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IBF, AAAI, ISA to meet TAM on digitisation issues
MUMBAI: As the deadline for digitisation in the four metros nears, advertisers are worried about TAM coming under pressure from the government and the broadcasters not to report viewership data from cable TV homes which do not have digital connectivity from 1 November.
The broadcasters have made it clear that they want viewership data from analogue cable to stop in the metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai which come under the first phase of digitisation from 1 November.
Indiantelevision.com had earlier reported that major broadcasters and multi-system operators (MSOs) have agreed to switch off genre-wise analogue signals of television channels in phases ahead of the 1 November deadline for digitisation in the four metros.
In the coming week, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAI) and the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) are meeting with television ratings provider TAM Media Research in Mumbai to discuss about this and other issues.
Leo Burnett South Asia chairman and CEO, AAAI president and Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) chairman Arvind Sharma, who is currently abroad, informed via a text message that the meeting will most likely take place sometime next week.
A TAM official told indiantelevision.com, “Our standpoint is very simple. We have not made a decision yet. All the decisions will be taken only after a common consensus from all the three stakeholders of the industry. As of now, we will be meeting the three bodies and I hope a common ground is reached during the meeting.”
The government has suggested that TAM should not report viewership data on any channel that has been fed via any non-digital signal.
The advertising industry is worried that if a significant number of cable TV homes do not get set-top boxes (STBs) installed and continue to receive television channels the way they receive now after 31 October, the viewership data reported by TAM based on digital homes will be incorrect.
Reporting of skewed data by TAM would make it impossible for advertisers to carry out post campaign evaluation. Also, digitisation deadline happens to be just before the Diwali festival, ahead of which advertising peaks.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on 19 September said 68 per cent of the cable TV homes in the four metros had switched to digital reception of television channels. In its further push to complete digitisation in the four metros, the ministry has even suggested that broadcasters withdraw analogue channels genre-wise before 1 November.
The TAM official said, “At the end of the day, we are service providers. We hope the three stakeholders (AAAI, ISA and IBF) reach a consensus on issues in the upcoming meeting.”
ZenithOptimedia CEO Satyajit Sen said, “The advertisers of course want the ratings to continue coming in. The money is coming in on the basis of that so there has to be a declaration of ratings. If the ratings are not there, there will be no benchmark available to the advertisers.”
When contacted, ISA Secretary General Y Harikrishnan declined to comment saying, “I am not in a position to comment on this.”
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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.
