Event Coverage
Chandra’s son Punit Goenka shakes it up at MipCom
CANNES: He has the same passion to succeed that his father displayed. The same aggression. The same shrewd intelligence. And he’s doing something that his father did when he went on to set up Zee TV which became the driver of the cable and satellite television business in India in the early nineties. Creating something from ground up: the Zee Network’s DTH network, DishTV.
Meet Punit Goenka, the CEO of Agrani, as he strives to set up what will be India’s first DTH provider. The transponders are in place with Insat. “I’ve booked quite a few of them. In fact most of the Ku-band capacity is with us and we have very good relationships with ISRO,” he says.
The 28-year-old Goenka has been at the E-City Entertainment booth in Cannes Palais de Festivals along with other senior executives from the Zee Network – Ajay Gupta and Abhijit Saksena, among others, over the past three days. This apart he has been hobnobbing with sales people from various production and distribution houses and television network executives globally. His goal: acquire content for his Dish TV.
If the name DishTV sounds quite akin to Echostar’s Dish Network in the US which is resisting Rupert Murdoch overtures in the DTH market there, don’t be surprised.
For after all isn’t Punit, a chip off the old block, willing to take the battle to the enemy camp? Just like his dad Subhash Chandra did when he scrapped with media baron Rupert Murdoch, finally buying him out from the Zee-Star TV partnership.
“I am cobbling together material for an English language action channel,” says Goenka. “I have picked up about 1,000 hours of factual programming covering lifestyle, documentary, kids. And yes, I am looking at doing deals for another 300 hours year on year with three-five year lock in periods. I would like to do channel licensing, partnership deals too.”
Additionally, he points out that he is in the market to buy close to 1,000 film titles for channels he would like to create for Dish. “My goal is to build the subscriber base of Dish to 750,000 in year one. And create a bouquet of 200 channels.” The revenue target: Rs 500-600 million in year one.
Reacting to Chernin’s statement that the Zee TV DTH offering was a soft launch, Goenka said, “Of course, it is a soft launch. But the hard and full scale launch will follow.”
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.
