MAM
Its time tonight to break the digital code with 13 industry stalwarts at the Advertising Club’s India Digital Review – “D-CODE” presented by MX Player
7th August 2019: After the phenomenal success of the first edition addressing the drivers of the tectonically shifting brand ecosystem, The Advertising Club is all set for the 2nd edition of D-CODE presented by MX Player and powered by Tik Tok Ads to be held tonight in Mumbai.
The last edition saw the best minds in digital, media and marketing come together to share insights and learning from the evolving digital ecosystems. The upcoming edition to be held on 7th August, 2019, 6.30 pm onwards @ Taj Lands End, Mumbai will continue to drive idea exchange with 13 Industry game changers showcasing best in class digital campaigns by their own brands and celebrating other inspiring digital campaigns, all in just 10 -minutes each. Each speaker showcase will include:
One best work of theirs
One best work by another brand
3 tips to crack the digital code
The first round of stalwarts confirmed to speak at D-CODE include
Bajaj Auto: Sumeet Narang, Vice-President, Marketing
Bytedance (Tik Tok): Sachin Sharma, Director, Sales & Partnerships
Corner Stone Sport and Entertainment: Jogesh Lulla, COO
Dentsu Webchutney: Sidharth Rao, CEO & Co-Founder
Facebook: Nirmal Pulickal, Head – Facebook Creative Shop
Google: Vikas Agnihotri, Country Director
JSW Sports Pvt Ltd: Mustafa Ghouse, Chief Operating Officer
MX Player: Karan Bedi, CEO
McCann Worldgroup: Partha Sinha, Vice Chairman and Managing Director
Nestle: Rashi Goel, VP- Consumer Communication Media, CRM & NHW
Spotify: Amarjit Singh Batra, Managing Director
Swiggy: Srivats TS, VP Marketing
Kenny Sabastian: Standup Comedian, Musician & Filmmaker
D-CODE, the Digital Review 2019 will reflect on the work presented by brands across digital platforms from April 2018-June 2019. The Review is slated to be tonight on 7th August, 2019, 6.30pm onwards @ Taj Lands’ End, Mumbai
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.
