GECs
YouTube launches Comedy Week in India
NEW DELHI: YouTube in close collaboration with leading Indian content producers and production houses has announced the launch of Comedy Week in India. Running from 5 September until 12 September, YouTube will play home to the best of Indian comedy with over 400 hours of comedy content curated all on YouTube India’s channel at www.youtube.com/comedyweek.
The week will feature a wide range of content including best comedy scenes from Bollywood, all-time favourite TV comedy shows Comedy nights with Kapil,Great Indian laughter challenge, MTV Bakra, Kahani Comedy Circus ki, best of Indian mimicry and Indian regional language comedy content in Telegu, Tamil, Marathi, Punjabi, Malayalam, Gujarati and Kannada.
As part of Comedy week launch in India, YouTube, in partnership with production houses, has also launched over 35 new YouTube exclusive shows featuring stand-up comedy acts from the biggest names in comedy in India. O4 Digital Media will launch YouTube channels featuring content from leading comedy stars in India such as Cyrus Broacha, Vir Das, Bharati, Krushna, VIP, Saurabh Pant and Sugandha Raja Sagoo and many more.
Comedy Week also would not be complete without getting some of the funniest YouTube partners in India on board. Over the next seven days, you can watch brand new content produced by popular YouTube comedy creators including Jay Hind TV, TheViralFever and NH7.
Speaking at the launch of Comedy Week, YouTube APAC director content partnerships Gautam Anand said, “Here in India, comedy shows contribute to over 30 per cent of total watch hours within the TV shows category, and in the past year, comedy show viewership has shown one of fastest growth in viewership. Bringing Comedy Week to India allows us to give India’s audiences more of the content they love and discover new content that they can only enjoy on YouTube. We have also worked hard with the biggest names in the comedy in India and are excited to bring more leading Indian comedy content onto one destination on YouTube.”
Google India director marketing Sandeep Menon also launched YouTube’s first television commercial in India for comedy week.
Speaking at the launch, Sandeep said, “YouTube globally is on fire: There are over one billion people coming onto YouTube every month and over six billion hours of video watched every month. We’ve seen tremendous growth and momentum for YouTube here in India and today we are launching Comedy Week to help reach out to the first time Internet users in India and give them a reason to get onto the Internet for their daily dose of entertainment.”
Comedy Week will also feature content from premium broadcasters and film production houses like Rajshri, Eros, T-series, Shemaroo, Disney, Star, Colors, SabTV, Sri Adhikari Brothers, Telguone, MTV, Yash Raj films who will showcase content from this existing catalogues and specially produced content for comedy week.
Speaking about the launch of 25 new shows on YouTube for Comedy Week, O4 Digital Media founder and executive chairman Sanjiv Sharma said, “We have had a long standing relationship with comedy and TV, now with YouTube becoming the go to destination for all video content and the creative freedom that it offers, we want to establish a strong presence online with our original content. Our aim is to become the #1 comedy network on YouTube. Starting with Comedy Week, we are launching 10 brand new channels featuring original programming covering all genres of comedy from exclusive shows of leading stand-up comedy stars, mimicry, slapstick comedy, sketch and character comedy.”
GECs
Asianet Television Awards 2026 celebrates women power in Malayalam TV
“She is the Colour” theme honours icons as ceremony airs on March 14 and 15 at 7 PM.
MUMBAI: If television lights up living rooms, this year Asianet decided to let women provide the colour. The Asianet Television Awards 2026 turned the spotlight firmly on women empowerment with the theme “She is the Colour”, celebrating the strength, resilience and achievements of women who continue to shape society and the Malayalam entertainment industry.
The ceremony honoured several distinguished personalities whose journeys have left a lasting cultural imprint. Among them was legendary playback singer Vimala Varma, widely recognised as the first Malayalam playback singer. The evening also paid tribute to Padma Shri awardees Devaki Amma and Vimala Menon for their exceptional contributions in their respective fields.
Leading women from the Malayalam film industry were also recognised during the event, including actor Shweta Menon, who currently serves as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, and National Award winning actor Surabhi Lakshmi.
The awards ceremony brought together a glittering lineup of actors and industry figures, including Jayasurya, Vijay Babu, Asha Sarath, Lena, Esther Anil, Anumol, Akhila Bhargavan, Sarayu Mohan, Prajod Kalabhavan, Gayathri Suresh, Sabumon Abdusamad, Swasika, Tini Tom, Sijoy Varghese, Kailash, Veena Nandakumar, Sabareesh Varma, Ansiba Hassan and Dinesh Prabhakar. Kishan Kumar, executive vice president Malayalam at JioStar, was also present at the event.
Beyond individual recognitions, the awards celebrated excellence across Malayalam television, acknowledging artists and technicians whose work continues to drive the industry forward.
The evening also offered plenty of spectacle, with elaborate dance performances, stunt acts and comedy skits performed by popular television and film personalities, turning the ceremony into a full fledged entertainment showcase.
Viewers will get to watch the celebrations when the Asianet Television Awards 2026 air on Asianet on March 14 and 15, Saturday and Sunday, from 7 pm onwards, bringing the star studded tribute to homes across Kerala and beyond.
