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MSOs, broadcasters want digitisation deadline to stay put
GOA: Multi-system operators (MSOs) and broadcasters do not want the digitisation deadline in the four metros to be deferred, industry leaders said at the Indian Digital Operators Summit (IDOS) 2012 in Goa.
“Going by the investments we are making, the way we are progressing with content deals with broadcasters and the pace at which we are seeding the set-top boxes (STBs), there is no reason to believe that anybody wants deferment of digitisation,” said Den Networks CEO S N Sharma.
Agreed Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera. “The government‘s bold decision on FDI gives us the confidence that the digitisation deadline will not be changed,” he said.
Consumers can see merit in digitisation and the viewing experience is making a difference. “We are offering 22 HD channels. There
will be 3 million HD flat panel TV sets sold in this country,” Khera averred.
According to Sharma, it is in nobody‘s interest to delay digitisation. The MSOs are serious and are installing STBs rapidly. Joint consumer awareness campaigns have been launched. “They will gain as the business model transforms completely from B2B to B2C. There is also scope for local cable channels, which will be a key differentiator between cable TV and DTH service providers,” he elaborated.
Ortel Communications Ltd. co-founder and MD Jagi Mangat Panda cautioned the industry not to get too carried away by transparency (currently local cable operators under-report their subscriber numbers). Broadcasters and MSOs will have to work together to offer choice to consumers. “As bandwidth opens, broadcasters will have to meet this huge consumer demand (for varied content). Like in the US, this can be done by broadcasters joining hands with MSOs,” she said.
Panda also warned that MSOs would not be able to compete with DTH on pure digital play. The only way to win is by building fat pipes and offering broadband. “We shouldn‘t get stuck with transparency. If we don‘t do broadband, DTH will beat us hollow,” she said.
Raman Kalra, head of media & entertainment at IBM for India and South Asia, stressed on the need for having a forward-looking perspective. “The fat pipe of cable has been effectively exploited by players like Netflix and Hulu. Reliance Industries is also going to launch 4G and we know how they can bring down prices. I see a little amount of preparedness lacking among the cable TV companies in India at this moment,” he cautioned.
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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.
