTV Profit is the telecast partner.
Event Coverage
Anime India announces Amazon MX Player as co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata 2026
MUMBAI: Riding high on the success of its blockbuster Mumbai debut, Anime India is accelerating its nationwide expansion with the announcement of Amazon MX Player as the co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata. The partnership marks a significant step forward in the festival’s mission to deliver large-scale, accessible, and fan-first anime experiences across the country.
Scheduled for 14 and 15 February 2026 at the iconic Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan, Anime India Kolkata will launch the first regional chapter of what is set to be a year-long, multi-city tour. As the curtain-raiser for the 2026 circuit, the Kolkata edition aims to fuse the energy of global Japanese pop culture with India’s fast-growing community of anime, manga, and pop-culture fans.
A household name in digital entertainment, Amazon MX Player brings unmatched reach and cultural relevance to the Anime India platform. With its expanding focus on anime and youth-driven content, Amazon MX Player’s involvement as co-presenting partner reinforces Anime India’s vision of making anime culture more inclusive breaking barriers of language, geography, and accessibility to connect with fans nationwide.
Anime India Kolkata 2026 will showcase cosplay competitions, interactive zones led by the Indian Gunpla Community, India-39 Vocaloid Community, The Japan Curry, and Adda-o-Otaku by The Otaku Guild. Fans can join tournaments across fighting games, Pokémon VGC, and more. Acclaimed Japanese director Susumu Mitsunaka (Haikyu!!) will attend as guest of honour, appearing in panels and live sessions. Positioned as an immersive celebration of fan culture and industry collaboration, the Kolkata edition marks the beginning of Anime India’s nationwide expansion.
Sharing their perspective on the partnership, Amazon MX Player director Aruna Daryanani expressed, “Anime in India has evolved from a niche interest into a mainstream cultural movement, driven by an increasingly engaged and passionate fanbase. At Amazon MX Player, our focus is on expanding access by bringing anime to audiences across the country for free and in multiple local languages. Our association with Anime India reflects our commitment to supporting the growth of anime in India and deepening connections with fans, while continuing to build Amazon MX Player as a trusted destination for free, high-quality entertainment.”
“Anime India Kolkata is a celebration of how anime has grown beyond entertainment into a powerful cultural and creative force. By bringing fans, creators, and industry leaders onto one shared platform, the festival is helping define the future of pop culture in India,” said Anime India co-founder and director Neha Mehta.
The debut edition of Anime India 2025 in Mumbai attracted over 29,000 fans, quickly cementing its status as a landmark celebration of anime and Japanese pop culture. Riding on this overwhelming response, the Kolkata chapter is projected to draw more than 40,000 visitors across two days, positioning it as one of the biggest anime conventions ever held in eastern India.
Anime India is focused on bringing together fans from across the country to create a truly pan-India celebration of anime, manga, cosplay, gaming, and Japanese culture. With plans to expand into four key metropolitan hubs in 2026—east (Kolkata), north (Delhi), west (Mumbai), and south (Hyderabad)—the festival seeks to deliver globally benchmarked experiences while supporting and uplifting creators, artists, and fan communities throughout India.
