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Comcast, CW Network sign agreement
MUMBAI: US cable major Comcast and broadcaster The CW Network have reached an agreement that brings The CW‘s primetime lineup to Xfinity On Demand.
Customers can watch the four most-recent episodes from each CW series – including their favourite CW programs the day after they air on live TV – on Xfinity On Demand at no additional charge. This agreement marks the first time The CW has made its shows available on Video On Demand (VOD) by a multi-service operator (MSO).
Comcast senior VP Matt Strauss said, “Our customers turn to Xfinity On Demand for the latest and most popular programs, and now we‘re pleased to add The CW‘s popular primetime lineup to our offerings. We‘re committed to giving customers access to the best and newest TV shows when they want, at their fingertips.”
The CW executive VP John D. Maatta said, “We‘re very excited to partner with Comcast to offer our viewers another platform where they can watch their favourite CW shows. With our primetime series now available on Xfinity On Demand, The CW will continue to expand its reach as well as provide our advertisers an opportunity to deliver their message to even more viewers.”
Xfinity On Demand viewers will be able to catch The CW‘s shows in both HD and SD. Series include The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, America‘s Next Top Model, Hart of Dixie, 90210, Arrow, Nikita, Beauty & the Beast, Emily Owens, M.D. and the final season of Gossip Girl, Xfinity On Demand offers HD TV shows and movies – with thousands available for free – and a broadcast offering that enables Xfinity TV customers to catch up and keep up with shows from additional networks including ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC.
With more than 20 million digital TV homes, Xfinity On Demand has the broad reach to help programmers maximise their viewership and promotional activities. The platform also supports Nielsen C3 ratings measurement, proving valuable for programmers and advertisers. Each month, there are nearly 400 million views on Xfinity On Demand; and since its launch in 2003, there have been more than 25 billion views.
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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.
