MAM
Aaj Tak preparing for a makeover
NEW DELHI: After having caught the fancy of the middle class and set new trends in news watching, arguably countries subse tez channel, Aaj Tak, is now preparing for a makeover. Reason: target newer set of viewers and become classy.
According to sources in the Aroon Purie-controlled TV Today Network, the parent organisation for Aaj Tak and English sibling Headlines Today, preparations are underway to give the Hindi news channel a new look, which would include programming and on-air changes.Though a date hasn’t been fixed yet for the changes to be effected, but the sources indicated it’s likely to happen some time in September.
What are the changes that are being contemplated in Aaj Tak? Details are being closely guarded, but news bytes filtering out of the organisation indicate that news anchors, presenters, reporters and programming line-up would all undergo changes to present a more upmarket look and feel.
Without taking names, the sources hinted that Aaj Tak’s brand positioning (unlike that of, say, NDTV India) has been that it is a product for the masses and which has yielded tremendous dividend. But it is now increasingly felt that the time has come to even tap the `class’, apart from the mass.
Keeping this basic theory in mind, the changes are being planned, which may also include getting some hipper-looking news anchors on to the channel and that may herald the arrival of new faces and also return of some more old guards.
Meanwhile, Aaj Tak is also exploring furthering its ties with Sony Entertainment TV’s flagship channel, Sony, for marketing alliances, which would include cross-promotions on some popular programmes on both the channels.
For example, Aaj Tak’s health programme, Subse Fit, has featured some artistes from Sony’s popular soap Saakshi and, in return, Aaj Tak’s pop-ups have appeared during the airing of Saakshi.
Now, Aaj Tak is looking at ways how such initiatives could be taken forward that may entail weaving in references to Subse Fit on Aaj Tak in the storyline of other Sony serials like Jassi or Aayushman.
It’s action time at Aaj Tak because only the subse fit would corner viewership and advertising revenue, even though NDTV India has been constantly snapping at Aaj Tak’s heels.
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.
