Applications
Second screen viewing up in US and Europe: Deloitte
MUMBAI: The rise of ‘second screening’ – the use of other screens, such as laptops, smartphones and tablets while watching TV in the US and Europe – is a source of excitement and concern for many in the TV and technology industry.
According to a new report from Deloitte, nearly a quarter of all respondents (24 per cent) use second screens. The most active second screening takes place among young people, nearly half of all 16-24 year olds use communication tools such as messaging, email, Facebook, or Twitter to discuss what they are watching on TV. The vast majority of over 55s (79 per cent) never talk about what they’re watching on TV on the internet.
There is muted appetite for interaction with TV programmes. Only one in ten people browse the internet for information about the programme they are watching. Some viewers (40 per cent) like being able to send their comments in to a live programme. However, 68 per cent would not want the websites for products, personalities or adverts that have just been shown on television, to automatically appear on their computer, tablet, or smartphone.
Deloitte director of technology, media and telecommunications research Paul Lee said, “Second screening’s impact is far greater in driving conversations about a programme, as opposed to interaction with it. Second screening may well end up with a similar status as eating in front of the TV: an everyday experience for some; absolutely unthinkable for others. One thing is certain: it is here for good.
“Browsing the web whilst watching television is undertaken “frequently” by a third of the sample. This might be a brand new technology-enabled distraction or it might simply represent the swapping of an analogue distraction for a digital one. Browsing while watching television typically means flitting between a preferred set of websites, often comprising news, sports, e-commerce. Time spent on these may be a substitute for reading newspapers and magazines, or looking through catalogues.”
Assessing the return on investment: Any investment in second screen content is likely to reduce resources for the first screen, television content. So programme makers face a predicament. Should they invest all their funds and creative energies in making main screen content as good as possible? Or should they blend the first and second screen experience, creating more impact in the currency of additional or more attentive viewers, and, therefore, greater revenue potential?
Lee concludes, “The challenge for second screen content today is that it is likely to be relatively expensive as we are still in an experimental, bespoke phase. Every pound spent on second screen content may be a pound diverted from the first screen; in order to justify the investment content creators need to get the balance right between all screens.
“In time, creating official second screen experiences should become more formulaic and more easily reduced to a template. The more standardised second screen content creation becomes, the easier it should be to attain a positive return on investment.”
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.
