MAM
Cartoon Network Enterprises partners with Random House
MUMBAI: Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE), the global licensing and merchandising arm of the US television network, has announced a partnership with Random House Children‘s Books to create a full line of books based on the top-rated action-adventure series, Generator Rex.
The deal between the two companies builds on a long-standing partnership with Random House, Inc. that includes other popular Cartoon Network brands including Ben 10 and Bakugan (Del Ray Manga).
The Random House Children‘s Books programme will bring to market content-rich titles centered around Rex, a 15-year-old typical teenager with abnormal powers – including the ability to make his fists the size of boulders, sprout a jet pack out of his back and turn his legs into a lightning-fast motorcycle, among other talents.
Random House will launch their book programme in Summer 2011 with a Step into Reading levelled reader and a deluxe 3-D storybook. Additional readers, storybooks, and activity books will follow.
CNE senior VP Christina Miller says, “Generator Rex is driven by action-packed storytelling and strong characters that excite fans and leave them wanting more. Random House, and the publishing category as a whole, are key components to further expanding the Generator Rex universe into an immersive world that tells Rex‘s story off screen in a fun and engaging way.”
Random House/Golden Books Young Readers Group editorial director Dennis Shealy said, “Cartoon Network is a favorite among families, and Generator Rex is a powerhouse TV show with everything kids like: fast-paced action, sarcastic humor, creepy villains and monsters?and my personal favorite: Rex‘s talking monkey sidekick. Combine that with some of Random House Children‘s Books‘ strongest formats, and you‘ve got a recipe for retail success.”
Random House joins other partners for the consumer products launch of Generator Rex that currently includes Mattel as the brand‘s global master toy partner, Activision, for interactive, Hallmark for party goods and social expression, Hybrid Apparel and DC Comics.
Additionally, CNE will release the first title in the Generator Rex home entertainment franchise on October 19 with Warner Home Video distributing. Additional partners for the brand will continue to be announced in the coming weeks.
Cartoon Network has committed to at least 40 episodes of the series, and has also created an online game, Generator Rex: Nanite Master, featured at CartoonNetwork.com that has had more than 6.9 million game plays since its launch in March, as well as a show page and a Facebook fan page.
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.
