Event Coverage
Television…. will remain eternal
MUMBAI: Television will continue to be a dominant medium notwithstanding the emergence of new means of consuming content. New mediums of content delivery are likely to change viewing habits, but more importantly are likely to increase the time spent on watching the stories that are delivered and also provide more opportunities to content creators.
Rather than fragment television viewership, new mediums of content delivery would open up new opportunities for content creators as well as platform providers.
To drive home this message, India’s largest broadcaster Star India COO Sanjay Gupta pointed out that 10 years ago the topic of discussion was that newspapers are dead. The fact is that in the last 10 years the size of the newspaper industry has doubled.
The topic now is ‘Television is Dead’ but like the newspaper industry television will continue to grow, said Gupta, participating in a panel discussion on “Television is Dead – Long Live Television” on the second day of FICCI Frames 2014.
Fundamentally, new mediums provide new avenues to carry content and to tell stories, Gupta said underlining that there will be greater opportunities with the digital medium opening up.
IndiaCast Media Distribution Group CEO Anuj Gandhi said, “Fundamentally, we as a nation are a daily soap market. In India daily soaps sell.”
IndiaCast distributes a multitude of content but in the global markets it has found demand for its serial 24, based on an American thriller series in a real-time format, and not for the Indian staple daily soaps. IndiaCast is mandated to drive domestic and international channel distribution, placement services and content syndication for TV18 Broadcast, Viacom18 and A+E Networks I TV18.
Celestial Tiger Entertainment CEO Todd Miller echoed the prevalent view. He said, “It is still the living room that is the bulk of our business.” Celestial Tiger is a Hong Kong-based diversified media company that focuses on Asian consumers.
TELEVISION TO TRANSFORM
Television as a medium is expected to undergo a transformation from being a linear gadget to a multi-functional smart device. The reinvention of television will allow it to not only survive but blossom despite the onslaught of new mediums of content delivery.
Effective use of the mobile as a means of content delivery is still a distant given the bandwidth constraints. “For me the biggest challenge is bandwidth. 3G and 4G will change consuming patterns. It will still be sports and news that will be largely consumed on mobiles,” said IndiaCast’s Gandhi.
There have been so far no serious efforts at making differentiated content. With 3G and 4G, there would be real efforts at making meaningful content.
Star India’s Gupta said Star Sports’ tie-up with Vodafone has shown there is deep desire among consumers to view content on mobile, even though not at huge costs but by spending smaller amounts.
“Millions are coming in to check content on Vodafone. They may not want to spend in small amounts,” Gupta said.
Consumers will seek more and more stories, different stories with the rise of the digital medium of content delivery. The broadcasters as they now exist and the new means of content delivery and the new content creators would be collaborating rather than working at cross-purposes.
IndiCast’s Gandhi reiterated that TV Everywhere in the digital era will still remain largely confined to shorter duration content.
CHANGING DYNAMICS
Almost 50 per cent of Olympics was watched on mobile. This suggests there is great opportunity to deliver what the consumer wants.
“We can’t wish it away. Dynamics are changing fast. The distinction between the content creators and platforms is blurring,” said Gupta.
Industry players expect disruptions to happen but are wary as history shows an outsider has most of the time been the disruptive force.
New mediums will provide new platforms for content. The broadcasters may go downstream to business to consumer model and the distributors may move up the chain to be the content producers.
In the US, the average time spent watching television is six hours. In India the average time spent is three hours and the new mediums are seeing an increase in the time spent watching television content.
Celestial Tiger’s Miller said, “Most of the innovation that comes is from Telcos and DTH.”
Media Partners Asia executive director Vivek Couto, anchoring the panel discussion, said, “Precedents have already been set for digital deals in the US.”
Gupta, however, said the cap on prices of television content is hindering creation of quality content. “People are willing to spend. We have 2.5 million HD customers, which is likely to rise to 8 million by the end of this year,” he said.
The whole ecosystem of story-telling is set for a transformation aided by improved delivery platforms and more creative content creation, and a dominant part of the viewership would still be on television.
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.
