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Cable ops to focus on multiple revenue streams; land grab phase over
NEW DELHI: Build a robust subscription income, digitise rapidly and develop broadband as a revenue stream. That seems to be the business model all the leading multi-system operators (MSOs) are going to chase after having spread their tentacles across the country. “The land grab phase is over. There will be truce on the ground and MSOs will now focus on developing other revenue streams,” said Digicable Network (India) Pvt Ltd managing director and chief executive officer Jagjit Singh Kohli. Speaking at the India Digital Networks Summit 2009, Kohli said Digicable had set up 26 head-ends across the country and would continue to invest in infrastructure. “The answer to growth lies in value-added services,” he added. |
Consolidation and last mile acquisitions will continue as MSOs raise fresh capital. Hathway Cable & Datacom and Den Networks are tapping the capital market and the two listings would have a significant impact on how the sector can find funding to support expansion opportunities. MSOs also need to build a revenue model on digitisation where Cas (conditional access system) is not mandated. “The digitisation process within the cable industry does not have any extra earnings for the MSOs. There is no payback on digitisation. We have to collectively address the issue of building a revenue model on the digital set-top boxes,” said You Telecom India SVP and head of video business Neeraj Bhatia. Bhatia also emphasised on growing the broadband business as a strong revenue pipeline. “In the US, for example, broadband has come first before IPTV. It is a strong revenue stream for cable companies like Comcast,” he said. With local cable operators under-reporting their subscriber figures and the government yet to lay out a clear roadmap for digitisation, MSOs are searching for a viable business model. “We need to know the regulatory flight path. How can we build a business model without that? We want to go for a public float only with a proper clarity on our growth path,” said IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd managing director and chief executive officer Ravi Mansukhani.MSOs are also planning to invest in local cable channels in smaller towns. “There is a business opportunity in local news and event-based cable channels in tier-II towns. In metro markets where satellite channels have mushroomed, it is difficult to find a business proposition for such cable channels,” said Mansukhani. |
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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.
