MAM
Dentsu Aegis Network appoints Cheuk Chiang to lead Greater North business in APAC
MUMBAI: Dentsu Aegis Network announces the appointment of Cheuk Chiang to the role of CEO, Greater North, Dentsu Aegis Network APAC, effective 2 December. Based in Shanghai, China, and reporting to Ashish Bhasin, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network APAC, Cheuk will oversee Dentsu Aegis Network China, Dentsu Aegis Network Hong Kong, Dentsu Aegis Network Taiwan and Dentsu Aegis Network Korea. He will also join the Dentsu Aegis Network APAC Executive team.
The appointment follows the announcement of the simplified three-cluster structure in March this year, which was put in place to further operationalise our markets, giving them the autonomy to react to client needs. This allows our businesses to deliver more strategic and market-specific initiatives at pace and scale.
Cheuk takes over from Takaki Hibino who was overseeing Greater North in the interim. He will now focus on his role as Executive Chairman, Dentsu Aegis Network APAC.
Dentsu Aegis Network APAC CEO Ashish Bhasin comments: “Greater North is a critical collection of markets that needs a strong and accomplished leader to drive our business forward in an increasingly complex and challenging landscape. Cheuk is a visionary leader who’s keenly focused on reinventing the way the industry operates, consistent with the vision of our business and the value we place on our clients. He is an industry thought-leader who has played a pivotal role in driving transformation across the industry. It was clear from the start that he is the perfect candidate to navigate these fast-paced markets for our clients. I am delighted to have Cheuk join the APAC Executive team to drive value and realise the long-term growth in our business.”
Dentsu Aegis Network APAC Greater North Cheuk Chiang, comments: “As an industry, we are seeing unprecedented changes and at Dentsu Aegis Network, I saw a company that is leading that change. Its capabilities are future-facing and it is important for me to be able to contribute to a network that can leverage its competitive strengths to meet new demands. I am delighted to take on this leadership in one of the most dynamic and technologically advanced group of markets in our industry. The Greater North presents us with a combination of unique challenges and opportunities, which Dentsu Aegis Network is extremely well-positioned to capitalise on with our unparalleled market-specific offerings. I look forward to taking our Greater North business forward.”
As the network continues to mobilise its Cluster structure to unlock greater opportunities in the faster moving parts of the business, Ashish Bhasin will continue to lead Greater South as the Executive team continues to look for a successor.
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.
