Applications
Network18 sells 20% of Bookmyshow for Rs 500 mn
MUMBAI: Raghav Bahl-promoted media conglomerate Network 18 group has sold a 20 per cent stake in entertainment ticketing website Bookmyshow.com to venture capital firm Accel Partners for Rs 500 million.
Accel Partners will invest another Rs 500 million in Bigtree through a primary issuance but the amount of stake it will get for the direct investment has not been disclosed.
The transaction on completion will add Rs 450 million to the pre-tax profit of Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. The transaction values Bigtree, the holding company of Bookmyshow.com, at Rs 2.5 billion.
Network18‘s stake in Bigtree will drop to 40 per cent from 60 per cent now, the company said in a statement. After the primary issuance, Network18 group‘s stake will further reduce.
Bigtree, established in 1999, started by setting up India‘s first entertainment online ticketing business, with the help of a profitable investment made by Chase Capital Partners JP Morgan.
The sale of stake in Bigtree is in line with Network18‘s stated objective of reducing stakes in digital and other non-broadcasting assets to create value for the Network18 shareholders and allow infusion of growth capital in these assets.
The stake sale at Bookmyshow.com is the second in a series of asset monetization transactions by Network18. Earlier during the year, Network18 had profitably sold its stake in one of the Capital18 investee companies – NetworkPlay to Bertelsmann.
The Network18 group operates a portfolio of digital content and e-commerce assets including moneycontrol.com, ibnlive.com, in.com, firstpost.com and HomeShop18.com. Network18 also holds a minority stake in Yatra – leading travel booking estinations.
Announcing the transaction, Network18 MD Raghav Bahl said, “After a phase of investment in building our digital and other non-broadcasting businesses, we believe that many of these assets have reached an inflection point and can now help in creating value for all our stakeholders. The dilution in one of our premier digital commerce assets – bookmyshow.com is a reflection of our commitment to profitably monetise these assets for the benefit of our shareholders and also facilitate the growth of these businesses to the next level.
“We are confident that the Indian digital story is just beginning and many of the digital commerce and content assets like bookmyshow.com, Homeshop18, the content properties under Web18 and the Capital18 investee companies; that we have nurtured over the past decade are now on track for the next phase of their growth journey.”
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.
