Applications
MSOs should focus on basic packaging
GOA: Multi-system operators (MSOs) should concentrate on basic packaging and consumers will be ready to pay only if they get good packages, according to Hathway Cable & Datacom MD & CEO K Jayaraman.
The stakeholders were working only for short-to-medium term gains because of the approaching deadline whereas digitisation should
be looked at with a longer vision in mind, cautioned Jayaraman.
There were some things that needed to be sorted out like the share of the local cable operator (LCO), the security of the LCO, consumer pricing, and ascertaining whether many consumers will opt for a la carte or just take bouquets — either the basic service tier or the mix bouquet.
Jayaraman said MSOs can bundle the pricing for broadband and cable along with value-added services, giving them an edge over DTH service providers.
Speakers at Indian Digital Operators Summit (IDOS) 2012 have sought the creation of a congenial ecosystem for successful implementation of digitisation.
Ankur Jain, Managing Director of JAINHITS, the head-end-in-the-sky venture of Noida Software Technology Park Limited (NSTPL), said what worked for the consumer was the end result of what he was getting, the cost of operations, and simplicity or complexities involved. Referring to LCOs, he said they would survive as they would either become small MSOs or customer service centres.
NDS Senior Director – Asia Pacific Business Development Ajmair Heer said MSOs and LCOs will have to create value-added services to compete with DTH, but the first hurdle was changing the mindset of the consumer.
SES Senior Vice President (Commercial, Asia Pacific and Middle East) Deeepak Mathur said additional capacity will help give customised content. But key infrastructure such as satellite capacity would be needed. He said SES was working to create a set top box (STB) that could help bring content on both tablets and television sets.
In a separate session on the life of a cable operator in the wake of DAS, ACT President P Kailasam and an MSO owner Shashikant, both from Bangalore, said they were already preparing for the second phase. Both are LCOs turned MSOs and therefore, they said they understood the needs of the consumer as well as the LCOs. It was clear that the LCO cannot be eliminated in the value chain.
They also claimed that they had acquired 35 to 40 per cent of the digital STBs needed by them.
Asked about the higher rates in view of the taxes, they said these taxes will have to be passed on to the consumer but the consumer will pay if more services are provided. Both agreed that cable would continue to have an edge over DTH.
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.
