MAM
Publicis Media Exchange appoints Sejal Shah as managing partner and head
MUMBAI: Publicis Media India today announced Sejal Shah as managing partner and head of Publicis Media Exchange (PMX – Mainline) which is the central investment practice of PM.
Shah brings with her more than 21 years of experience and also worked with Publicis IPG and WPP across functions such as client management, planning, buying, research, operations and automation. Prior to this, Shah was as trading head, South Asia for Unilever at Mindshare Fulcrum. She was also part of the founding Publicis Trading team.
Commenting on her appointment Publicis Media India CEO Anupriya Acharya said, “We are very happy to have Sejal join us in this critical role. With her rich experience, Sejal will ensure that the complex media environment is well navigated and negotiated for PM client. She will try to bring in not only fresh approaches to deal making as and where required, but also focus on overall value creation for brands including content, in-programme and other such initiatives.”
On her new role, Publicis Media India managing partner and head of Publicis Media Sejal Shah said, “I am thrilled to be with Publicis Media at a time when their growth momentum is at an all-time high and they are well poised to further build on it. Publicis Media client roster not only has some of the savviest marketers but also is very diverse with a strong presence on digital and future facing-streams. It gives us an opportunity to focus beyond the traditional on ROI and effectiveness.”
In her new role, Sejal will be responsible for driving media investments, alliances and partnerships, strategic thinking and direction for all PM clients across markets.
Publicis Media is one of the top three media-buying groups of the country, handling billings of over $1.3 billion and a plum roster of clients such as Nestlé, Dabur, Parle Products, Kraft Heinz, Ola, Fiat, Oppo, Citibank and many more.
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.
