MAM
Tata Sky signs WPP’s Kantar Media to better understand subscribers
MUMBAI: How much can you know about your subscribers? Well, India‘s leading DTH operator Tata Sky believes the more the better. In a first for India, Tata Sky has signed an audience measurement deal with WPP media research firm Kantar Media. The contract with Kantar, will deliver a service, which is expected to help Tata Sky understand its subscribers viewing habits and also measure their behaviour.
Expected to launch later this year, the service will take full advantage of Kantar Media’s return path data technology RapidView to collect complex audience data directly from set top boxes (STBs) and provide insights into subscriber behaviours not easily captured elsewhere.
Kantar will have overall responsibility for setting up and operating the service and will be closely supported in the local market by India’s leading market research agency IMRB. Data from the service will be made available to Tata Sky using Infosys+, the leading edge TV analysis software platform developed by Kantar Media.
Data will be collected from an opt-in panel chosen from Tata Sky’s subscriber base. An additional panel will be used to monitor those homes with High Definition (HD) televisions. Viewing data will be captured across all the ways in which Tata Sky customers are able to view TV (including live, time shift, on demand and interactive).
Tata Sky chief content & business development officer Nicola Bamford said, “We are excited about launching this service in India in collaboration with Kantar Media and IMRB. The insights that will be available to us will help us to stay at the forefront of the Pay TV business in India.”
Kantar Media Audiences global director for return path data Nick Burfitt said: “Pay-TV is showing incredible growth in India and Tata Sky is a leader there. We are delighted to have been chosen to develop and deploy this ground-breaking service, the first of its kind in this important market. The new service will provide real insights into the viewing habits of subscribers and we look forward to working with Tata Sky further as the service develops.”
Kantar Media has been operating audience measurement services for set-top box operators around the world since 2005 and is the acknowledged thought leader in the successful deployment and research techniques using return path data.
The partnership with Tata Sky is the latest addition to existing services operating in the USA, UK, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand with data being processed from many millions of set-top boxes each day. And that has helped operators there to service subscribers better and possibly offer solutions to potential partners and advertisers.
Among the benefits clients such as BSkyB have got out of the service include: improved targeting of consumer marketing, increased advertising sales through more compelling audience insights, enhanced understanding of programming priorities, and increased revenues through possession of this valuable data.
The fact is Tata Sky is taking cue from other markets to further up its service and business standards. Now one will have to wait and watch whether other DTH operators in India follow suit.
Brands
Jubilant Foodworks to end Dunkin’ franchise in India
Pizza chain operator will not renew agreement when it expires at end of 2026.
MUMBAI: When the doughnuts stop turning and the coffee goes cold, even a global giant like Dunkin’ can find the Indian market a tough brew to crack. Jubilant Foodworks has decided not to renew its franchise agreement with Dunkin’ when the pact expires on 31 December 2026, according to a Reuters report. The operator, best known for running Domino’s outlets in India, said it would evaluate options for its existing Dunkin’ stores, including a potential sale or transfer of franchise rights, in consultation with the US-based brand.
The decision follows years of underperformance in a market where local tastes and intense competition have made it difficult for international coffee-and-doughnut formats to gain traction. Jubilant, which has increasingly focused on its core pizza business and newer bets like Popeyes, indicated that the exit would not materially affect its financial or operational position.
Dunkin’ accounted for just 0.61 per cent of Jubilant’s revenue in the fiscal year ending 2025 and recorded a loss of approximately Rs 191 million, according to a regulatory filing. The company operated 27 outlets as of December 2025, having shuttered seven stores over the preceding year.
The retreat comes even as Jubilant’s broader business shows signs of momentum. The company reported a 65 per cent rise in quarterly profit for the October to December period, reaching Rs 70.9 crore, up from Rs 42.91 crore a year earlier.
For Jubilant, the exit reflects a sharpening strategic focus. For Dunkin’, it marks another setback in a market that has proven resistant to imported café concepts without significant localisation.
In the cut-throat world of Indian quick-service restaurants, sometimes the sweetest deals are the ones you quietly walk away from leaving more room for the brands that truly rise to the occasion.
