MAM
Indian ad market projected to grow at 13.9 % by 2017: Carat
MUMBAI: Dentsu Aegis Network’s global media agency, Carat, has forecast global advertising market will touch USD 548.2 billion in 2016, accounting for a 4.4+ per cent year-on-year growth, propelled by digital space, while India is expected to grow at over 13 per cent y 2017.
In Asia Pacific, the buoyant Indian advertising market continues to lead growth prospects of 12+ per cent in 2016 and 13.9+ per cent in 2017, the Carat ad spend report 2016 said.
India continues to be the fastest growing economy where all traditional media platforms still show “positive growth”. Holding the highest share of ad spend of 38.5 per cent in 2016 and 38 per cent in 2017, TV is forecast to grow by 12.3+ per cent in 2016 and 12.5+ per cent in 2017, driven by investment from FMCG brands and e-commerce companies, the report stated.
“We also anticipate that given the tailwinds through the macro-economic factors, GST and other reforms, 2017 will have an even better growth of 13.9 per cent (for India),” Dentsu Aegis Network Chairman and CEO, South Asia, Ashish Bhasin said, commenting on the report.
Dwelling further on the report Bhasin elaborated that Carat expected the digital growth to be about 31.5 per cent in 2016 and to accelerate to nearly 40 per cent in 2017, while mobile will drive digital growth.
“India will transform from a `Mobile First’ to a `Mobile Only’ market very rapidly, aided by better broadband penetration and drop in data costs. What is also unique about India is that all types of media, including print, still continue to grow, albeit at different rates,” he opined.
Based on data received from 59 markets across the Americas, Asia Pacific and EMEA, Carat reports a positive outlook for most regions with particularly robust growth in North America (5.0+ per cent) and strong recovery in Russia (6.2 + per cent), countering lower expectations in some markets.
The Carat report projects moderate growth for China where advertising spend is expected to increase by 5.7+ per cent in 2016 and 5.5+ per cent in 2017 as the market adjusts to a ‘new normal’ economic landscape, the report read.
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.
