MAM
All Indians Matter in Apple Podcasts, Spotify top picks
The All Indians Matter podcast has been featured as the top pick in Apple Podcasts’ ‘New & Noteworthy’ section and has shot up to No 11 on the Apple India charts after debuting at No 24. Earlier this month, it was among the top picks in Spotify’s ‘News & Politics’ section.
The All Indians Matter podcast is helmed by former journalist Ashraf Engineer and is presented by IdeaBrew Studios. It was launched on Independence Day eve this year. The podcast is a home for commentary and conversations with and about India on issues that matter.
The podcast features commentary by Engineer – who held leadership positions in some of India’s top newsrooms and continues to write for various publications and platforms besides making radio appearances for international radio stations. It also features conversations with experts on issues ranging from the economy to agriculture, the media and everything in between.
The weekly podcast has 16 published episodes already and is available on Spotify, JioSaavn, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Hubhopper. About 20% of its listenership is from countries other than India and 80% of the audience is between 18 and 30 years of age. The show has also seen steady subscriber growth across platforms since launch.
“I launched www.allindiansmatter.in in early 2020 as a digital home for high-quality commentary on issues that matter to India. The idea was to explain how various events matter to citizens’ lives and why they should care about them. I was fortunate to receive the support of some veteran journalists and commentators, who contributed to the website. A few months later, IdeaBrew Studios suggested I extend the effort to a podcast – an idea that excited me,” said Engineer, who is now part of a strategic communication consultancy but retains his journalistic sensibility and links.
Aditya Kuber, co-founder of IdeaBrew Studios, said: “Our studio is a digital-age storyteller. We present quality content across genres, from news commentary to sports and lifestyle. All Indians Matter is special because it was our first presentation and we couldn’t be happier with its success. Amid the media noise and clutter, audiences are craving content that truly makes sense of their world for them – especially in the audio format. So, there is space for quality commentary on current affairs and national issues. Engineer, with his journalism background of nearly two decades in media organisations, has the right credentials for it. That it’s working is evident in the way audiences – especially the young – are taking to the podcast and also in the recognition the platforms are giving it.”
For more information, contact Aditya Kuber on aditya@ideabrews.com/9823799121.
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.
