Event Coverage
DD scores points over satellite news channels
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MUMBAI: It took staid ole’ Doordarshan to liven up proceedings a bit in the post lunch session on TV News – the new blockbuster. After hearing satellite news channel CEOs gloat over their supposedly skyrocketing reach and increasing share of the media adspend, Doordarshan DG S Y Quraishi sparked off a mini furore by reeling off some ‘hard facts’ about television news in India. Quoting TAM figures, Quraishi reminded the audience that while an Aaj Tak is content to have pushed news channel consumption from three per cent in 2000 to eight per cent in 2002, Doordarshan continues to hog between 89 to 93 per cent of audience attention in all TV homes. Even in C&S homes, DD commands a 58 per cent share, Quraishi claimed.  “A single bulletin on DD gets more audiences than the combined telecast of one 24 hour news channel” Quraishi told a cheering audience. Alleging that satellite news channels have a mere three hour odd original programming throughout the day, Quraishi said DD was the only channel that telecast original footage and news even in the dead of night. “Do I become a 24 hour news channel merely because I am a stuck record that plays the same thing over and over?” he questioned. Aaj Tak CEO G Krishnan, who spoke earlier, outlined the phenomenal success route news channels in the country had taken, thanks to economic liberalisation, a high degree of competition and the entry of global consumer goods in the Indian market. “Television in India is growing at a faster rate (41 per cent) compared to the global rate (38 per cent)”, he pointed out. News channels, he pointed out, are the only ones that have grown in spite of the clutter in the television sector. Aaj Tak, he said, flourished becuase it adopted a stance that every audience is a news audience and was not dependant on time slots. “Daily news – that you can use” the credo adopted by Aaj Tak, the informal language it employed and building brand loyalty were some aspects that helped the channel rise to the top of the heap in the short span of a year, Krishnan said. ANI chairman Prem Prakash, a veteran in the field of electronic journalism, zeroed in on the tremendous amount of advertising that bogs down news channels, and hoped for a future when it would be possible to view news shows without an ad break. TV18 chief executive Haresh Chawla in his speech said that there is a huge latent demand for news, and viewers would only be happy to get multiple opinions via different channels. It would however be important to develop killer applications to enable differentiation between the various channels on offer, he pointed out. |
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The session: T V News – The New Blockbuster? |
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Moderator: Sahara TV’s Mahesh Prasad |
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.
