MAM
History TV18’s challenge will be to build a profitable revenue scale
MUMBAI: Faced with severe competition from strong rivals like Discovery and NGC channels in the infotainment genre, late entrant History TV18’s strategy of offering the most number of regional feeds will attract a wider range of advertisers but the challenge will be to build a profitable revenue scale.
Madison Media Group CEO Punitha Arumugam pegs the infotainment genre ad market at Rs 1.5 billion and believes that regional is still a developing space. The major chunk of the revenue, however, is taken away by the two big league players, leaving most of the others in the genre struggling.
For History TV18, the best approach was to have an alternate strategy. Already available in seven languages (Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Hindi and English), the plan is to launch two more regional feeds.
Arumugam favours such a strategy. “The future for not only infotainment channels but for every channel in the market is to have regional feeds. As more and more advertisers are exploring better targeting of audiences and localisation of messaging, the need of the hour is for regionalisation of national telecast beams,” she says.
Several media experts agree that channels up against much bigger rivals should woo advertisers by creating a viable local alternate to the national option.
Says Lodestar UM COO Nandini Dias, “Infotainment channels have had regional language feeds for quite a while now. Whenever a channel adds a language feed, the ratings in the state increase. This is more evident in the south of India rather than markets like Gujarat or West Bengal. But an increase in viewership is always welcome, however marginal. I am sure the channel would have done a cost-benefit analysis before going ahead with this strategy.”
The success of regional feeds also depends on the region where the feed is launched. And of all of History TV18’s language languages, Gujarati seems to be the most debatable. Gujarat remains largely a Hindi TV-viewing market.
Says Spatial Access joint CEO Nikhil Rangnekar, “Having a Gujarati feed will not affect the viewership much.”
Some even question the profitability of starting a feed in so many regional languages.
“When Discovery started a feed in Hindi, its viewership experienced a huge leap. But now, if you notice, most of the audiences are attuned to watching infotainment channels in either Hindi or English. These two languages cover most of the TG. Having so many regional language feeds will not really make a difference in the ad market share,” says Rangnekar.
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History TV18 plans to add two language feeds, boost rev
Brands
Pocket FM elevates Lalit Gangwar to COO to drive global growth
Founding member to lead operations, monetisation and expansion across markets
MUMBAI: Pocket FM has elevated Lalit Gangwar to chief operating officer, tasking the founding team member with leading global business operations as the company sharpens its international growth strategy.
In his new role, Gangwar will oversee end-to-end operations across markets, including growth, monetisation and execution for the company’s audio business. The appointment comes as Pocket FM looks to strengthen its operating foundation and build a more predictable, scalable global business.
Gangwar has been closely involved in shaping the company’s trajectory from its early days. He played a key role in building the growth and marketing playbook in India, helping the platform scale to over 150 million users within its first year and establish a strong foothold in the audio storytelling category.
He later led Pocket FM’s expansion into the United States, where he set up teams, defined market strategy and drove scale, contributing significantly to the company’s international ambitions.
Pocket FM co-founder and CEO Rohan Nayak said, “Lalit has been central to Pocket FM’s journey from the very beginning. He has built our growth engine and scaled our business across markets.” He added that the company’s focus on nurturing internal talent makes Gangwar a natural choice to lead the next phase.
Gangwar said, “Pocket FM has always been driven by a simple belief that powerful stories can travel across borders and create meaningful impact.” He noted that the company will continue to focus on scaling markets, investing in AI-led storytelling and strengthening monetisation.
As COO, Gangwar is expected to bring greater operating discipline while building systems, talent and processes to support long-term growth.
With leadership continuity and a clear global focus, Pocket FM appears to be turning the page to its next chapter, one that aims to take its storytelling playbook well beyond home turf.
