iWorld

Programmatic is enabling the transition of OTTs to open internet: Tejinder Gill

Published

4 years ago

May 18, 2022

Global technology platform The Trade Desk helps marketers advertise on the ‘open internet’ i.e., outside the ecosystems of Google and Facebook. The Trade Desk can deliver campaigns across a multitude of devices such as computers, mobile devices, OTT, connected TV (CTV) to reach quality audiences at scale via video, audio, display and native ads.

Founded in November 2009, the company launched in India almost a year ago, setting up their leadership teams in Delhi and Bangalore. It immediately integrated with leading OTT players including Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, SonyLIV, MX Player and Voot and publishers to enable programmatically-driven advertising and bring transparency to the purchase of online inventory.

The Trade Desk is only a demand-side platform, meaning it optimises and solves for advertisers only. It helps them understand the break-up of their media investments at scale in a complicated supply-side ecosystem that has up to seven to eight partners. Its most important USP (unique selling point) is that it offers marketers more choices to advertise outside the established walled garden ecosystems.

Helming The Trade Desk’s business in India is Tejinder Gill who is responsible for the business growth strategy, executing the company’s vision and long-term goals and leading the product development. He is spearheading the expansion of programmatic across digital, audio, video and connected TV for Trade Desk. Gill has more than 17 years of experience, starting his career in 2008 with Yahoo, he was later part of LinkedIn’s leadership team for six years and Truecaller’s executive management team for nearly five years.

In conversation with IndianTelevision.com, The Trade Desk India general manager Tejinder Gill spoke about the challenge that the company is trying to solve, online advertising trends, growth of advertising video-on-demand (AVOD), moving away from third-party identifiers and more.

Edited excerpts:

On the challenges addressed by The Trade Desk

We are all about open internet which means anything outside the walled gardens. The biggest keyword missing in India, when it comes to digital media buying, is choice. Marketers want to get a certain reach and scale that you can only get within the walled gardens. So, the vision we saw was how to build an open internet advertising platform at scale.

Let’s say, $100 is spent on advertising. Almost $53 goes to Google, $28 goes to Facebook and the remaining $19 is shared among the rest of the players which includes any player other than these two. The biggest reason that marketers are looking for a third choice is that these platforms make their own rules. They withhold data and the inability to measure performance in these walled gardens has led to a lot of frustration among marketers.

I have observed that 70 per cent of the time spent by a user is on the open internet while 70 per cent of marketer’s budgets are spent on walled gardens. This is disproportionate. The biggest challenge for me is to educate marketers and partners about the benefit of the open internet and how we can solve for reach and scale.

Think about the open internet as a bunch of different islands and walled gardens as continents. However big you are, you will always remain an island. Our platform makes these islands come together, and talk to each other so that everything is more accessible. The future will see all publishers come under the open internet umbrella. And programmatic is enabling this transition.

Publishers still have direct sales teams to sell their premium inventory and sponsorships but the bulk of their inventory is now available on programmatic. That means all their pipes are connected to us. We’re building a marketplace where advertisers can pick and choose any inventory they want. They can use any measurement tool or any data partner that they want. Individually, you can never win the game of scale, but together the open internet is a very strong value proposition for marketers to move away from walled gardens.

When I joined the company 16 months ago, and the next month we complete a year of launch in India, programmatic talent was a big issue. We addressed this with Trade Desk-Edge Academy certifications, and interestingly, 40 per cent of members who have taken the certification in Asia-Pacific (APAC) are from India. I have built a diverse leadership team across Delhi and Bangalore since then.

We’ve done strategic partnerships with publishers, OTTs and connected TV manufacturers to be the platform of choice for marketers. This includes partnerships with Samsung TV, OTT platforms such as Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, SonyLIV, Voot and MX Player and audio streaming services such as Gaana, JioSaavn, and Spotify.

On the rise of programmatic video advertising

The OTT consumer base has gone up in the last two years. There are new players entering the global and local markets creating more competition. While linear TV has been there for many years, consumer trends are changing. Some consumers are opting for cutting the chord as a result of the adoption of OTT platforms. OTT offers a seamless viewing experience across devices making it the preferred platform for consumers and building an attractive reach and scale for marketers.

Online curated content platforms (OCCs) are offering premium high-quality content. An OTT platform attracts a large and diverse audience. The biggest difference between a user-generated content platform and an OCC platform is brand safety. Since curated content will be safer and more positive in nature, brands will want to invest in it. It also helps that you can put a data layer on top of it that delivers better performance, measurement and offers real-time insights to marketers.

The biggest difference between linear and OTT platforms is the application of data intelligence. Linear TV has always relied on third party intelligence. The impact of an OTT campaign is measurable and you can take the insights and apply them to any other campaign.

It is also more controlled. For example, suppose you want to target a consumer only three times a day then you can apply a frequency cap. If you want to target him once on Disney+ Hotstar, Voot and SonyLIV then you can adjust your parameters accordingly. This translates to a better consumer experience.

The one thing that marketers love about programmatic is optimising their media dollars and talking to the same user across the media funnel. This means that whether I’m watching TV, mobile, laptop, OTT or audio, the same message will be played in a different format across.

A study we did last year in partnership with YouGov found that 55 per cent of Indians prefer to see an ad versus paying for content. This indicates that the future business model for OTT platforms will be one that will be supported by subscription and advertising.

Our founder Jeff Green predicted three years ago that Netflix will embrace advertising. Today, international players such as Disney+ and Netflix are planning to launch ad-supported models.

On moving away from third-party cookies

Third-party cookies are a three-decade-old technology and a shrinking part of the internet. Now, we have to think of a more sophisticated solution and we’ve created our own identifier called UnifiedID 2.0. It is a string of numbers and letters that cannot be reverse engineered to reveal the identity of the user, say for example his email ID.

If third-party cookies go away, what are the scenarios that marketers arrive at? Walled gardens get more control over the internet. Paywalls keep consumers from accessing content. Consumers having to login multiple times to access the internet.

That’s why the future will have multiple identity solutions that will be interoperable, meaning that these identity solutions will work across the ecosystem and will need to talk to each other. Our identity solution has got a lot of adoption in the Western market and we’re hoping APAC will start running it soon.

On the trends in programmatic video advertising

There are a few trends that I see.

Connected TV (CTV) will drive the next phase of growth. We expect CTV to hit 40 million devices in the country in the next two years. This means that budgets will start moving from linear TV to connected TV.

Marketers will start asking everyone about more real-time business outcomes. Marketers will move away from metrics such as CPA (cost-per-action), CPC (cost-per-click), CPM (cost-per-mile) and start measuring in more detail. For example, in-store footfall.

A cookie-less future is good. It is happening for the benefit of the entire industry. Advertising will be able to target with more precision enabling brands to present different ad opportunities at different points in time. I think this is a new approach for the future.

Five years ago, when we launched programmatic the idea was to automate the entire paperwork also known as programmatic guarantee. That’s not the real advantage of programmatic. Programmatic is all about decisioning i.e., it is about choices. If a marketer wants to buy audiences who may reside on OTT, mobile, CTV then he can find them across channels and devices. That’s the biggest trend that will drive programmatic in India over the next two years.

Decisioning is different from upfront media buying. In upfront media buying, an advertiser blocked the front page of a Times of India or a 15 sec slot on a channel. The advertiser would pay upfront and get the ad displayed.

In a real-time environment, the advertiser wants more control. He wants to pick up the right audience, at the right time and at the right price. The advertiser can control whether that ad should reach 1000 or one million consumers and pay for the reach that he wants. The journey of the ad needs to be mapped. That’s why I say decisioning will take precedence over the existing programmatic guarantee.

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iWorld

Cheekatilo shines in the dark with record debut on Prime Video

A crime thriller steps out of the shadows as Telugu storytelling claims centre stage.

Published

4 weeks ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Sometimes, the darkest stories travel the farthest. Prime Video’s latest Telugu original Cheekatilo has done exactly that, clocking a record-breaking launch week and emerging as the most-streamed south original movie on the platform during its debut period.

Premiering worldwide on January 23, the edge-of-the-seat crime suspense trended at the top through its opening weekend and reached viewers across 89 per cent of India’s pin codes, underlining its rare ability to cut across regions, languages and viewing habits. The performance marks a significant milestone for Prime Video’s south originals slate, reflecting the rising national appetite for tightly written, character-driven narratives.

Beyond the numbers, Cheekatilo’s success highlights a broader shift in audience preferences. The strong engagement around the film points to the growing demand for female-led storytelling, with viewers gravitating towards grounded, intense narratives rooted in real-world settings. The film’s national traction reinforces the idea that language is no longer a barrier when the story holds its nerve.

Prime Video India director and head of originals Nikhil Madhok said the response to Cheekatilo reflects the momentum of South Originals and the increasing resonance of bold, genre-driven stories. He noted that the film’s gripping narrative and performances kept audiences hooked from start to finish, strengthening Prime Video’s positioning as a destination for distinctive storytelling with cultural authenticity.

Directed by Sharan Kopishetty and produced by D. Suresh Babu under the Suresh Productions banner, Cheekatilo is written by Chandra Pemmaraju and Kopishetty. The film stars Sobhita Dhulipala as Sandhya, alongside Viswadev Rachakonda, with Chaitanya Visalakshmi, Esha Chawla, Jhansi, Aamani and Vadlamani Srinivas in pivotal roles.

Set against the urban pulse of Hyderabad, the film adds another strong chapter to Prime Video’s expanding catalogue of south originals. With its launch-week dominance and widespread reach, Cheekatilo proves that when storytelling hits the right note, even the darkest tales can command the brightest spotlight.

Gaming

Checkmate Goes Digital as Chess Joins Esports Nations Cup 2026

From boards to bytes, chess readies for a nation-first showdown in Riyadh.

Published

4 weeks ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When pawns meet power plays, the game changes. Chess, the world’s oldest mind sport, is officially stepping deeper into the digital arena after the Esports World Cup Foundation confirmed it as one of 16 titles at the inaugural Esports Nations Cup 2026, set to unfold in Riyadh from 2 to 29 November.

For a game synonymous with quiet halls and ticking clocks, this is a bold move. Chess at ENC 2026 promises scale, spectacle and serious competition, fielding an unprecedented 128 players and opening the board to fresh talent and underrepresented nations as the sport’s esports evolution gathers pace.

The chess competition will run from November 2 to November 8, culminating in a playoff final. The opening phase features 128 players split into 16 round-robin groups of eight, with the top four from each group advancing.

That leaves 64 players battling it out in a single-elimination playoff bracket. Early rounds will be best-of-two, while the quarterfinals onward step up to best-of-four encounters. Deadlocks will be settled via Armageddon tie-breakers, and all matches will be played in a Rapid 10+0 format, designed for speed, tension and drama.

National pride is front and centre. Of the 128 slots, 64 players will receive direct invitations based on Champions Chess Tour rankings, limited to one per nation. Another 56 players will qualify through regional online qualifiers, while eight wildcard spots round out the field.

Qualifiers will be hosted by Chess.com across seven regions, including Middle East + India + Central Asia, with two qualifier windows in June 2026. Each country can field a maximum of two players, ensuring both depth and diversity across the draw.

Chess already tasted esports stardom at the 2025 Esports World Cup, where 20 nations were represented and the intensity surprised even purists. The event ended with Magnus Carlsen lifting the title for Team Liquid, sealing chess’s credentials as a natural fit for high-stakes digital competition.

India’s top-ranked player Arjun Erigaisi called the experience “unlike any chess tournament I’ve played before”, adding that the energy of the esports stage is drawing new audiences into the game.

For commentators and fans alike, the shift to a nation-based format raises the stakes. Chessbase India co-founder Sagar Shah likened the moment to the excitement of the Chess Olympiad, while grandmaster and broadcaster Tania Sachdev said the national format adds “pride, pressure and passion” that pulls viewers in deeper.

From silent calculation to roaring crowds, chess at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 is less about moving pieces and more about moving perceptions. Checkmate, it seems, has gone fully digital.

iWorld

Paid panic: how paid posts sparked a child-safety scare in Delhi and Mumbai

Published

4 weeks ago

February 7, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

A wave of panic swept through Delhi and Mumbai over the past week as viral social media posts claimed a sudden spike in missing and kidnapped children. The alarm bells proved false. Both cities’ police forces issued categorical denials, pointing fingers at paid promotion and rumour-mongering designed to create public hysteria. The twist: fingers are now pointing at Yash Raj Films, accused of orchestrating the scare as guerrilla marketing for Mardaani 3, its upcoming vigilante thriller about child trafficking.

The episode lays bare a darker truth about India’s social media ecosystem. With smartphone penetration soaring and screen time at record highs, paid promotion tools have become weapons of mass hysteria. A few thousand rupees can boost a post to millions of eyeballs within hours. When that post plays on primal fears like child safety, verification becomes an afterthought. Users share first, question later. The result: manufactured crises that feel real until authorities scramble to debunk them.

Delhi Police took to Instagram 23 hours ago with a blunt message: “After following a few leads, we discovered that the hype around the surge in missing girls in Delhi is being pushed through paid promotion. Creating panic for monetary gains won’t be tolerated, and we’ll take strict action against such individuals.” The post, captioned “Facts matter, Fear doesn’t”, made clear the force’s irritation at being dragged into what it views as a manufactured crisis.

Mumbai Police followed suit, issuing a statement denying claims of kidnappings. “Certain social media handles are misrepresenting data and indulging in rumour-mongering regarding cases of missing and kidnapped children. We categorically deny these claims,” the force wrote. It added that FIRs were being registered against those “deliberately spreading false information and creating public panic.”

The misinformation spread with startling effectiveness. Popular Instagram and Twitter accounts, some with hundreds of thousands of followers, shared alarming statistics and anecdotal reports of vanished children, tagging police handles and demanding action. The posts gained traction quickly, amplified by concerned parents and activists. Only when both police forces traced the origin of the claims did the facade crumble: many of the viral posts were boosted through paid promotion, a telltale sign of coordinated astroturfing rather than organic concern.

Enter Yash Raj Films, the 50-year-old production house behind the Mardaani franchise. The series, starring Rani Mukerji as a no-nonsense cop battling human trafficking rings, has built its brand on gritty, socially conscious thrillers. Mardaani 3 is in production, and online chatter swiftly connected the dots between the missing persons panic and the film’s subject matter. Accusations flew: had YRF seeded fake stories to drum up buzz for its vigilante cop sequel?

YRF issued a furious rebuttal. “Yash Raj Films is a 50-year-old company founded on the core principles of being highly ethical and transparent,” a spokesperson said. “We strongly deny the accusations floating on social media that Mardaani 3’s promotional campaign has deliberately sensationalised a sensitive issue like this and we have immense trust in our authorities that they will share all facts and truths in due course of time.”

The denial is categorical, but scepticism lingers. Guerrilla marketing, viral hoaxes masquerading as public service announcements, manipulated data: these are not unheard of in Bollywood’s playbook, though rarely deployed on such a sensitive issue. Child safety is a third rail; exploiting it for box office returns crosses a line even by the industry’s elastic ethical standards.

Yet the evidence tying YRF directly to the posts remains circumstantial. No smoking gun links the production house to the paid promotions flagged by police. What is clear is that someone paid to amplify posts about missing children at precisely the moment a film about missing children was in the public eye. Whether that someone was a rogue marketing agency, an overzealous publicist, or a bad actor with no YRF connection remains murky.

The fallout is reputational. YRF, which has cultivated a family-friendly, socially responsible image across five decades, now finds itself defending against accusations of weaponising child safety fears. The Mardaani franchise, built on the premise of protecting the vulnerable, risks being tarred as exploitative. Rani Mukerji, the face of the series, has yet to comment.

For Delhi and Mumbai police, the episode is a reminder of social media’s double-edged sword. The platforms amplify genuine crises but also manufacture fake ones with alarming ease. Paid promotion tools, designed to help legitimate businesses reach audiences, can just as easily turbocharge hoaxes. Distinguishing signal from noise requires resources and speed that overstretched forces often lack.

India’s social media consumption has exploded. The average urban user now spends over four hours daily on platforms, doom-scrolling through an endless feed of news, gossip and outrage. Algorithms prioritise engagement over accuracy, pushing emotionally charged content to the top. A post about missing children triggers immediate shares; a dry police denial struggles for traction. By the time fact-checkers mobilise, the lie has circled the country thrice.

Paid promotion supercharges this dynamic. For as little as Rs2,000, anyone can boost a post to lakhs of users, targeting specific demographics and geographies. The tools are legitimate, used daily by small businesses and political campaigns. But in the wrong hands, they become misinformation missiles. A fabricated crisis about child kidnappings, amplified by paid reach, looks indistinguishable from organic concern. Users see friends sharing it, assume it must be true, and hit repost. The cascade is self-reinforcing.

The broader pattern is troubling. Misinformation thrives on emotional triggers: fear for children, distrust of institutions, calls to action. A viral post claiming kidnappings demands immediate sharing; verifying it feels like wasted time when lives might be at stake. By the time authorities debunk the claims, the damage is done. Panic has spread, trust in institutions has eroded, and the original purveyors of the hoax have vanished into the digital ether.

This is the new normal. Every week brings a fresh panic: contaminated food, imminent disasters, communal violence rumours. Most prove baseless. Yet each one finds traction because social media rewards speed over truth. The infrastructure designed to connect people now excels at frightening them. Platforms profit from the chaos; advertisers pay for eyeballs regardless of whether the content is fact or fiction. The incentives are perverse, and there is no fix in sight.

Whether YRF is guilty or merely collateral damage in a misinformation campaign will depend on what authorities uncover in their investigations. The production house insists it has “immense trust” that police will reveal the truth. If that truth exonerates YRF, the studio will still carry the stain of association. If it implicates them, Mardaani 3 will enter cinemas under a cloud that no amount of box office success can dispel.

For now, the message from both police forces is unambiguous: there is no surge in missing children, the panic was engineered, and those responsible will face consequences. Parents can exhale. Social media users might want to pause before hitting share. And Bollywood’s marketers, ethical or otherwise, have been put on notice: weaponising fear for profit will not go unpunished.

Paid promotion supercharges this dynamic. For as little as Rs 2,000, anyone can boost a post to lakhs of users, targeting specific demographics and geographies. The tools are legitimate, used daily by small businesses and political campaigns. But in the wrong hands, they become misinformation missiles. A fabricated crisis about child kidnappings, amplified by paid reach, looks indistinguishable from organic concern. Users see friends sharing it, assume it must be true, and hit repost. The cascade is self-reinforcing.