MAM
Ad spend on connected TV globally slated to grow in 2018
NEW DELHI: A new report has found that connected TV advertising is growing and 29 per cent of global advertisers and agencies plan to increase their connected TV advertising spend in 2018.
In fact, 65 per cent of the respondents said they will maintain their current spend suggesting they were satisfied with connected TV performance to date and only 6 per cent planned to decrease their connected TV spend in the year ahead, according to a recent survey by US-based Videology Inc commissioned through Advertiser Perceptions.
Explaining the phenomenon, Videology said data-based TV options are evolving every year and it expected more dollars will be shifted from traditional linear TV to advanced TV strategies in the months and years ahead as these strategies provide the ability to bring data and measurement to the entire marketing funnel when part of a holistic, cross-screen video approach.
What’s connected TV? According to BBC, a connected TV uses a consumer’s broadband internet connection to bring the kind of video content one gets on a computer (including on-demand services) but back where it belongs—on the TV. A consumer can sit back and watch the best of both the internet and television from the comfort of one’s living room. Some connected TV services allow consumers to use the electronic programme guide or EPG to scroll back in time to see if there are any shows from the past seven days that one has missed and would like to catch up on.
Though the Videology survey didn’t mention specific markets, it’s still unclear how such a trend would play out in India. Still, for the records, SonyLIV, an OTT platform that combines streaming of linear TV programmes and on video-on-demand service in India, had said it got separate advertisers for its streaming services involving some sporting programmes, which were different from the ones who advertised on Sony’s traditional TV channels in India.
Videology also added that its Q4 2017 TV and Video Market At-A-Glance Report had revealed that since 2015, there has been a 175 per cent increase in the amount of ad requests for connected TV in the Videology platform. The report also found that the amount of impressions running exclusively on connected TV grew 230 per cent from last quarter.
According to Videology, the idea of “cross-screen” is key as “agnostic” video planning is another trend uncovered in the Q4 Video Market At-A-Glance report. In Q4, 97 per cent of campaigns run on the Videology platform ran on multiple screens, with 60 per cent of those including a connected TV component.
As cross-screen strategies continue to grow, and to include connected TV alongside digital video, mobile, and linear TV, advertisers can expect to drive greater results, Videology said, adding there were still a few hurdles to overcome.
In the Advertiser Perceptions research, 51 per cent of respondents cited consistent cross-screen measurement as their biggest challenge in regard to TV and video advertising, while 44 per cent said they were challenged with how to best leverage data, and over 1/3 said their biggest challenge was “lack of clarity/understanding of what’s available and how to execute.”
“As we move towards an industry turning point for data-enabled, advanced TV advertising, there is still room for improvement in terms of data, measurement and education, and many in the ecosystem (like Videology) have built solutions to do just that. In the meantime, increased adoption of connected TV and other advanced TV channels is a step in the right direction,” Videology said in a blog.
Videology Inc. is a company specialising in TV and video advertising. The company’s global technology helps marketers and media companies manage, measure and optimise digital video and TV advertising to drive greater results in today’s converged media landscape.
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.
