MAM
Nimbus to market DD telecast feed
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court today ordered Nimbus Sports to deposit Rs 55 million within a week, even as it gave the marketing rights to the former because it had said it could raise almost five times more than competing public broadcaster Prasar Bharati out of the ongoing India-West Indies match-up and the upcoming One-Day International series involving Sri Lanka.
The court, hearing the issue of marketing rights between Prasar Bharati and Nimbus, was told by the pubcaster that it could raise Rs 42.6 million from marketing the seven cricket ODIs involving India, on their stand-alone DD Sports channel. To this, Nimbus had said that they would raise Rs 220 million if given the marketing rights for the DD Sports channel, and hence was given the rights to market the events, to which they hold rights, on behalf of DD.
“This means DD would actually get much more than it had hoped for. If they had to market their own channel, they would have got Rs 42.6 million, theoretically, and they would have to give away 75 per cent of that to Nimbus Sports, as per their own guidelines and offers made by them. Now they are getting Rs 220 million without a marketing exercise,” sources held.
Meanwhile, the rights to market events on AIR’s 69 channels lies with Prasar Bharati, and the court will decide on the revenue sharing ratio on 10 February, when the rest of the contentious issue would also be taken up. The court, however, held that though Prasar Bharati could stream the matches thorough its DTH platform, it could not allow any private DTH operator to access that and show the matches.
Prasar Bharati spokesperson Manish Desai told indiantelevision.com, “We have no arrangements with any private DTH operators to access our DTH signal, but ours is a free-to-air channel and we have no mechanism to stop this. The court has been informed of this and it has taken note of this too.”
Officials said that DD had quoted a low rate of Rs 42.6 million as they were to market only their own channel, and that too at a seven-minute delayed telecast. Sources also pointed out that they feel that with this not being a prime event for various reasons, and hence marketing it at a high rate could be well nigh impossible.
Among the reasons cited are that this is the fourth quarter of the financial year and most corporates are tightening their purse strings. Secondly, in the coming matches with Sri Lanka involved and some of their prize players not likely to be in the team, like Chaminda Vaas, the attraction level is low, DD officials feel. The third reason is that recent abysmal performance of India in South Africa had dampened viewership substantially.
They pointed out too that even as of date, Nimbus’ Neo Sports is not carrying too many advertisements, with a large volume of them being their own channel advertisements.
In that sense, there was a sense of relief within Prasar Bharati that it would rake in more than it was expecting to.
MAM
Ad:tech honours 2026: Full list of winners announced
Expanded awards spotlight winners across 22 categories as industry doubles down on intelligent automation
NEW DELHI: Marketing’s tech elite took the spotlight as the ad:tech honours 2026 returned with a sharper focus on AI, data and immersive media, signalling how deeply technology now underpins brand strategy. Held at Yashobhoomi on March 17, the second edition drew industry leaders to celebrate innovation that is reshaping engagement and performance.
Presented with the International Advertising Association India chapter and new partner Huella, the awards expanded from 8 to 22 categories, tracking the rapid convergence of creativity, automation and analytics.
The winners’ list reads like a snapshot of marketing’s future. In affiliate and partner marketing, Lyxel & Flamingo – Boat and Paytm Ads – Giva took silver. Mobavenue Media Private Limited struck gold in AI-driven dynamic creative optimisation, alongside a silver for Laqshya Media Limited.
Creative AI collaboration saw Rediffusion Brand Solutions Private Limited win gold, with Saltinc Consulting Private Limited securing silver. Laqshya Media Limited continued its strong run, taking gold in AI conversation agents and adding multiple wins across categories, including silver in GenAI-led creative and both gold and silver in interactive DOOH campaigns for Tanishq and Tata Coffee.
Predictive AI honours went to Strong Metrics and Tyroo, both silver, while Orient Bell Limited picked up silver in immersive retail tech. In GenAI-led creative, Laqshya Media Limited, Salt – Kotak and Sumimoto each secured silver, reflecting the crowded race in generative creativity.
Publicis bagged silver in influencer management and gold in performance marketing, where it shared the stage with Arm Worldwide and The Trade Desk, both silver. Glad U Came Private Limited stood out with gold in influencer measurement and analytics.
Marketing automation saw CereOne Media Pvt. Ltd. and Globale Media win silver, while ADMOTT Private Limited claimed silver in OTT innovation.
Programmatic media categories highlighted the shift to advanced targeting and connected screens. Mobavenue Media Private Limited clinched gold in connected TV advertising, with Animmoov Digital Media Pvt Ltd – Asus and Lyxel and Flamingo taking silver. Cheggout Services Private Limited won silver in retail media advertising, while Paytm Ads – Versuni secured gold.
On social platforms, Vayner Media India took gold in community and UGC engagement, with Under 25 – Oppo winning silver. Segumento rounded off the list with silver in the innovation category.
Jaswant Singh, country managing director at ad:tech India, underscored the momentum, saying generative AI and data-driven decision-making are now central to marketing impact. Neena Dasgupta, IAA mancom member and chief executive and founder at The Salt Inc Consulting, added that the awards celebrate not just technology, but “the people, the creativity, and the relentless effort behind it.”
Backed by Comexposium Group, ad:tech New Delhi has long tracked digital disruption. Now, with the honours, it is rewarding those who are not just adapting to change but engineering it.
In an industry racing towards automation, the message from 2026 is unmistakable. The future of marketing will be written not just in ideas, but in algorithms.
