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RBNL’s Big Magic International taps the US market
MUMBAI: Reliance Broadcast Network‘s (RBNL) hybrid channel, specifically created for the international market, is ready to tap the big American market where several Indian broadcasters have already made their entry.
After testing the global waters in Canada this June, Big Magic International has launched in the United States hoping to find appeal from its mix of entertainment, infotainment and business Indian fare.
RBNL has signed with Dish Network and will be available both on DTH and IPTV. For Dish Network‘s direct-to-home (DTH) subscribers, it will be part of the Hindi Mega Pack. It has also worked out a deal to reach out to Dish Network‘s IPTV offerings.
“We will be available on Dish‘s base pack for South Asian audiences. We have a revenue share arrangement with them. They are also working out IPTV offerings,” said a RBNL spokesperson.
Big Magic International will also be available as an a la carte channel by optimising Reliance Group synergies with Big Flix Video on Demand – which has a library of more than 2000 movies, including a regional movie catalogue, catering to the South Asian language groups, offering a combo service.
“The combo pack on Big Flix is priced at $5,” the spokesperson added.
Big Magic International takes content from Reliance ADAG‘s television channel, its international properties and business news channel Bloomberg TV for the Indian market.
RBNL is looking at getting both subscription and advertisement sales in the US market. Big Magic International has appointed Mediamorphosis LLC as its “exclusive” advertising agency in the US.
RBNL CEO Tarun Katial said, “Backed by the success that Big Magic International has seen in Canada, we are excited to be entering the key market of United States. We have strategically activated all levers ranging the product content, distribution partners and ad sales agency, after mapping the market to understand what it can deliver for us. We are confident of the channel resonating well with audiences, while offering an effective platform to marketers. We are progressing as planned, with our international expansion and growth strategy and look forward to continuing to deliver value to all our stakeholders.”
The programming on Big Magic International will be a mix of daily sitcoms, socio-mytho programs, crime shows, dramas, and religious shows hand-picked from Big Magic India. It will also showcase televised award shows created by the RBNL‘s intellectual property vertical.
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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.
