Event Coverage
Vidnet 2024: Live Sports – The Next Bastion of Growth
Mumbai: The OTT business in India is buzzing with new streamers, niche, and language offerings. However, early players are struggling as heavy content spending isn’t matching revenues, and India-specific low pricing hasn’t spurred subscriptions. Growth has plateaued as consumers return to post-COVID normalcy, preferring to binge occasionally.
Adding to the churn is the shift towards AVOD by giants like JioCinema, offering premium events like cricket for free, with Disney+Hotstar following suit. This has strained streaming bottom lines. The rise of FAST channels is also causing industry jitters. Vidnet explores the future of the streaming ecosystem. This event was held on 19 July 2024, at Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai
This panel discussed the imminent growth and development of the live sports industry. It highlighted significant opportunities such as increased viewership, ad revenue, sponsorships, tech advancements, and global expansion. Sports could dominate entertainment further, benefiting stakeholders like sports bodies, broadcasters, advertisers, and tech firms. Factors driving this growth include these opportunities, and businesses can leverage them to boost revenue, engagement, and brand presence.
The session was chaired by Indiantelevision.com group founder, chairman & editor-in-chief in chief Anil NM Wanvari. It included the following panellists: GroupM India managing director of content, entertainment & sports Vinit Karnik, Star Sports head of ad sales Kingshuk Mitra
Industry leaders shared their perspectives on the imminent growth and development of the live sports industry and highlighted significant opportunities such as increased viewership, ad revenue, sponsorships, tech advancements, and global expansion.
GroupM India managing director of content, entertainment & sports Vinit Karnik said,
“With content fragmentation, aggregating consumers is a major challenge. Live sports, one of the few content types that guarantees a specific audience at a specific time, addresses this by providing appointment viewing. This consistency simplifies advertising planning and ensures a stable viewer base, solving a significant problem in our fragmented ecosystem.”
Kingshuk Mitra Star Sports Disney Star emphasised, “Sports, especially cricket, is experiencing significant growth, with notable increases in participation from new cohorts and regions, such as South India and tier-2 towns. The rise in engagement from fintech companies and consumer brands underscores the sport’s role in building trust and connecting with audiences. Advertisers are leveraging cricket for its impressive ROI, exemplified by campaigns that highlight grassroots contributions and foster deeper consumer relationships. As technology continues to evolve, it will further drive growth and innovation in the sports sector.”
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.
