‘Connected TV will play an even bigger role in household entertainment’

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 Hiren Gada, CEO – Shemaroo Entertainment, 2025 marked a subtle but meaningful reorganisation of attention, with the living room reclaiming its role as a shared viewing space and new formats finding their footing alongside long-form content.

Here’s how he views the most defining media and entertainment shift of 2025:

“2025 marked a quiet shift in how Indian homes consumed content. Connected TV moved beyond being just another screen and started behaving like the old living room television, bringing families back together and turning living room into multi-generation viewing space. Co-viewing is becoming visible again.

At the same time, short-form formats are also evolving. Platforms are still experimenting, trying to figure out what works for Indian sensibilities, local storytelling, and sustainable revenue models. Micro-dramas are finding early traction, not as a replacement for long form content but as a new viewing habit altogether.

These two shifts say a lot about how attention is being reorganized rather than fragmented.”

Looking ahead, Gada believes these signals will mature into structural shifts in 2026, driven by technology, infrastructure, and macroeconomic tailwinds:

“Connected TV will play an even bigger role in household entertainment. The living room experience is making a steady comeback and CTV will anchor that shift. As reach grows and measurement improves, it will start attracting more serious content investments and more meaningful advertising spends.

AI will move from experimentation to everyday use across the value chain. We are already seeing early use cases, but the real impact will come as AI gets woven into content creation, programming decisions, audience analytics, and operational processes. Over time, it will start functioning as the underlying infrastructure that makes the businesses run more efficiently.

Lastly, beyond these industry-led shifts, there is a larger external factor at play. If consumption continues to revive on the back of supportive government policies, advertising growth should follow. Lower inflation, softer interest rates and changes in tax structures create the right conditions for discretionary spending to return. As consumption picks up, advertising typically responds across both digital and linear platforms, which gives the industry something to be cautiously optimistic about.”

(As told to Pritha Pahari)