Event Coverage
Cannes Diary : India on their minds…
Just what have the Indian contingent been up to at MIPTV 2005? One thing that stands out is that stall presence is minimal. Sony Entertainment India is about the only well-known name around from among the broadcasters. Star India is under the Fortune Star label so does that count? Can’t say. As for Disney India, it is submerged, so to speak, within the main Disney pavilion (as it should be considering that it is just starting out in India).
There are two film content distributors at MIPTV in Kishore Lulla’s Eros International and Madhu Entertainment. 2004 was a pretty bad year for the film distributors in large measure due to the poor quality of films released we are told. Revenues tanked a whopping 80 per cent and for ‘independent’ players like Madhu, it’s getting increasingly tough going.
The avenues to leverage content are also limited to video and terrestrial TV release (and even that is reducing since the broadcasters are picking up whatever movie rights are available to all the big titles).
For the broadcasters though business is steadily growing.
According to SET India COO NP Singh, what is becoming evident is the increasing interest coming in from non-traditional Diaspora territories. Though the main interest remains in Bollywood-centric products (as in film titles and Bollywood-related events). After that it is ‘traditional’ soaps that are grabbing the most attention. Singh mentioned Heena, Kkusum, Kanyadaan (an old Balaji offering from way back in 2000-2001). Extending that logic, hot products from Star would remain perennial favourites Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki.
And inquiries are coming in from the oddest places – Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Vietnam – to name a few. Indiantelevision.com got some enquiries from a channel head from Nigeria and a content aggregator from Holland looking to introduce time bands dedicated to offerings from India that will cater to viewers originally from South Asia.
SEEN AND HEARD
Siddhartha Basu’s Synergy Communications may be doing Bluff Master, the adaptation of Distraction Formats’ Dirty Rotten Cheaters on Star One, but it’s Abhimanyu Singh of Contiloe Films who has been meeting with the Distraction folk, scouting content.
The Celador stall is gloomy on the Indian front. “Star is only talking about the second part of Kaun Banega Crorepati (the Indianised version of Celador’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire?),” shrug Celador officials. But yes, Sony is talking to them, though no deals have been struck yet.
Hit Entertainment, makers of Pingu and Bob, have been getting a lot of Indian visitors, among them UTV’s Hungama, Percept (for Sahara One) and of course, Cartoon Network, which is likely to acquire a fresh season of Bob the Builder.
E! Entertainment already has a presence on Zoom, but isn’t likely to add to it at this MIPTV, at least. But AXN has been buying some glamour and lifestyle shows for India, we hear.
Deutsche Welle, a benign and relatively negligible presence in India so far, but may also aggro – not selling its content though, but by hopping onto a platform – could be Doordarshan or could be Zee. Talks are still on.
If there is any Indian broadcaster that is aggressively picking up content at MIPTV it is Zee TV. Not just for the cable side but also for its DTH platform for which it is ramping up its channel offerings.
One such is the French-based urban music channel Trace TV, the official launch announcement for which will be made in the capital on 22 April and in Mumbai on 23 April.
The two-year-old Trace now has a presence in 60 countries worldwide and 15 in Asia (excluding India).
TECH’S GREAT, BUT WHAT ABOUT PROGRAMMING
This is an issue that has not just struck Indiantelevision.com but we’ve caught snatches of similar comments from other participants as well. While there is no getting away from the overarching dominance of technology in all the discussions at MIPTV, it is a bit surprising that about the only time devoted to programming per se was an hour on Tuesday during the session Fresh TV Around The World The Spring-Summer Collection.
While everyone who spoke was quite categorical that content tailored to individual viewers needs would become paramount, no one really offered much by way of what forms this content might take and what were the trends as far as successful programming concepts from different parts of the world were concerned. The era of broadcasting would in the near future have to make way for narrowcasting which would mean content and channels targeting ever smaller and focused audience groups and communities (much in the way radio works internationally, though not in India) is what we are told. What sort of content are we looking at now and in the near future. We certainly would like some indicators, and we’re sure there are many more like us.
THE SUN IS OUT AT LAST
Wednesday was bright and sunny on the French Riviera as Thursday was but all that overwhelming technology buzzing round the ears hardly gave one the time or opportunity to soak it all in. Still, one can’t complain as the climate is finally living up to its April billing.
Event Coverage
Anime India announces Amazon MX Player as co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata 2026
MUMBAI: Riding high on the success of its blockbuster Mumbai debut, Anime India is accelerating its nationwide expansion with the announcement of Amazon MX Player as the co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata. The partnership marks a significant step forward in the festival’s mission to deliver large-scale, accessible, and fan-first anime experiences across the country.
Scheduled for 14 and 15 February 2026 at the iconic Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan, Anime India Kolkata will launch the first regional chapter of what is set to be a year-long, multi-city tour. As the curtain-raiser for the 2026 circuit, the Kolkata edition aims to fuse the energy of global Japanese pop culture with India’s fast-growing community of anime, manga, and pop-culture fans.
A household name in digital entertainment, Amazon MX Player brings unmatched reach and cultural relevance to the Anime India platform. With its expanding focus on anime and youth-driven content, Amazon MX Player’s involvement as co-presenting partner reinforces Anime India’s vision of making anime culture more inclusive breaking barriers of language, geography, and accessibility to connect with fans nationwide.
Anime India Kolkata 2026 will showcase cosplay competitions, interactive zones led by the Indian Gunpla Community, India-39 Vocaloid Community, The Japan Curry, and Adda-o-Otaku by The Otaku Guild. Fans can join tournaments across fighting games, Pokémon VGC, and more. Acclaimed Japanese director Susumu Mitsunaka (Haikyu!!) will attend as guest of honour, appearing in panels and live sessions. Positioned as an immersive celebration of fan culture and industry collaboration, the Kolkata edition marks the beginning of Anime India’s nationwide expansion.
Sharing their perspective on the partnership, Amazon MX Player director Aruna Daryanani expressed, “Anime in India has evolved from a niche interest into a mainstream cultural movement, driven by an increasingly engaged and passionate fanbase. At Amazon MX Player, our focus is on expanding access by bringing anime to audiences across the country for free and in multiple local languages. Our association with Anime India reflects our commitment to supporting the growth of anime in India and deepening connections with fans, while continuing to build Amazon MX Player as a trusted destination for free, high-quality entertainment.”
“Anime India Kolkata is a celebration of how anime has grown beyond entertainment into a powerful cultural and creative force. By bringing fans, creators, and industry leaders onto one shared platform, the festival is helping define the future of pop culture in India,” said Anime India co-founder and director Neha Mehta.
The debut edition of Anime India 2025 in Mumbai attracted over 29,000 fans, quickly cementing its status as a landmark celebration of anime and Japanese pop culture. Riding on this overwhelming response, the Kolkata chapter is projected to draw more than 40,000 visitors across two days, positioning it as one of the biggest anime conventions ever held in eastern India.
Anime India is focused on bringing together fans from across the country to create a truly pan-India celebration of anime, manga, cosplay, gaming, and Japanese culture. With plans to expand into four key metropolitan hubs in 2026—east (Kolkata), north (Delhi), west (Mumbai), and south (Hyderabad)—the festival seeks to deliver globally benchmarked experiences while supporting and uplifting creators, artists, and fan communities throughout India.
