MAM
MS Dhoni becomes the face of BharatMatrimony
MUMBAI: Online matrimony brand BharatMatrimony, has roped in iconic Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its brand ambassador.
Talking about the association, MS Dhoni said, “I’m happy to be associated with the iconic internet brand BharatMatrimony. It is the most trusted and successful matrimony brand which has helped millions of Indians find a life partner over the last 18 years. I’m proud to be associated with a trusted brand that has created millions of happy marriages. This is a definitely a good partnership.”
matrimony.com CEO Murugavel Janakiraman adds, “We’re proud to be associated with MS Dhoni, an iconic sportsperson. We feel it’s a good fit because he’s an inspiration for millions of youth because of what he’s achieved for the country through his admirable leadership qualities. Dhoni also inspires through his happy marriage, his caring dad and loving husband image.”
Commenting on the association, Rhiti Sports, which exclusively manages MS Dhoni’s commercial endorsements, chairman Arun Pandey mentioned, “One of the key elements of the wedding industry is the trust of the consumers and we are happy with the way BharatMatrimony has gained it. I am confident this partnership with MS Dhoni will do well in the days to come.”
BharatMatrimony will soon launch a 360 degree marketing campaign featuring ads to target single people of marriageable age across TV, print, radio and outdoor.
Matrimony.com is India’s first pure play consumer internet company to be publicly listed. It is a signature consumer internet conglomerate, managing marquee brands such as BharatMatrimony, CommunityMatrimony and EliteMatrimony. BharatMatrimony is the largest and most trusted matrimony brand which has also established a considerable retail presence with over 140 self-owned retail outlets across India.
The company delivers matchmaking and marriage related services to users in India and the Indian diaspora worldwide.The company has pioneered several new business models such as MatrimonyPhotography, MatrimonyBazaar, MatrimonyMandaps, and CommunityMatrimony, a consortium of over 300 community matrimony websites.
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.
