Applications
WatchIndia launches new feature for free sampling
MUMBAI: Internet TV broadcaster WatchIndia.TV has announced the launch of new a feature called, “What‘s on TV”. With the feature, visitors will be able to watch Indian TV and video-on-demand streams completely without charge or sign up.
The company, which currently broadcasts over 40 channels across the Internet using custom developed streaming platforms, is expecting better sampling and more traffic with the launch of the feature.
Until now, customers had to subscribe for a free trial in order to test the service and see the live streaming service on their networks.
Says WatchIndia.tv head of marketing Sagiv Ragastin, “Today, we are giving this option of online viewing even before subscription so people can get an initial taste of the service.”
However, this offering is limited to a single Indian TV channel. Adds Ragastin, “Of course, we still provide the free trial period where one can choose the specific channels one is interested in and test the service for a full 14 days without charge.”
The TV service is available on the main WatchIndia.tv website. Visitors can choose to view the single live Indian TV channel stream or select to watch the most popular VoD clips of the week. The page is updated on a weekly basis with the live channel being changed weekly.
VoDs are updated with the latest episodes of the most popular Indian TV shows. Users can also access the TV guide to see the full program schedule for each of WatchIndia‘s channels.
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.
