iWorld
Disney+ Hotstar launches OTT advertising handbook
Mumbai: Disney+ Hotstar, India’s leading streaming platform, has launched a handbook for effective brand building on the platform. Titled Winning in the OTT era with Disney+ Hotstar, the handbook shares learnings based on the analysis of over 200 plus campaigns and offers a 360° view of why marketers must include OTT in their marketing strategy. The playbook has been developed in collaboration with industry experts Kantar, Neurons, Integral Ad Science, Mediasmart and Metrix Lab. The playbook shares key media planning principles along with creative best practices for video ads to enable advertisers to make the most of their campaigns on OTT platforms, it also inspires advertisers to go beyond vanilla advertising by collaborating with the Disney+ Hotstar’s CreativeWorks team to create bespoke, contextual, impactful campaigns. It also shares insights to make the most of the connected TVs (CTV) feed as a medium to connect with their desired audiences.
“The changing media-scape of advertising has made it imperative for brands to embrace OTT platforms. Disney+ Hotstar has continuously led the way in the ever-evolving OTT industry, constantly innovating to provide exceptional experiences for both consumers and advertisers. We are delighted to present the Winning in The OTT Era with Disney+ Hotstar playbook, that shares the recipe for success to enable advertisers harness the full potential of our platform thus maximizing impact for their campaigns. Created in collaboration with leading industry experts, the handbook offers invaluable guidance for effective media planning and brand building, enabling our advertisers to make data-driven decisions and significantly enhance advertising ROI,” said Disney Star head of network – ad sales Ajit Varghese.
Additionally, the handbook lays down the best practices that can be deployed by brands to maximize their ROIs when advertising on Disney+ Hotstar:
● Campaigns with three plus video ads were most successful in driving brand awareness, favorability, and purchase intent.
● Campaigns with 20 plus second video ads delivered the highest success
● Midroll campaigns supplemented with other creative formats delivered 30 per cent more success in driving brand message and purchase
● Operating at a frequency of six plus increases purchase intent by 70 per cent and brand awareness by 50 per cent
● Longer campaigns (>six weeks) yield higher success on upper and lower funnel metrics.
Campaigns following these practices on Disney+ Hotstar recorded a 10 per cent higher success rate vs. industry benchmarks defined by Kantar across digital campaigns. The study also highlights how Impact advertising on the platform has delivered 100 per cent success across the funnel for sponsors and inventory buyers and outperformed industry benchmarks. The case studies recorded reveal the following:
● Sponsors of Koffee With Karan Season 7 achieved 3X Uplift through in-show integration and branded vignettes, 4X brand awareness, 2.8X Online ad awareness, 3.3X message association, 2.8X brand favorability and 2.6X purchase intent.
● Sponsors of Dance+ Season 6 achieved two times organic value through impact advertising on the show making it one of the most successful campaigns across the industry.
● Tanishq co-creating and hosting reality series with Disney+ Hotstar CreativeWorks, The Great Indian Bride, saw the brand creatively reach out to modern brides of India and, in the process, achieve five times purchase intent and 2.3x brand awareness uplift.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
