Applications
ESS switches off signals to GTPL in Gujarat
MUMBAI: Sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports is increasing pressure on cable TV networks to increase payouts on the wake of a one-year live cricket content that their channel Star Cricket will showcase beginning with the India-New Zealand series.
ESS has switched off signals to Gujarat Telelink Private Limited (GTPL), a year after their distribution pact with the leading multi-system operator (MSO) in Gujarat ended. Their stated grouse: non-payment of subscription fees running into millions of rupees.
ESS‘ upcoming live cricket telecast content spread over a year includes ICC Twenty20 World Cup, Champions League Twenty20 and a host of bi-lateral series like India-England, India-Pakistan and India-Australia.
ESPN Software India (ESI), the company that operates ESPN, Star Sports, Star Cricket, ESPN HD and Star Cricket HD channels, had switched off the signals in August after issuing a formal deactivation notice.
“We tried our best to resolve the issue. We were forced to take such a stance as GTPL did not pay us for the services availed. The outstandings are huge and run into crores of rupees,” says ESPN Software India Vice President – Affiliate sales T S Panesar.
GTPL founder-promoter and managing director Anirudh Sinh Jadeja is not happy with the increase in payouts that ESS‘ is asking for a fresh deal and is negotiating better terms. “We will clear the dues. But they are asking for almost 20-25 per cent increase. That is too high in the current economic situation,” he says.
The one-year distribution deal between ESS and GTPL, in which Hathway Cable & Datacom owns 50 per cent stake, ended 31 July last year. However, the former continued getting signals for almost a year.
Explains Panesar, “GTPL assured us that they would renew the contract and clear all outstanding dues soon. Since GTPL has been our customer for long, we kept providing signals of ESPN Star Sports channels based on that assurance.During this time, their network has also grown.”
Jadeja is hopeful that the two parties would work out a pact within three-four months. Panesar, however, is firm that any new contract will hinge on GTPL‘s ability to clear dues. “We have not had any discussions on the future contracts. Given the huge outstanding that they have pending to clear with us, we are keen on getting our outstandings cleared first before talking about the future,” he asserts.
GTPL will, indeed, have to hurry with the deal if it wants the to show the ICC T20 World Cup to its cable TV subscribers. The big event kicks off from 18 September and runs till 7 October.
ESS had recently entered into a deal with Kerala‘s leading MSO Asianet Cable Vision to end the three-year stand-off that arose since the two could agree on commercial terms.
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.
