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VidNet 2022: Advertising On OTT – the way forward for the industry

Published

4 years ago

April 25, 2022

Mumbai: The OTT ecosystem in India is growing every day with new players coming into the fray and novel, edgy content being churned out. The way we look at online streaming is also changing. Today the market has 40 odd players including regional players. For these platforms to sustain, there are two ways- one: is the AVOD, that’s advertising-supported and the second is the SVOD which is subscription-supported. In a market like India, SVOD remains a challenge. Even as the OTT subscription market in India continues to grow at a gradual pace, it remains an exciting prospect for an increasing number of marketers and advertisers who are keen to promote their brands and ads on these emerging platforms.

The sixth edition of IndianTelevision.com’s annual VidNet Summit took an in-depth look at the way forward for the OTT ecosystem and all the platforms on it, and the opportunities and the challenges in the space.

The two-day summit had technology partners Dell Technologies and Synamedia, summit partners Applause Entertainment and Viewlift, industry support partners Gupshup, Lionsgate Play and Pallycon, community partners Screenwriters Association and Indian Film and Television Producers Council, and gifting partner The Ayurveda Co.

Day one of VidNet 2022 saw an interesting mix of sessions on the subject of advertising on OTT from industry experts and stakeholders on the various panels. The panel on ‘Advertising On OTT – Connecting The New Brand Order’ oversaw bristling conversations from panelists that included MediaCom chief product officer Averill Sequeira, Swiggy head of brand marketing Saurabh Nath, Zee Entertainment Enterprises chief revenue officer-Digital & SMB, South Asia Gaurav Kanwal, ITC head media & PR Jaikishin Chhaproo, Byju’s brand and creative strategy vice president Vineet Singh and Syska Group head of marketing Amit Sethiya. The session was moderated by Madison World vice president Kosal Malladi.

Today data has become a complete commodity with large OTT players like Netflix, Prime Video, Zee5, Hotstar, Sony liv etc coming in, observed Malladi. Recently Netflix declared that it has decided to support advertising. The advertising revenues on these platforms in the last four years have grown by 400 per cent, Malladi shared. So will the subscription model stay or perish in India? Also, as brands are the numbers large enough for advertising on AVOD?

According to Zee’s Gaurav Kanwal, the OTT industry in India is in its infancy. “There’s a huge AVOD play for sure, with increased reach more brands will come on board. On the SVOD side, as the economy progresses, people will pay for varied content that they can watch at their convenience. We already have about 70 million people paying for content on various OTTs across the board,” he said while adding, “As we evolve as an ecosystem, the pricing models will evolve as well and then we shall see a massive upswing in the SVOD subscriptions. It will be difficult to sustain only on the back of SVOD so an advertising-supported hybrid model will be the way forward.”

Speaking about how OTT has caught the attention of brands, Syska’s Amit Sethiya said, “We have started exploring OTT from the last three to four years and the money that we are putting in it is increasing year on year in the entire media mix. From single-digit investment in the medium about four years back the brand has now expanded to double-digit investment. We are in a position to fetch incremental audiences with this new avenue and connected TV is aiding the entire process.”

The role of agency here is more of a consultant or facilitator, rather than a gatekeeper in bringing the two worlds of brands and the rich, emerging ecosystem of OTTs together, MediaCom’s Averill Sequeira averred. “Am very bullish about the OTT sector, the pace at which they are growing, especially the phenomenal growth, regional OTTs and the void they have fulfilled in terms of quality content. They have opened people’s minds to new forms of storytelling.”

Sequira spoke of two ways to validate OTT reach and audience. “As far as programmatic is concerned it is simpler as you’re buying the audience and not inventory on the platform. But where programmatic is not available, she encouraged all stakeholders to actively seek metrics such as search volumes, brand recall, and social chatter to serve as ‘proof of the pudding’.”

On what attracted FMCG brands to OTT, ITC’s Jaikishin Chhaproo explained that their primary target audience is women. “We knew most women were missing the first telecast of their favourite shows and watching repeat telecasts. When that consumption moved to OTT they could watch it at their convenience on hand-held devices, rather than by appointment viewing as on TV. OTT provided that platform seamlessly,” he said, adding that “the other huge chunk of their TG is the youth 18-40, who watch differentiated on OTT only and who aren’t interested in appointment viewing. This age group that forms the core TG of FMCGs is also present on OTT.”

Swiggy’s Saurabh Nath pointed out that for a food tech brand, the consumer journey is key as there are specific times of the day when food is relevant to their lives. “One can only increase their ‘desire to action’ by building awareness via advertising but one cannot expect immediate action. The kind of marketing that we are talking about is changed and is different when it comes to tech and D2C from that of FMCGs as the cycle is much more condensed,” he said, adding that, “the attribution for the FMCGs was very clear, that the brand will build over a period of time.”

Nath shared three-pointers on brand equity for any brand to perform well- saliency, meaningfulness, and differentiation. Putting the ad on an OTT may give the brand salience but the outcome in terms of recall, engagement and differentiation will depend on one’s campaign relevance. The industry stakeholders agreed on the importance of “tracking the right metric” for the same.

For D2C brands like edtechs, content marketing is the way to create love for the brand, affirmed Byju’s Vineet Singh, adding, “We need to figure out what works for us and what doesn’t as marketers first- Brand recall, salience, relevance etc.” Going back to basics is important such as understanding what our requirement is, instead of unnecessarily complicating. We’ve evolved from a world where just pushing the narrative is going to work. Creative excellence from a brand is important.”

Investments in content continue to burgeon as viewers’ insatiable appetite continues to demand more and more. With all agreeing that OTT’s a high-growth industry with everyone wanting ‘a piece of the OTT pie,’ panelists agreed that the end goal/objective has to be clearly defined for the brand or a particular campaign. Cookie-cutter branding is not going to work for brands.

It was agreed that OTT platforms need to take some responsibility too, even as marketers need to own it, for ‘passive integration’ will not work. With nearly 18-20 percent of FMCG’s money for television going to OTTs today, expectation setting needs to be clear and realistic.

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Netflix India names Rekha Rane director of films and series marketing

Streaming giant bets on a seasoned marketer who helped build Amazon and Netflix into household names

Published

6 days ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Netflix has put a proven brand builder at the helm of its films and series marketing in India, naming Rekha Rane as director in a move that signals sharper focus on audience growth and cultural cut-through in one of its most hotly contested markets.

Rane steps into the role after seven years at Netflix, where she has quietly shaped how the platform sells stories to India. Her latest promotion, effective February 2026, crowns a run that spans brand, slate and product marketing across originals, licensed content and new verticals such as games.

A strategic marketing and communications professional with roughly 15 years’ experience, Rane has spent much of her career building technology-led consumer businesses and new categories, notably e-commerce and subscription video on demand. She was part of the early push that introduced Amazon.in, Prime Video and Netflix to Indian homes, then helped turn them into everyday brands.

At Netflix, she most recently served as head of brand and slate marketing for India from March 2024 to February 2026, leading teams across media and marketing for global and local content portfolios. Before that, as manager for original films and series marketing, she led IP creation and go-to-market strategy for titles including Guns and Gulaabs, Kaala Paani, The Railway Men* and The Great Indian Kapil Show, spanning both binge and weekly-release formats.

Her earlier Netflix roles covered product discovery and promotion in India and integrated campaign strategy to drive conversations around the content slate, product awareness and brand-equity metrics.

Before Netflix, Rane logged more than three years at Amazon in brand marketing roles in Bengaluru. There she handled national and regional campaigns for Amazon.in, worked on customer assistance programmes in growth geographies and contributed to the go-to-market strategy for the launch of Prime Video India.

Her career began well away from streaming. At Reliance Brands in Mumbai, she worked on retail marketing for Diesel and Superdry. A stint at Leo Burnett saw her work on primary research for P&G Tide, mapping Indian shoppers’ paths to purchase. Earlier still, at Orange in the United Kingdom, she rose from sales assistant to store manager, running a team and owning monthly P&L for a retail outlet.

The arc is telling. As global streamers fight for attention in a crowded Indian market, executives who understand both mass retail behaviour and digital habit-building are prized. Rane’s career sits at that intersection.

For Netflix, the bet is simple: in a market spoilt for choice, sharp marketing can still tilt the screen. And with Rane now leading the charge, the streamer is signalling it wants not just viewers, but fandom.

Brands

Orient Beverages pops the fizz with steady Q3 gains and rising profits

Kolkata-based beverage maker reports stronger revenues and profits for December quarter.

Published

6 days ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A fizzy quarter with a steady aftertaste that’s how Orient Beverages Limited, the company that manufactures and distributes packaged drinking water under the brand name Bisleri closed the December 2025 period, as the Kolkata-based drinks maker reported improved revenues and a healthy rise in profits, signalling operational stability in a competitive beverage market.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Orient Beverages posted standalone revenue from operations of Rs 39.98 crore, up from Rs 36.42 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 33.53 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 42.24 crore, reflecting consistent demand and stable pricing across its beverage portfolio.

Profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs 3.47 crore, a sharp improvement from Rs 1.31 crore in the September quarter and Rs 0.39 crore a year ago. After accounting for tax expenses of Rs 0.79 crore, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2.68 crore, nearly three times the Rs 0.99 crore recorded in the preceding quarter.

On a nine-month basis, the momentum remained intact. Revenue from operations for the period ended December 31, 2025 rose to Rs 117.66 crore, compared with Rs 106.95 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the nine months climbed to Rs 5.51 crore, more than double the Rs 2.18 crore reported in the same period of the previous financial year.

The consolidated numbers told a similar story. For the December quarter, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 45.06 crore, while profit after tax came in at Rs 2.06 crore. For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue touched Rs 133.57 crore, with net profit of Rs 4.49 crore, underscoring the group’s improving profitability trajectory.

Operating expenses remained largely controlled, with cost of materials, employee benefits and other expenses broadly aligned with revenue growth. The company continued to operate within a single reportable segment beverages simplifying its cost structure and reporting framework.

The unaudited financial results were reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 7 February 2026. Statutory auditors carried out a limited review and reported no material misstatements in the results.

In a market where margins are often squeezed by input costs and competition, Orient Beverages’ latest numbers suggest the company has found a reliable rhythm not explosive, but steady enough to keep the fizz alive.

MAM

Washington Post CEO exits abruptly after newsroom cuts spark backlash

Leadership change follows layoffs, protests and a bruising battle over trust.

Published

6 days ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When the presses are rolling but patience runs out, even the editor’s chair isn’t safe. The Washington Post announced on Saturday that its chief executive and publisher Will Lewis is stepping down with immediate effect, bringing a sudden end to a turbulent two-year tenure marked by financial strain, newsroom unrest and public backlash.

Lewis’s exit comes just days after the Bezos-owned newspaper announced sweeping job cuts that triggered protests outside its Washington headquarters and a wave of anger from readers and staff. While newspapers across the US are grappling with shrinking revenues and digital disruption, Lewis’s leadership had increasingly come under fire for how those pressures were handled.

The Post confirmed that Jeff D’Onofrio, a former Tumblr CEO who joined the organisation last year as chief financial officer, has taken over as CEO and publisher, effective immediately. In an email to staff, later shared by reporters on social media, Lewis said it was “the right time for me to step aside.”

The leadership change follows the announcement of large-scale redundancies earlier this week. While the Post did not officially confirm numbers, The New York Times reported that around 300 of the paper’s roughly 800 journalists were laid off. Entire teams were dismantled, including the Post’s Middle East bureau and its Kyiv-based correspondent covering the war in Ukraine.

Sports, graphics and local reporting were sharply reduced, and the paper’s daily podcast, Post Reports, was suspended. On Thursday, hundreds of journalists and supporters gathered outside the Post’s downtown office in protest, calling the cuts a blow to public-interest journalism.

Former executive editor Marty Baron described the moment as “among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organisations.”

Lewis defended his record in his farewell note, saying “difficult decisions” were taken to secure the paper’s long-term future and protect its ability to publish “high-quality nonpartisan news”. But his tenure coincided with growing scrutiny of editorial independence at the Post.

Owner Jeff Bezos faced criticism for reining in the paper’s traditionally liberal editorial page and blocking an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 US election. The move was widely seen as breaking the long-standing firewall between ownership and editorial decision-making.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, around 250,000 digital subscribers cancelled their subscriptions after the paper declined to endorse Harris. The Post reportedly lost about $100 million in 2024 as advertising and subscription revenues slid.

While the wider newspaper industry continues to battle declining print advertising and the pull of social media, some national titles have stabilised. Rivals such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have managed to build sustainable digital businesses, a turnaround that has so far eluded the Post despite its billionaire backing.

As Jeff D’Onofrio steps into the role, the challenge is stark, restore confidence inside the newsroom, win back readers who walked away, and prove that one of America’s most storied newspapers can still find its footing in a brutally competitive media landscape.