MAM
David Rehr is Nab CEO
MUMBAI: America’s National Beer Wholesalers Association President David K. Rehr has been selected as America’s National Association of Broadcasters (Nab) president and CEO.
Rehr was signed to a multi-year agreement and will assume the Nab leadership post on December 5. His selection comes after a high-level executive search process was launched in February after current Nab president and CEO Eddie Fritts announced plans to step down. Fritts will remain a consultant to NAB through April 2008.
Some 80 potential candidates were considered in the search for Fritts’ successor. Rehr’s selection comes with the endorsement of an NAB Presidential Search Committee chaired by Citadel Communications CEO Philip Lombardo and Susquehanna Media president and CEO David Kennedy.
Lombardo says, “We conducted an exhaustive search to locate the absolute best person we could find to retain NAB’s leadership as one of the preeminent trade associations in Washington. David Rehr fits that description in every way.”
Kennedy says, “David’s track record of success is well-documented, and we are confident that he has the talent to represent over-the-air broadcasting inside the Beltway and around the world with distinction. Just as the Search Committee rallied around this selection, I’m convinced that all of our industry colleagues will also find David Rehr the right person to lead NAB.”
NAB joint board chairman Bruce Reese called Rehr “a highly skilled advocate with a passion for policy and a deep understanding of how Washington works. I am delighted that we have identified someone I truly believe will be an outstanding advocate for broadcasters for many, many years.”
Rehr said, “It is an honour to be selected to serve as president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters. I know that I have big shoes to fill, and I am anxious to hit the ground running. I look forward to continuing the great work of radio and television broadcasters on Capitol Hill and in the public arena.”
Nab is a full-service trade association that promotes and protects free, over-the-air local radio and television stations’ interests in Washington and around the world. Nab is the broadcaster’s voice before the US Congress, federal agencies and the courts. Nab also serves a growing number of associate and international broadcaster members.
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.
