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India, Pak cable ops form SAARC Electronic Media Association
NEW DELHI: At a time when relationship between India and Pakistan are thawing a bit for the better, Indian and Pakistani cable operators have joined hands to push for a regional body that would take up industry issues in the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) region.
The campaign for such a body has been jointly launched by India’s Aavishkar Dish Antenna Sangh and Pakistan Electronics Media Association (PEMA).
According to Aavishkar Dish Antenna Sangh founder-president AK Rastogi, “The time has come when an organisation is launched that will work for the interest of cable operators and the cable and broadcast industry in the SAARC region, including interfacing with various governments.”
SAARC region includes countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. “A meeting of the new organisation, attended by Pakistani and Indian representatives, has been held. Consent from those in other countries had been taken earlier,” Rastogi added.
Such a body, according to Rastogi, would go a long way in creating awareness about the industry and its intricacies amongst the general populace of various South Asian countries.
Concurring with Rastogi, PEMA’s founder chairperson Muhammad Ibrahim Rana told Indiantelevision.com on the sidelines of the ongoing 14th Convergence India 2006, that even the Pakistani government has realised the futility of banning Indian TV channels.
“There is a growing feeling in Pakistan that Indian TV channels like Zee TV, Star Plus, NGC and Sony can be given landing rights with certain riders like inclusion of a certain percentage of Pakistani content on the channels’ Pakistan feed,” Rana said.
However, these content-related riders are worrying some Indian and foreign broadcasters who have sought permission from the Pakistani authorities to beam there.
For example, a senior executive of Zee Telefilms, India’s largest vertically integrated media company, said, “These conditions being flaunted by Pakistani authorities for giving a green signal to us will only increase cost and red tapism. Does the Indian government put such conditions on Pakistani channels, including PTV?”
Pakistan may not see eye to eye with India over various issues, but when it comes to watching Indian cable television, most Pakistanis will tune in faster to Indian general entertainment channels than a runaway rickshaw.
It is this factor, according to some critics, that has stopped the Pakistani cable industry and subscriber homes from growing as fast as their Indian counterparts.
While India boasts of over 61 million C&S households, PEMA’s Rana said that the total number of cable TV homes in Pakistan would be approximately 2 million. Though Dubai-based ARY Digital has obtained a DTH licence, it is yet to start the service.
“But if Indian TV channels agree to about 20 per cent of Pakistani programming on their Pakistan feeds, we don’t see any reason why the likes of Zee and Star cannot be seen in our country,” Rana said, admitting that before a ban was put in place Zee News, notably, had seized a fair market share.
The SAARC Electronic Media Association can work towards removal of such governmental, political and social barriers, Rana asserted.
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Sleepwell unveils nationwide sleep study on World Sleep Day
79 per cent use screens before bed, 36 per cent of 18–25-year-olds sleep ≤5 hours.
MUMBAI: Sleepwell just dropped the pillow truth bomb because when India’s sleeping less and scrolling more, even the mattress wants to stage an intervention. On World Sleep Day 2026, Sleepwell released its nationwide Sleep Study, painting a stark picture of India’s escalating sleep crisis. The findings show that 79% of Indians use screens right before bed, fuelling restless nights and drowsy days. Alarmingly, 36% of young adults aged 18–25 sleep five hours or less making them the country’s most sleep-deprived group.
The study also busts the myth of “catch-up sleep”, 65% of respondents actually sleep even later on weekends, pointing to increasingly irregular patterns that spill fatigue into the working week. Mattress discomfort emerged as a frequently overlooked culprit behind late-night wake-ups and constant leak-anxiety checks.
To drive the message home, Sleepwell’s CMO Puneet Gulati appeared on Zee Business, stressing that quality sleep isn’t a luxury, it’s foundational health. He highlighted how the right mattress can transform restless nights into restorative ones.
The brand doubled down with clever late-night activations, partnering with a quick-commerce platform to serve contextual ads between 11 pm and 3 am, gently nudging bleary-eyed scrollers to consider mattress discomfort as the reason they’re still awake and pointing them to the nearest Sleepwell store. Digital influencers and creators also shared relatable stories of how poor sleep fuels impulsive late-night behaviour.
In a nation that celebrates hustle but quietly pays for it in lost rest, Sleepwell isn’t just selling mattresses, it’s selling the radical idea that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is close your eyes and actually sleep well.
