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Agra MSO plans Rs 502 million public float
MUMBAI: Cable TV operators are queuing up to tap the market as they work out their digitisation plans.
Joining the wave is Sea TV Network, a leading multi-system operator (MSO) in Agra, with plans to raise Rs 502 million through a public float.
“We will be raising Rs 502 million through an initial public offering (IPO). The exact amount we will dilute will depend on the pricing of the issue,” says Sea TV Network founder-promoter Neeraj Jain.
Sea TV Network, facing competition from the direct-to-home (DTH) operators and Ashmore-backed Digicable Network (India), intends to invest Rs 275 million in setting up a complete digital head-end.
The MSO proposes to pump in Rs 52.8 million for setting up network for IPTV solution and Rs 65.6 million for laying underground optical fibre capable of digital transmission throughout Agra city and adjoining areas.
An amount of Rs 155.5 million will be required for setting up 20 branch-offices in Agra and adjoining areas with required infrastructure for receiving digital signals and re-transmitting the same through co-axial cables to individual subscribers.
The total funding requirement, including meeting the expenses of the IPO issue, is Rs 596.5 million. Besides the proposed initial public offering, Sea TV Network will also raise term loans and fund from internal accruals.
The fund requirement has been appraised by Allahabad Bank.
Among those planning to list is Citigroup Venture Capital-controlled cable broadband service provider You Broadband and Cable. The company plans to raise Rs 3.58 billion through an IPO, joining a troop of cable companies such as Den Networks and Hathway Cable and Datacom that have tapped the capital market in recent times.
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
