MUMBAI: The floodgates of content may be open, but India’s audience has evolved—and she’s no longer easily pleased. That’s the sharp message echoing through the plush halls of JW Marriott, Juhu on 23 July as the ninth edition of Indiantelevision.com’s The Content Hub Summit gets underway.
The theme, The End of the Age of Innocence, captures the new reality: streamers, broadcasters, and filmmakers can no longer afford to shoot in the dark. With 47 of the industry’s sharpest minds in attendance, it’s a day packed with soul-searching, strategy, and storytelling pivots.
The curtain-raiser is a heavyweight panel on The Future of Original Content, featuring SonyLiv’s Saugata Mukherjee, JioStudios’ Tejkarran Singh Bajaj, Rose Audiovisuals’ Goldie Behl, Pocket Aces’ Aditi Shrivastava, Applause Entertainment’s Swati Patnaik, and Terribly Tiny Tales’ Anuj Gosalia, moderated by E&Y’s Raghav Anand.
That’s followed by a fireside chat between Prime Video’s Nikhil Madhok and Indiantelevision.com’s founder Anil Wanvari, diving deep into how platforms are rewriting playbooks.
Next up: Mindset Change: You are not making for a single screen, a spirited panel on diversifying content, with Fremantle’s Aradhna Bhola, Applause’s Sunil Chainani, Juggernaut Productions’ Samar Khan, Sri Adhikari Brothers’ Kailash Adhikari, Marigold Studios’ Hemal Thakkar, and Balaji Telefilms’ Nitin Burman. Chairing the discussion is Bodhitree Multimedia’s Sukesh Motwani.
JioStar’s Alok Jain is slated to stir things up with a solo presentation, Reclaiming Bold – Why Indian Entertainment Must Dare Again.
A burning issue up next: the inconsistent fortunes of Hindi cinema at the box office. A high-stakes panel, Getting the Business Model Right, features Panorama Studios’ Abhishek Pathak, Red Chillies’ Aashish Singh, Ormax Media’s Sailesh Kapoor, Friday Filmworks’ Devendra Deshpande, and Zee Studios’ Pragati Deshmukh, with film critic Mayank Shekhar at the helm.
Regional powerhouses take centre stage in The Rise of Regional Content, chaired by Elara Capital’s Karan Taurani. Speakers include PTC’s Rabindra Narayan, Shemaroo’s Arpit Mankar, Junglee Pictures’ Mamta Kamitkar, ETV Win’s Saikrishna Koinni, OTT Play’s Avinash Mudaliar, and Banijay Asia’s Rishi Negi.
A rare fireside chat follows, with Banijay Asia CEO Deepak Dhar in conversation with Shekhar, setting the tone for a deeper dive into genre-bending creativity.
That’s precisely what the next panel explores—Pushing Genre Boundaries. Writer-director Kussh S Sinha, producer-director Ravindra Gautam, Banijay’s Mrinalini Jain, Applause’s Rahul Ved Prakash, and director Vishal Furia spar with trade analyst Saurabh Varma moderating.
The day wraps up with two back-to-back masterclasses. The first, on Rana Naidu, sees actor Sushant Singh, director Suparn Varma, and screenwriter Vaibhav Vishal join film critic Stutee Ghosh. The second, on Mandala Murders, features actor Vaani Kapoor, Netflix’s Tania Bami, and directors Gopi Puthran and Manan Rawat, with editor Swati Chopra in the chair.
In a market where content is no longer king unless it resonates, The Content Hub Summit has one message: India’s audiences have grown up—and the industry must too.
A cross-section of India’s content powerhouses has lined up in support of The Content Hub Summit, signalling the growing importance of storytelling as a strategic business lever.
JioStar leads the pack as presenting partner, while Applause Entertainment and Banijay Asia have come on board as associate partners. Fremantle is the lanyard partner, ensuring high visibility with every badge flash.
The industry partners roster reads like a who’s who of television and digital production: Contiloe Films, Sol Productions, and OTT Play have lent their support, amplifying the summit’s reach and relevance.
The show of strength from across the ecosystem—studios, streamers, and production houses—underscores the summit’s sharp focus on content strategy in a market where the audience is now firmly in the driver’s seat.