MAM
Firework rope in former 9GAG, Taboola, Tout, Evolve Media senior management to power innovations on the open web
Silicon Valley based short video platform Firework have roped in 9GAG’s Senior Vice President and GM Russel Schneider as the Head of Digital Strategy. Former head of Taboola News in the US, Anand Vijayanand, Bill Jennings, former Chief Digital Officer at Patientpoint in New York and Former Global COO of Evolve Media, Jason Holland have joined Firework’s leadership team in Redwood City, California. In addition to that, former Chief Revenue Officer of Tout, David Parsons has also joined Firework as its Head of Strategy and Business Development.
While Jason Holland will lead as the President of Global Business for Firework, Anand Vijayanand will spearhead the mobile division of Firework. Bill Jennings has been appointed as the President of Firework Network. David Parsons on the other hand, will be responsible for business strategy in the brands global expansion.
With more than 100 years of cumulative experience among them, this team has been entrusted with Firework’s open web initiatives globally.
At Evolve Media, Jason was pivotal in leading expansion into emerging markets and managing global business and strategy. At 9GAG, Russel Schneider developed a new blueprint to help brands integrate with social communities, MEME culture, and social creators. With over 15 years in leading digital businesses, Russel has partnered with Netflix, Paramount Pictures, EA Games, Dunkin' Donuts, Tencent Games and many more that made 9GAG one of world’s most followed entertainment brands.
Anand Vijayanand, an Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu and Stanford Graduate was the VP and GM at Celltick in Silicon Valley before joining Taboola, heading their News division. Anand’s decades of experience in growth and business strategy and his experience with OEMs will drive Firework’s mobile application and product evolution and key partnerships.
Deborah Vue, Global Head of Business and People Operation at Firework Headquarters in Redwood City, California said “Anand, Bill, Jason, Russel and David will be part of the leadership team at Firework. Our rapid growth and expansion around the globe are a validation of the compelling product that the team have put together and the journey that lies ahead of us. The experience that this team brings is diverse and rich and will add to the speed and agility with which Firework will build value in people’s digital journey”
Jason Holland, President of Global Business at Firework said, “Firework is the world’s fastest growing short video platform and we are only getting started. I anticipate an extremely exciting journey at Firework, driving growth and strategy globally to enter the next stage of internet’s evolution. Firework is well poised be a game changer and it will be a delight to work with such inspired teams across the globe”
Firework’s progress in the short video space on the open web have been rapid with their commitment to innovation and radical approach to offer business solutions for publisher partners. Firework has emerged as the largest short video operator on the open web, that is poised to transform social media, empower creators and create a shift in the way internet operates.
This dream team will develop a fruitful journey for publishers, creators, brands to derive optimal value from the unrestrictive nature of the open web.
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.
