Applications
NBC, FremantleMedia, Youtube team up for ‘America’s Got Talent’
MUMBAI: US broadcaster NBC and the producers of America‘s Got Talent, which kicks off on 1 June, have partnered with online video sharing site YouTube to allow talented acts from across the US to audition online for a shot at performing live on the show.
Till 18 June 2010, talented audition acts can uploaded at www.youtube.com/americasgottalent. From the submissions, the show‘s producers will select 40 acts to be posted on the special AGT YouTube site. The YouTube community will then vote for their favourite acts and the act with the most votes will get to perform on America‘s Got Talent, alongside 11 other YouTube acts chosen by producers.
NBC and Universal Media Studios executive VP, alternative programming Paul Telegdy says, “‘Expect the unexpected‘ has always been core to the success of AGT. This audacious new twist to the audition process offers our viewers not only a priceless golden ticket to get onto the biggest stage in the country in the middle of the competition, but also the opportunity for a thrilling live show where anything can happen. No other show would dare to take on this challenge.”
FremantleMedia US CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz says, “We‘re thrilled for the opportunity to leverage the passion, power and opinion of the YouTube community to help find the next winner of ?America‘s Got Talent”.
This season, the series has traveled to Chicago, Philadelphia, New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, Orlando, Atlanta, and Portland, but the YouTube invitations will exponentially extend the search to find the country‘s freshest and unique talent.
America‘s Got Talent has proven to be an online sensation with some of the most viewed videos on YouTube. From chicken farmer and last season‘s winner Kevin Skinner to Quick Change and Neal Boyd‘s opera performances to little Kaitlyn Maher singing Somewhere Out There.
NBC.com will continue to host the official website for America‘s Got Talent- www.nbc.com/americas-got-talent– and will feature full episodes of the show, weekly video highlights, contestant photos and online voting where fans will be able to vote for the finalists and ultimately the winner.
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.
