MAM
Switch Media unveils VOD2Live for easy launch of live linear OTT Channels
MUMBAI: Switch Media, a world leader in online video technology, has launched VOD2Live, a clever new solution that enables broadcasters and content owners to effortlessly launch custom dynamic live linear channels in minutes. Using a content owners existing library of VOD assets, VOD2Live creates a broadcast-equivalent channel with no need for playout software, live video encoding or to re-ingest the media. This greatly simplifies video delivery workflows, lowers cost and reduces time to market, while providing personalisation of channels, including programming and ads based on viewer location, demographics or viewing behaviour.
VOD2Live may be used to create quick and easy pop-up channels for content providers that want to temporarily feature a collection from their library on a linear channel. It can also be used to leverage the investment of an existing live linear channel by broadening distribution to other markets. Both can be done quick and easily, without investing in additional playout software and live video encoding.
The idea for VOD2Live was born from Switch Media’s SSAI technology AdEase, which specialises on stitching ad and media content together on-the-fly to create high-quality, seamless, targeted OTT ad insertion.
Luke Durham, CTO of Switch Media said, “Our VOD2Live solution takes this notion a step further, enabling personalisation of the entire channel, including ads. It achieves this by taking assets from an existing VOD library and generates a linear channel from the data. There’s no additional complexity; it simply uses a set of metadata to generate the channel. VOD2Live allows customers to inexpensively test a linear channel in market with a very low cost of start up.”
VOD2Live is ideally suited for pop-up channels where content owners can inexpensively test new offerings; regional, time-shifted and culturally targeted programming, with relevant audio and subtitle tracks; and personalised channels based on genre, viewer preferences or a feed from an existing recommendation engine.
Durham continues, “VOD2Live is another example of how we address some of the most intricate broadcaster requirements in a continually shifting technology landscape. It’s a simple yet dynamic product that provides broadcasters with a highly cost-efficient and technologically elegant way of generating live linear OTT channels in minutes.”
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.
