India's TV bosses say the streaming living room is changing what gets made
India's living-room TV now streams the internet, and the country's top screen executives say that is changing what they commission. Leaders from Prime Video, Sony Pictures Networks India, JioStar, Zee Entertainment Enterprises and NDTV laid out the shift at FICCI-Frames in Mumbai, according to Variety.
The discussion centred on Connected TV — television sets that stream video over the internet rather than only receiving broadcast channels. It took place as part of FICCI FRAMES 2026, scheduled for 29-30 September at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai and organised to define 'India's Media Moment', according to FICCI.
The session was moderated by Vivek Couto, co-founder, chief executive and executive director of Media Partners Asia. It opened with a presentation titled "India's Screen Economy – The Next Wave."
The wider two-day programme is also set to feature film stars Ajay Devgn, Ayushmann Khurrana and Rajkummar Rao as headliners, according to MediaNews4U.
Gaurav Gandhi, vice-president and head of Prime Video for Asia-Pacific and Australia-New Zealand, said his team now starts development with a viewing question. Will people watch this together, or alone?
A co-viewing show, meaning a programme designed for shared family or household viewing, is developed differently from an individual-driven show, meaning one made largely for solo watching. Gandhi said Connected TV blends television's shared, lean-back experience with digital's convenience, choice and targeted advertising.
Kevin Vaz, chair of the FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee and chief executive of entertainment at JioStar, put the scale of that living-room audience at nearly 200 million viewers in India and said it is growing fast. That number explains the focus. The centre has moved.
Punit Goenka, chief executive of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, said the industry has moved beyond the old TV-versus-digital split. He described an attention economy, meaning every platform now competes for the same limited viewing time.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, said news and factual producers can use the extra shelf space on streaming sets. He cited "Lifeline," about healthcare, wellness and anti-ageing, and "Launchpad," about upskilling, as shows NDTV has expanded through Connected TV. Gaurav Banerjee, managing director and chief executive of Sony Pictures Networks India, joined the same panel.
For viewers, this means more programmes built for the sofa rather than the phone. A writers' room must write for a household watching together, and a crew of a hundred or more then produces to that brief. The story either earns that shared hour, or it does not.
