As we begin the New Year, we spoke to industry leaders to reflect on the shifts that shaped 2025 and the forces expected to define 2026. For Ajit Varghese, Partner & Group CEO, Madison Media & Hiveminds, 2025 was a year of structural reset—where billion-dollar shifts redrew how audiences gather and how brands invest.
Here’s how he frames the transformation that defined the year gone by: “2025 marked a clear structural reset for the Indian media industry, driven by three billion-dollar shifts that fundamentally altered how audiences are consumed and how brands invest. OTT decisively crossed the billion dollar mark, accelerated by the formation of Jiostar and a sharp increase in sports led viewing. Large format live events, especially sports, moved streaming from a supplementary medium to a central pillar of media planning, attracting both brand and performance budgets at scale. Connected TV emerged as a billion dollar platform in its own right, absorbing a significant share of the decline in traditional television. This shift was visible not just in advertising revenues but also in distribution, as households moved rapidly toward internet delivered TV. CTV also redefined television by introducing better targeting, improved measurement, and higher accountability. Quick Commerce rapidly rises to a billion dollar ecosystem, rapidly evolving from a pure transaction channel into a more powerful media and discovery ecosystem. With high-frequency usage, rich first-party data, and proximity to purchase, Q-commerce platforms became especially relevant for FMCG and new-age brands, blurring the lines between media, commerce, and performance marketing.”
Looking ahead, Varghese outlines the priorities that will shape decisions and partnerships in the year to come: “For 2026, AI-led planning and personalization at scale will become mainstream. AI will move from being a productivity tool to a strategic growth engine driving smarter audience design, content contextualisation, and faster decision-making across the funnel. Premium content and trust-led environments will gain disproportionate value. As clutter in inventory and low quality creatives (AI based & Platforms based), brands will increasingly invest in credible platforms—sports, high-impact video, and trusted publishers—to build long-term brand equity alongside performance. Outcome-based partnerships between clients, agencies, and platforms will deepen. The future will belong to integrated models where media, creative, commerce, and data work together, with agencies playing a larger role as growth partners rather than execution vendors.”
(As told to Jennifer Thomas)
