iWorld
Why free TV channels are making a comeback on your smart TV
New Delhi: If choice paralysis were a sport, Indians scrolling endlessly on OTT menus would win gold. RunnTV thinks it has the cure.
At the 5th Indian Digital Brand Fest, a session on the rise of Fast and connected TV in brand marketing featured RunnTV founder and CEO Manish Sinha in conversation with Anil Wanvari, founder & editor-in-chief of the Indiantelevision.com Group, where they explained why free streaming is regaining traction in India.
Sinha is betting Indians want their TV channels back. Not cable subscriptions, but free streaming channels that work like the old days: switch on, flip through, start watching.
“When you have 30 minutes on OTT, users spend 6 to 12 minutes just searching,” Sinha told Wanvari. “With Fast (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV), you’re consuming content in 28 of those 30 minutes.”
When Wanvari asked about advertising innovations, Sinha highlighted Fast’s unique advantage: “Traditional TV relies on sample metres in about a lakh households. CTV can be targeted and measurable.” CPMs range from 100 to 250 rupees for connected TVs.
The platform’s clever insight: switching channels takes exactly two clicks. “If users aren’t switching during ad breaks, they’re actually watching the ads,” Sinha explained.
Wanvari raised a practical concern: isn’t downloading another app cumbersome? Sinha countered that RunnTV aggregates multiple channels in one place. During Operation Sindoor, downloads surged as viewers flipped between Nav Bharat, ABP News, India TV and TV9 in a single app.
On customer acquisition costs, Sinha acknowledged initial challenges but noted strong organic growth. The platform now reaches 10 million monthly active users through its own app and partners including Xiaomi TV Plus and LG.
Wanvari questioned whether OEMs pushing their own Fast platforms posed competition. Sinha saw opportunity instead, “Mobile is still 70% of video consumption. OEMs aren’t targeting that.” Unlike manufacturer platforms restricted to specific devices, RunnTV works everywhere.
Wanvari pressed on language barriers. Sinha explained personalisation solves this: Gen Z users see apps built for Gen Z, millennials see content for millennials.
His ten-year vision? “To be the Tata Play of digital television.” Wanvari captured it perfectly: “You’re going to be the next CTV pioneer of India.”
With global players eyeing India and Fast adoption rising, the Runn TV founder believes the free-TV wave is only beginning to swell.
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.
