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MTV readies Nickelodeon push
Nickelodeon, the neglected child of the Viacom family in India, looks to be finally getting the attention it has craved for long.
Nick will see some major programming and marketing initiatives within the next three weeks, says MTV India managing director Alex Kuruvilla. Barely two months after being taken up by the Zee-Turner bouquet for distribution, the kids’ channel’s viewership has increased from 5.5 million to eight million, according to Kuruvilla.
An upbeat Kuruvilla, who says says the network undertook some qualitative research in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore recently to assess Nick’s reach found that 80 to 90 per cent of children, exposed to just two weeks to Nickelodeon, shifted to it from other kids’ channels. MTV India distribution head Sanjeev Hiremath says that Nick’s channel positioning too will be rejigged in the coming two to three months.
“In the first phase, we focussed on distribution. In the next, we will take up channel positioning”, Hiremath says.
In the US, Nick commands a powerful audience with its mix of toon and reality programming. In India, however, the channel has failed to generate mass interest thus far, even as rival Cartoon Network surged ahead in popularity. While Nickelodeon suffered from a lack of viewership when it was bundled with the Zee bouquet, the distribution tie up with Warner seems to have given Nick the much needed push. In the 14 months it has been around in India in its present avatar, Nick was unable to match the numero uno position it commands in the US and was labouring on with a viewership of barely two million, admits Kuruvilla.
With it getting noticed, however, Nick is sprucing up its programming. Nick Masala, the two-hour Hindi block is already drawing in viewers although Kuruvilla maintains there is no urgency for localisation on the channel. Its two-hour block on Zee is also drawing ratings of around 0.4, he says. Kuruvilla is also bullish about ad revenues for Nick, which he sees picking up after the increased viewership figures.
MTV meanwhile, is seriously pursuing its plan of going digital within the next three to six months, says Kuruvilla. Cross promotions for Nick have already picked up on MTV and will see a spurt in the coming days with prime properties like Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius becoming a highlight of Nick’s programming. While MTV itself is undecided on whether it will continue to remain independent or will join a bouquet, Nick too “is keeping its options open,” says Kuruvilla. The channel will also look at locally created animation programmes in the medium term, he adds.
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India’s AI Future Gets a Neural Kick-Off in Delhi
NDTV IND.AI Summit on 18 Feb 2026 to debate governance, ethics, and India’s big-tech ambitions.
MUMBAI: Artificial intelligence is about to get a very Delhi welcome smart, spirited, and ready to out-think the room. On 18 February 2026, New Delhi plays host to the inaugural NDTV IND.AI Summit, a high-stakes pow-wow that promises to put India’s AI ambitions under the brightest spotlight yet. Billed as a deep dive into how artificial intelligence is already rewiring the nation’s economy, policy playbook, and strategic dreams, the one-day event is curated by NDTV in partnership with the Startup Policy Forum. At its core lies a single, sharp question: how do you unleash AI’s transformative power while keeping trust, equity, and sanity intact?
The guest list reads like a who’s-who of global AI heavyweights. Former UK prime minister Rishi Sunak headlines a special session on AI in governance, sharing hard-won lessons on how the technology is reshaping statecraft and decision-making. Joining the fray are OpenAI’s Chris Lehane, UC Berkeley’s AI safety pioneer Stuart Russell, and Google’s James Manyika, voices that will anchor India firmly in the international conversation on accountability, risk, and cross-border cooperation.
Beyond the policy wonks, the Summit rolls up its sleeves for real-world impact. General Catalyst’s Hemant Taneja and other top-tier investors will unpack how AI is redrawing the rules of capital, innovation, and long-term value creation. Separate tracks will tackle AI’s footprint in workplaces, large-scale adoption, productivity shifts, evolving job roles, and organisational culture. India’s digital public infrastructure, often hailed as a global blueprint for inclusive tech gets its own spotlight, alongside a dedicated segment on AI sovereignty: what does true national control look like in a borderless tech universe?
NDTV CEO and editor-in-chief Rahul Kanwal framed the event’s bigger picture, “The IND.AI Summit is about the kind of future we are choosing to build. India has the scale, the talent, and the moral imagination to shape how AI serves society and this Summit is our way of bringing the most credible voices together to define that direction.”
In a world where AI chatter can feel abstract, the New Delhi gathering aims to ground the debate in India’s own story, one that ties cutting-edge innovation to public purpose, domestic priorities to global influence, and raw ambition to responsible stewardship. Whether you’re an algorithm enthusiast or just mildly curious about tomorrow’s headlines, this Summit is India signalling it’s not just catching the AI wave, it intends to help steer it.
