In this episode of The Media Room, Vanita Kohli-Khandekar speaks with Vinit Karnik, Head of Entertainment & Sports at WPP Media, for a deep dive into the economics of India’s fast-growing sports ecosystem.

Vinit unpacks key insights from WPP’s Sporting Nation report, including India’s sports sponsorship economy crossing the ₹2 billion mark and the overwhelming dominance of cricket, which accounts for nearly 80% of the market. He explains how media rights, advertising, and athlete endorsements are driving growth, and why the IPL continues to be one of the most valuable sports properties in the country.

The conversation explores the challenges facing emerging sports like football, kabaddi, and badminton, from governance and infrastructure gaps to the difficulty of building consistent star power. Vinit also breaks down the evolving business of cricket - from rising franchise valuations and media rights economics to the long-term potential of new revenue streams such as non-live content and fan monetisation.

They also discuss the role of advertisers, the importance of grassroots investment, and why sports remains one of the few categories that can guarantee large-scale appointment viewing in an increasingly fragmented media landscape.

If you want to understand how India’s sports economy is evolving, where the money is coming from, and what the future of sports monetisation looks like - this episode is essential viewing.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction & Sporting Nation Report

01:26 – Sports Sponsorship Crosses ₹2 Billion

04:41 – What Makes Up the ₹18,800 Crore Economy

06:13 – Why Emerging Sports Are Declining

10:03 – Infrastructure, Governance & Athlete Development

13:46 – Why Leagues Like PKL & Badminton Struggle

15:53 – The Role of Federations & Star Power

17:35 – India’s Football Potential vs Reality

19:11 – IPL Rights, Losses & Valuation Debate

22:33 – Franchise Valuations & Investment Logic

25:42 – Can IPL Reach Global Valuation Levels?

28:36 – New Revenue Streams in Sports

30:01 – Key Takeaways for Advertisers & Marketers

31:49 – Closing Thoughts

#TheMediaRoom #VanitaKohliKhandekar #VinitKarnik #IPL #IndianPremierLeague #SportsEconomy #SportsBusiness #CricketIndia #SportsMarketing #SportsAdvertising #MediaRights #SportsIndustry #IndianSports #SportsTrends #WPP #SportingNation #KabaddiLeague #FootballIndia #BadmintonIndia #AthleteEndorsements #FanEngagement #OTT #MediaBusiness #AdvertisingIndustry #ContentEconomy #SportsAnalytics #PodcastEpisode

In this episode of The Media Room, Vanita Kohli-Khandekar speaks with Ashish Pherwani, Head of Media & Entertainment at EY, for a deep dive into the latest FICCI-EY report and what it reveals about the state of India’s media and entertainment industry.

Ashish breaks down the key trends shaping the sector, from the industry crossing ₹2.7 trillion to digital media emerging as the first segment to surpass the ₹1 lakh crore mark. He explains how advertising growth, government-led consumption, and the rise of SMEs are driving momentum, while also unpacking the evolving balance between television, digital, and emerging formats.

The conversation also explores shifts in consumer behaviour, the rise of connected TV and short-form content, and the growing importance of live experiences—from cinema to large-scale events. They discuss how monetisation models are evolving across platforms, why innovation in ad formats and content formats is accelerating, and what this means for both legacy and digital-first media companies.

From investments and consolidation trends to India’s potential as a global back-end for media services, Ashish outlines where the next wave of growth could come from—and why content quality remains the industry’s most critical driver in an increasingly crowded, AI-driven landscape.

If you want to understand where India’s media industry is headed, what’s driving growth across segments, and how business models are evolving—this episode is essential viewing.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction

01:00 – India’s Media Industry at ₹2.7 Trillion

03:30 – Digital Media Crosses ₹1 Lakh Crore

06:00 – What’s Driving Ad Growth

08:30 – TV vs Digital: The Big Shift

11:00 – Rise of Connected TV & Short-Form

13:30 – Changing Consumer Behaviour

16:00 – Cinema, Events & Live Experiences

18:30 – Monetisation Challenges

21:00 – Innovation in Content & Advertising

23:30 – Investments & Industry Structure

26:00 – Future Outlook for Media in India

28:30 – Closing Thoughts

#TheMediaRoom #AshishPherwani #MediaIndustry #FICCIEYReport #IndianMedia #DigitalGrowth #AdvertisingIndustry #OTTIndustry #TelevisionIndustry #ConnectedTV #MediaBusiness #ContentEconomy #EntertainmentIndustry #StreamingTrends #MediaTrends #IndiaGrowth #ContentStrategy #MediaInnovation #PodcastEpisode

In this episode of The Media Room, Vanita Kohli-Khandekar speaks with Toshit Panigrahi, CEO - Co-Founder of Tollbit, for a deep dive into how AI is reshaping the economics of digital publishing and content monetisation.Toshit explains how large language models and AI platforms are changing the way content is accessed, distributed and consumed - often without directly compensating the publishers who create it. He breaks down the growing disconnect between content creators and AI-driven platforms, and why this shift is forcing the industry to rethink long-standing models of attribution, traffic and revenue.The conversation explores how Tollbit is building infrastructure to help publishers regain control, enabling them to track, price and monetise their content in an AI-first internet. Toshit also shares insights on licensing frameworks, the evolving relationship between tech platforms and media companies, and why transparency and fair value exchange will be critical in the next phase of the internet.If you want to understand how AI will impact publishers, who really owns content in an algorithm-driven world, and what sustainable monetisation could look like going forward—this episode is essential listening.Chapters00:00 - Introduction01:12 - What Tollbit Does03:45 - How AI Is Changing Content Consumption07:20 - The Publisher vs AI Platform Problem11:05 - Who Owns Content in an AI World?15:30 - Monetising Content Beyond Traffic19:10 - How Tollbit Helps Publishers Get Paid23:40 - Licensing, Attribution & Fair Value25:15 - The Future of Digital Publishing26:27 - Closing Thoughts#TheMediaRoom #ToshitPanigrahi #TollBit #AI #ContentMonetisation #digitalpublishing #mediabusiness #AIandMedia #futureofmedia #ContentEconomy #publishingindustry #TechAndMedia #aiplatforms #mediainnovation #digitaleconomy