Applications
DAS can be the gateway for broadband and VAS
GOA: Broadband and value-added services, suppressed revenue streams so far, will get a major boost as India advances towards digitisation of cable TV.
A few multi-system operators (MSOs) like Hathway Cable & Datacom and Ortel in Orissa have already invested in broadband but on the cable front it has largely been tapped by local cable operators. All MSOs, however, have expressed interest in developing it as a second major revenue source after they move into the new digital regime where they will have more direct control over the last mile customer.
Cable TV networks realise that in broadband and value-added services (Vas) they have a distinct advantage over DTH. In a digital addressable era, broadband and Vas will become an important differentiated offering.
Said NDS Country Head and GM – India Jayant Changrani, “The convergence of technologies will come into play after the introduction of DAS and service providers could take advantage of this. The service providers have to ultimately go by what the consumer wants and provide him Vas to be able to monetise the medium to increase revenues.”
Changrani referred to the DVRs being made by NDS and hand-held boxes that could provide a gateway for gaming, Vas, chats and Wi-fi. He said the Hathway set-top boxes (STBs) already had the broadband advantage.
The Mosaic devices of NDS can help MSOs to configure some channels which he wants to push, he added. He was speaking at the first session on the second and concluding day of the Indian Digital Operators Summit (IDOS) 2012, organised by Indiantelevision.com in partnership with Media Partners Asia.
Management Technologies director Rajiv Dahhad said MSOs being in the best position to move ‘fat pipes’ could help use the DAS penetration to bring in broadband, VAS and other services. Pricing will work if new content and new channels are introduced. There will be need for “field agent management solutions”, he added. Broadcasters will benefit as they want less dependence on advertisement revenues and more inflow from subscriptions.
IBM India GM (Media and Entertainment) Vivek Prabhu said, “MSOs may also need to be trained in new fields such as Vas, billing and inventory as long as the costs were low. There was need for backhand infrastructure to study consumer habits.”
Dilip Singh of JainHITS said DAS had to come, and the passing of laws had only expedited the process, something which had not happened when cable TV or private TV came into the country — the law had followed the advent of these technologies. But the consumer will want much more than just TV signals or VAS, and digitisation will add value to lifestyles just as the mobiles had done.
Dolby Laboratories country manager Pankaj Kedia said television is ultimately an audio-visual and not just a visual unit and, therefore, sound plays a crucial role. Service providers often forget this aspect, but the customer cares for the sound quality.
Answering another aspect, he said pricing was a problem for the customers of LCOs, but those of DTH had already accepted this. He said customer awareness applications were needed if DAS had to be brought in.
Chrome Data Analytics and Media CEO Pankaj Krishna said broadcasters will gain by way of digital being able to carry more channels, but education has to be imparted to the viewer about DAS. This can either be by word of mouth or by branding, he added.
Applications
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.
