MAM
Digitisation: Ad deals may be reworked on short term basis
Mumbai: Advertisers may have to enter into transitory arrangements with broadcasters if some homes are left without digital cable connections in the four metros after 1 November.
The government has mandated compulsory end to analogue delivery of television channels after the digitisation deadline, resulting in the possibility of a significant number of cable TV homes going without television signals for failing to have set-top boxes (STBs) installed to receive digital television signals.
“In the worst case scenario, when we do have 30 per cent dark homes in the four metros, there may be need to rework the commercial deals on a short term basis,” Leo Burnett Indian sub-continent chairman and CEO Arvind Sharma told Indiantelevision.com.
The Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry last week said 68 per cent of cable TV homes in the four metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata have already installed STBs to receive television channels in digital form. It said Mumbai leads the progress in digitisation with 95 per cent homes digitised, followed by Kolkata with 67 per cent. In Delhi, 53 per cent of the cable homes have switched to digital and in Chennai, 49 per cent.
The number of households, however, is based on census data and a broad section of the broadcast industry does not believe this reflects the actual estimate of the STB requirement in these four metros.
“In my opinion, digitisation will ramp up and only in the interim period will we as industry (advertisers, agencies and broadcasters) have to work out short term commercial deals. More importantly, the events of the next 40 days will be crucial,” Sharma said.
So will TAM, the television audience measurement agency, report from digital homes only in the four metros after 1 November? A TAM spokesperson said: “TAM started reporting Digital TV Homes viewing data since 2008 when Digitization crossed threshold levels in some of the markets. TAM currently reports data from Non-C&S households (Terrestrial Antenna reception mode)and two types of C&S households: Digital C&S and Analog C&S – depending on whether households receive channels through a Set-Top Box (STB) or without Set-Top Box.
As per TAM JAN 2012 TV baseline report, almost 35% of All India C&S homes have already adopted Digital way of watching TV, with 1/3rd of them coming from Urban markets. The government, by its DAS notification, has mandated that from November 1st 2012, C&S channels can be legally received in the Municipal Corporation (MC) limits of the four major metros (NCR for Delhi) only through a Digital STB. Therefore, from NOV 1st, TAM will not report data of channels viewed in TV Homes that are not received through a Digital STB in these areas (exception being, viewing happening in TV Homes through Terrestrial Antenna signal reception)”.
The spokesperson added: “In other words, TAM will only be reporting Digital TV viewing data and Non C&S TV viewing in the DAS implemented areas of the 4 City. Data from Homes in the non-MC area of the cities (which does not fall under Phase I of DAS implementation) will continue to be reported as usual. We will be sending out a formal communication to our clients in the coming few days spelling out the details.”
As a broad section of the industry feels that a total 100 per cent STB penetration will not be possible on day one itself (1 November), there will be some empty homes. If TAM sticks to its current statement, this will mean the analogue coverage in the four metros will not be reported by TAM. So what happens if cable TV operators transmit the analogue signals illegally (take digital signals through a STB and convert it through a modulator for carriage on their analogue networks)? The government, however, is determined to implement digitisation and may take recourse to strict action by arresting the ‘violators‘ under criminal offence.
Media agency ZenithOptimedia CEO Satyajit Sen fears some kind of temporary disruption in business. “We presume that there will be
disruption in the business. In the four metros, there aren‘t enough STBs to make them (cable TV homes) all go digital. Majority of the consumption of various categories happens in the four metros. Our clients will demand for TAM ratings and hence we will also ask for it,” Sen said.
Lodestar UM CEO Shashi Sinha, however, is not disturbed by the disruption in TV viewership. “People who matter to us are the consuming class and they will switch to digital. May be in the beginning for two to three months, we will see some impact but gradually everyone will switch to digital. At least the consuming class will by the last week of October,” he said.
Broadcasters to switch off analogue, Rajat Sharma to work in interests of viewers
Broadcasters are largely confident of a smooth changeover to digital delivery of television channels from analogue. Like Lodestar‘s
Sinha, Times Television Network MD & CEO Sunil Lulla too felt there is no need for any worry as the first phase of digitisation is happening at good speed.
“Digitisation will happen. People who want to get STBs will get those who don‘t want won‘t,” Lulla said.
The government is dead serious this time around in ensuring digitisation happens in the four metros by the deadline of 1 November and that all the stakeholders are brought on board. It has issued orders directing broadcasters to switch off analogue decoders in the four metros, unlike in 2003 when certain pockets in the metros were asked to shift to digital delivery of television channels.
The government has gone a step ahead and made carriage of analogue television signals after the digitisation deadline in the four metros a criminal offence.
BAG Films CMD Anurradha Prasad said, “All broadcasters want digitisation and, hence, we all will be switching off our analogue signals from 1 November. This is an order of government.”
An NDTV spokesperson said, “The government order is sacrosanct and the broadcasters are adamant on switching off the analogue signal from 1 November.”
India TV chairman and editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma sounded a different note. He said, “For all stakeholders — IBF, NBA, I&B Ministry
and MSOs, the viewers‘ interest is foremost. We will take a call keeping in mind that the viewer doesn‘t suffer.”
Pay TV channels will be more than willing to shift to digitisation as early as possible as it will mean a rise in their subscription revenues as the number of cable television subscribers disclosed by local cable operators will rise. In analogue, cable operators under-report the number of cable TV connections and thereby cause a loss of revenue for broadcasters with pay TV channels.
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.
