In this episode of The Media Room, Vanita Kohli-Khandekar speaks with Vivek Couto, Co-founder and CEO of Media Partners Asia, and Mihir Shah, Vice President at Media Partners Asia, about the biggest shifts reshaping advertising across India and the Asia-Pacific region.

India’s advertising market has doubled from $8 billion to $16 billion over the last five years. But the composition of that market is changing rapidly. Retail media has emerged as one of the biggest growth areas, with the Indian market now worth around $3.1 billion and growing rapidly across e-commerce, quick commerce, food delivery and fintech platforms.

The conversation explores why Amazon and Flipkart are no longer the only players in retail media, how platforms such as Zepto, Blinkit and Swiggy are attracting advertisers, and why first-party data and measurable conversions are changing the way brands spend their advertising budgets.

Vivek Couto and Mihir Shah also discuss the rise of Connected TV, which is bringing together television's brand-building power with digital measurement. They look at India's 55 million active CTV homes, the growth of CTV advertising and why the market could reach $2 billion in the coming years.

The discussion also looks at AI and the future of search, the growing concentration of advertising among major platforms, the importance of IPL and other mass-media moments, and whether traditional display advertising could be squeezed between retail media and video.

They also examine the future of professional content as UGC, social video, microdramas and AI reshape the economics of content production — and why premium content may have to compete on emotion and memory rather than volume.

In this episode:

• India’s $16 billion advertising market

• The rise of India’s $3.1 billion retail media market

• Amazon, Flipkart, quick commerce and the next phase of digital advertising

• Why retail media is growing faster than traditional search and display

• The rise of Connected TV and CTV advertising in India

• AI search and the future of Google and traditional search

• The concentration of advertising among Meta, Google and ByteDance

• IPL, live sports and the value of mass-media moments

• Streaming, UGC, microdramas and professional content

• How AI could reshape premium content and multilingual entertainment

Watch the full conversation with Vivek Couto and Mihir Shah on The Media Room with Vanita Kohli-Khandekar from The Core.

#TheMediaRoom #MediaPartnersAsia #VivekCouto #MihirShah #IndianAdvertising #RetailMedia #CTV #Advertising #DigitalAdvertising #AI #MediaIndustry #Streaming

Chapters

(00:00) – The APAC Advertising Market Is Changing

(03:31) – India’s $16 Billion Advertising Market

(07:07) – What Exactly Is Retail Media?

(09:32) – Amazon, Quick Commerce & The Rise of Retail Media

(3:58) – India’s $3.1 Billion Retail Media Market

(17:52) – Is Performance Marketing Killing Brand Building?

(21:02) – How Sports, Streaming & Retail Media Are Converging

(23:45) – The Growing Concentration of Ad Spending

(26:06) – How AI Will Change Search & Advertising

(31:10) – CTV’s $23 Billion APAC Opportunity

(34:08) – UGC, Premium Content & The Future of Media

(38:08) – Why India’s $5 Billion Content Market Is Recalibrating

(40:40) – Closing Thoughts

From Coldplay to Lollapalooza, can India’s concert boom become a lasting business? In this episode of The Media Room from The Core, Vanita Kohli-Khandekar speaks with Naman Pugalia, Chief Business Officer for Live Events at BookMyShow, about India’s concert economy, the growth of live entertainment and the investment needed to bring global artists to Indian audiences.

The conversation explores BookMyShow’s evolution from a ticketing platform into a concert promoter, spanning international tours, music festivals and stand-up comedy. Pugalia explains how digital payments, social media, music streaming and a growing willingness to pay for experiences are reshaping demand for live events in India.

What does it take to turn a cricket stadium into a concert venue? Can India build enough indoor arenas to host live entertainment throughout the year? And can ticket sales and brand sponsorships sustain the business beyond a handful of blockbuster shows?

Coldplay’s India concerts and Lollapalooza India offer a window into the economics behind the stage. Pugalia shares BookMyShow’s estimate that Coldplay’s two Ahmedabad shows generated ₹641 crore in economic impact. He explains how concerts and music festivals drive spending on hotels, airlines, restaurants, merchandise and local transport, creating opportunities beyond ticket revenue.

The discussion also covers concert infrastructure, crowd safety, international artists’ production requirements, Sunburn, the expansion of live music beyond major metros and the differences between cinema ticketing and live event economics. Pugalia examines the role of brand partnerships and why moving beyond expectations of free tickets matters for the industry’s growth.

For business leaders, investors, consultants, marketers, media professionals and anyone tracking India’s media and entertainment economy, this episode offers an inside look at the business behind the concert boom.

Watch the full conversation on The Media Room from The Core to understand India’s big concert bet and what BookMyShow’s experience with Coldplay, Lollapalooza and live entertainment reveals about its future.

Chapters

(00:00) – How BookMyShow Built Its Live Events Business

(01:02) – From Ticketing Platform to Event Promoter

(06:21) – What Is Driving India’s Live Events Boom?

(10:37) – How India Is Building Infrastructure for Global Concerts

(15:16) – Why India Still Needs More World-Class Venues

(21:36) – Live Events Are Growing Exponentially at BookMyShow

(23:35) – The Business and Economics of Lollapalooza and Live Events

(27:51) – Tickets vs Advertising: How Live Events Make Money

(30:01) – Why India’s Live Events Market Is Just Getting Started

(31:03) – Coldplay’s Record Ticket Sales in India

Can AI save the news business? INMA CEO Earl J. Wilkinson joins Vanita Kohli-Khandekar on The Media Room to discuss AI in journalism, digital subscriptions and why getting readers to pay remains a challenge for Indian news publishers.

When news is available everywhere, what makes journalism worth paying for? And can artificial intelligence help publishers build a sustainable business?

In this episode of The Media Room from The Core, Earl J. Wilkinson, Executive Director and CEO of the International News Media Association, explores how the news business is being reinvented as print economics give way to digital media.

He explains why India’s inexpensive newspapers make digital subscriptions harder to sell, why blanket paywalls may not work and why publishers need to look beyond copying The New York Times.

Yet Wilkinson sees reasons for optimism. AI could help newsrooms analyse vast amounts of information and develop journalism they previously lacked the resources to produce. The opportunity extends beyond cutting costs to creating something readers value.

In this conversation

* How AI is changing journalism and newsroom jobs

* Why digital subscriptions and paywalls need a different approach in India

* What makes readers willing to pay for news

* Why global news brands can grow while local newspapers struggle

* How events, e-commerce and reader revenue support media businesses

* AI copyright and the debate over paying publishers for their content

* Why adapting to technology requires a change in newsroom culture

Drawing on examples from India and international markets, Wilkinson examines what the news business needs to become commercially sustainable and where AI could make a difference.

What would make you pay for news? Tell us in the comments.

Subscribe to The Core for more conversations on business, media, technology and the forces shaping India and the world.

#AI #FutureOfJournalism #TheMediaRoom

(00:00) – The State of the Global News Media Business

(01:58) – The Biggest Challenge: Adapting to Constant Technological Change

(03:18) – Why News Media Companies Will Converge by 2030

(11:14) – Earl Wilkinson on the Evolution of India’s News Media Market

15:08 – Why Publishers Need to Rebuild Their Digital Businesses

(18:27) – Finding New Revenue Beyond Advertising

(22:24) – Can Indian News Media Build a Sustainable Subscription Business?

(25:00) – AI, Content Rights and the Future of News Publishing

(30:55) – Earl Wilkinson’s Favourite News Media Markets