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Fireworks in deal with MTV for drama series Valemont
MUMBAI: Fireworks International, the television and digital distribution arm of ContentFilm, has announced a two-year multi-platform deal for its new drama series Valemont, with MTV Networks International (MTVNI).
The series will run across MTV and Viva channels in more than 150 countries online and linear.
The deal incorporates rights to all content for Valemont, which is produced by Electric Farm Entertainment, including 35 short form episodes, the Alternate Reality Game, the prequel episodes and extra videos for online, plus five half-hour episodes and the 100-minute TV movie.
At Valemont University, the students are young, beautiful and the future of the world – but nothing is quite as it seems. The university is not just a school for humans but a breeding community for vampires too. The professors are the elders and the students are the next generation, training to become the monsters of legend in order to fulfill their blood legacy. And Valemont’s residents will go to any lengths to stop their dark secrets from being revealed.
MTV Brands International content and programming VP David Booth says, “Creating a deeper interaction and experience for our viewers through our content is core to what we do. Valemont’s dynamic storytelling and ability to maintain a strong and compelling narrative across linear, online and mobile perfectly delivers for our audience.”
Fireworks International executive VP, digital acquisitions and distribution Jonathan Ford commented, “Valemont is a stunning series, perfectly capturing the vampire teen zeitgeist with high quality, adaptable content that works across all platforms, and this deal will see the drama available to an audience of millions of digital users throughout the world.”
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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.
