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Zeel forms JV with US firm to launch entertainment portal, Kanwal is CEO
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) has entered into a joint venture with US-based digital media company Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC) to launch an online and mobile entertainment portal.
The company has appointed Arvindra Singh Kanwal, who has 23 years of experience in business strategy, marketing, sales and operations, as the CEO of the joint venture. He has worked Hindustan Unilever, Sony Entertainment Television, Indian Express Online Media Ltd and Rediff.com.
The JV company is launching a content-centric portal will offer users a broad range of entertainment viewing options and other leading portal applications. The launch date and name of the site, however, are yet to be disclosed.
Says Zeel CEO and MD Punit Goenka, “This partnership comes at the right time as India’s inclination towards digital entertainment is increasing. Being pioneers in the media and entertainment sector in India, it is most natural for us to provide wholesome entertainment to our viewers. With the launch of this portal, we will reinforce Zeel as the one-stop destination in entertainment.”
MMC, founded by Jay Penske in 2004, owns and operates the Mail.com email service and portal, a global multi-media platform. In addition, MMC owns a portfolio of lifestyle brands that provide original content in categories including entertainment, sports, breaking news, media, finance, health, beauty, shopping, fashion and automotive.
Says Penske, “We are thrilled to be entering India through this long-term partnership with Zee Entertainment-and look forward to leveraging our digital capabilities and content, to enable the portal to meet the evolving online and mobile needs of audiences at this exciting time within the media landscape of India.”
Some of the brands of MMC portfolio include Mail.com, Hollywoodlife, OnCars, Movieline, Deadline, Fan, Young Hollywood Awards, Hollywood Style Awards, Fashion Rocks, Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards and Breakthrough of the Year Awards.
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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.
