MAM
Sybase completes acquisition of mobile 365
MUMBAI: Sybase, Inc. a provider of enterprise infrastructure and mobile software has announced its completion of the acquisition of Mobile 365, Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at $417 million. Net of acquired cash, the transaction is valued at $397 million.
Mobile 365 will now operate as Sybase 365, a wholly-owned subsidiary. Sybase Inc. senior vice president corporate development and marketing Marty Beard will lead the new subsidiary as president, asserts an official release.
The Sybase mFolio business will be integrated into Sybase 365 immediately, and certain assets of Sybase AvantGo will be integrated into Sybase 365 early in 2007, adds the release.
Sybase chairman, CEO and president John Chen said, “Built on unique intellectual property and a comprehensive global network, Sybase 365 provides the messaging infrastructure-of-choice for interoperability and content delivery. With this acquisition, we expand our unwired enterprise offerings and our ability to deliver information anytime, anywhere, to any type of device.”
Through its network of approximately 700 mobile operators, including Verizon Wireless, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Cingular, Telefonica and China Mobile, Sybase 365 will continue to focus on enabling the content providers and global brands, such as Citibank, Yahoo!, AOL, MSN and Twentieth Century Fox to mobilise their content and applications.
Verizon Wireless vice president wireless internet and multimedia services Jim Straight said, “As we approach the fifth anniversary of Mobile 365 launching carrier services here in the U.S., i’m pleased they have found a corporate parent who brings additional resources and opportunities to the market and that Mobile 365 will continue to serve us as they have in the past.”
“The acquisition solidly positions Sybase between mobile operators, content providers, and global brands-further extending our worldwide leadership in enterprise mobility,” said Beard.
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.
