Applications
The ARPU dilemma
GOA: Cable TV networks need not focus on charging higher subscription rates from consumers in the early period of digitisation but revenue upswing during this period will come from the second and third TV sets, according to Den Networks CEO S N Sharma.
“There is sufficient scope to charge more from subscribers but we need to be patient. We are already burdening the consumer with a hardware (set-top box) price. For the first 6-9 months of digitisation, we (MSOs) will see additional income coming from the second and third TV sets (which is normally an income that the MSOs do not get in analogue cable). ARPUs (average revenue per user) have stagnated for over two decades and we don’t see any immediate change in this,” Sharma added.
The scramble for pushing all the channels on the basic package of cable networks will not help ARPUS move up. “How will they see
any rise if the broadcasters want to place all their channels on the basic tier? ARPU is the most significant four-letter word and will have to move up,” said Media Network & Distribution (India) Ltd. managing director and CEO Yogesh Radhakrishnan.
ARPUs is in the hands of the MSOs. “Packaging is very, very key,” Radhakrishnan added.
Videocon d2h deputy CEO Rohit Jain believes that tiering of channel packages that are sold to subscribers would help lift ARPUs. “While DTH had these packages, cable never had them. With digitisation of cable TV, both will now have packages. Once that happens, we will see ARPUs change,” he said.
Broadcasters should also realise that they can’t have the same strategy towards advertising while insisting that subscription revenues should see substantial jump in a digitised distribution environment. “If they want to place most of their channels on the
basic tier because they want reach to protect their advertising interests, then ARPUs will never go up,” Jain explained.
According to IndiaCast Media Distribution Group CEO Anuj Gandhi, there is an anomaly in the existing system. “Let’s face it, the bulk of the revenues will still come from advertising. As a content aggregator, you segment your channels in some way. Mass channels will want to be on the basic tier. Some channels like kids and news will always be on the borderline; these will fight for either placing them on a base or on a lower pack. It will vary between deal to deal,” he said.
Agrees Media Pro Enterprise India COO Gurjeev Singh Kapoor. “The bulk of the strong channels will be on the basic tier,” he said.
The growth of HD channels will boost ARPUs, “We are getting ARPUs of $6-8 from these homes, double that of the SD channels. The
break-even cycle for these is one and a half years. But it is just a 2012 phenomena and the base is very small to make any difference in the marketplace at this stage,” said Jain.
Hinduja Ventures president Tony D’Silva said that the battle at this stage shouldn’t be on upping ARPUs. “The success of digitisation will depend on what kind of content the consumer is getting and at what price. Let us roll out digitisation first. We shouldn’t start getting resistance from consumers on pricing issues at this stage,” he warned.
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.
