GUEST COLUMN: Convergence is India’s next media leap

India’s television industry has moved beyond the survival debate into a leadership phase defined by convergence. Written by Zee Entertainment Enterprises chief revenue officer Laxmi Shetty, it explores the rise of the “Integrated Attention Era”, where television, OTT and digital platforms work in tandem to deliver both scale and relevance. The piece analyses changing viewer behaviour, renewed trust in television, the mainstreaming of regional content, and advertisers’ move towards unified, journey-led planning. It also looks at how IP-first storytelling, collaboration, addressable advertising and AI are reshaping monetisation and measurement, arguing that television’s future lies in integration rather than competition with digital media.  

MUMBAI: For over a decade, the industry debated whether television would survive the digital wave. In 2026, the question is no longer about survival: it is about leadership.

India is entering a phase where television is not being replaced, but re- architected. The future belongs to platforms that can connect mass reach with personal relevance, and scale with intimacy. This is where convergence stops being a buzzword and becomes a growth engine.

As 2025 came to a close, India’s media and entertainment ecosystem moved into what I call the Integrated Attention Era: a phase where  consumer time, trust and intent flow seamlessly across screens rather than  being siloed by platforms. Digital streaming continued to expand rapidly, yet television retained its role as the country’s most powerful cultural and  commercial anchor.  

Linear television today reaches close to three-quarters of a billion Indians every week. That scale is matched by trust. Television continues to shape national conversations from marquee sporting events and reality formats  to movies and news. Importantly, trust in television advertising among 18–34-year-olds has risen sharply in recent years, reaffirming that credibility is becoming as valuable as reach in an attention-scarce environment. 

At Zee, this trust advantage plays out every day across a deeply regional, multi-genre network that speaks to India in its many languages. In a fragmented media landscape, this ability to deliver shared moments at scale remains television’s most under-appreciated strength. 

 From Dual Budgets to Unified Funnels 

 In 2025, advertiser investments in television were concentrated around tentpole sports and large event properties, often planned alongside digital extensions. While digital platforms added frequency and interactivity, it was television that consistently delivered reach, attention and long-term memory. As a result, marketers began shifting from platform-led planning to what we describe as One Funnel Thinking, where television and digital are orchestrated as complementary forces rather than competing line items.  

This shift reflects a broader consumer reality. The explosion of content and subscriptions has created a paradox of choice. Decision fatigue is now a real barrier to engagement, especially in urban India. Scheduled television, with its familiar rhythm and effortless discovery, has re- emerged as a low-friction way to unwind and connect. OTT adoption continues to grow, now crossing 600 million users, but audiences increasingly choose when to control and when to surrender control. 

In the Indian context of multi-generational households, this distinction is critical. Television remains the Living Room Anchor, uniting families across age groups, while OTT platforms serve as personalised escapes.  The future is not TV versus OTT, it is TV and OTT, each playing a distinct role in the viewer’s daily rhythm.

Regional India: From Reach to Resonance

One of the most defining shifts of 2025 was the rise of regional India from a segmented market to the new mainstream. Viewers across states leaned into culturally rooted storytelling in their own languages: on broadcast as well as streaming. Regional channels saw stronger appointment viewing, while OTT platforms increased investments in local originals, dubbing and subtitling. 

This is where broadcast’s decades-long expertise becomes a strategic advantage. At Zee, regional storytelling has never been an afterthought it has been the foundation. Our deep understanding of socio-cultural nuances across markets allows content to resonate across generations and travel across states. Increasingly, regional IPs are evolving into what we term.  

Cultural Franchises, properties that scale across languages, formats and platforms, delivering longer shelf life and diversified monetisation.   

For advertisers, this has fundamentally changed the playbook. National brands are moving away from uniform communication toward State-First Brand Building, combining sharp local relevance with national consistency. Regional media delivers a rare combination of high reach and contextual alignment: expanding the very definition of mainstream India. 

2026: The Year of Collaborative Media

As we look ahead, 2026 will be defined by collaboration. Growth will come from breaking silos and building Connected Content Ecosystems: where television, OTT, digital and social work in unison.  

Consumer behaviour already points the way. Discovery increasingly begins on social and short-form platforms, sampling happens through clips and highlights, and deep engagement shifts to the screen that fits the moment—often the television screen for family viewing and live events. Winning in this environment requires what we call Journey-Led Distribution: following the viewer across touchpoints rather than optimising for a single platform.   

This makes partnerships essential. Broadcasters, streamers, brands and technology platforms will increasingly co-create IP, co-invest in launches and co-distribute content. Shared measurement frameworks, interoperable   ad-tech and privacy-first data collaboration will be critical to scale addressable solutions responsibly. At Zee, we see this as moving from media transactions to Media Alliances—built on shared outcomes rather than isolated metrics.   

IP-Led Storytelling and Smarter Monetisation

TV and OTT integration is also accelerating beyond distribution toward IP-First Storytelling. Franchises are no longer designed for a single window. A strong property today must function simultaneously as a television appointment, an OTT catch-up, a social conversation and a brand integration canvas—each layer reinforcing the other.  

 This approach not only expands reach but increases lifetime value while reducing risk. It also reshapes how talent, formats and brands collaborate—unlocking extensions into short-form content, live events, gaming, commerce and community engagement. 

Monetisation models will evolve accordingly. Cross-screen packages that combine television’s scale with digital’s addressability will become standard. For marketers, disciplined frequency management and creative consistency across touchpoints will be non-negotiable. Revenue will increasingly come from a balanced mix of advertising, subscriptions and micro-transactions—tailored to audience cohorts and genre dynamics. 

Technology as the Multiplier

Technology will be the multiplier that powers this convergence. Data, AI and distribution innovation are already transforming content creation, localisation and discovery. At Zee, AI is being deployed across subtitling,     
dubbing, promo optimisation and audience insights. The next phase will see AI guiding greenlighting, scheduling and creative versioning—improving both efficiency and effectiveness. 

With connected TV penetration rising, addressable advertising is set to scale rapidly. Industry forecasts suggest addressable could account for over 16 percent of TV ad revenue by 2026—bringing digital-like precision   to television without compromising its unmatched scale.  

The Road Ahead 

The outlook for 2026 is constructive. As macro conditions stabilise, marketers will prioritise dependable reach, smarter targeting and measurable returns. Television will remain central—especially in regional India and around marquee moments—but its true power will lie in how well it integrates with the wider ecosystem.  

The future belongs to companies that think of content as long-term IP, distribution as a network of partnerships, and technology as a strategic enabler. By embracing convergence and putting the consumer at the centre, Indian television—in all its new avatars—will not just endure. It will lead.  

“In 2026, growth will not come from choosing between TV and digital. It will come from designing ecosystems where scale meets relevance, and mass media becomes meaningful media and Robust, Transparent and  

Interoperable measurement will unlock the true value of cross-screen engagements.”