The Impression

A weekly newsletter on the business of content

Connect

Featured Posts

Apr 05, 2023

OTT Bundles: What’s in it for me?

The future is cable-like

Soumya Gupta

May 10, 2023

Entertain me, but for free

Indian consumers are increasingly consuming content, but they don’t want to pay for it. What are the cascading effects of this behaviour?

Soumya Gupta

Apr 26, 2023

Snapchat’s India Story

Snapchat claims to have doubled its Indian user base in a year. What should it do next to succeed here?

Soumya Gupta

Keep an ‘AI’ on the news 👁️👁️

Soft-spoken anchors of the yesteryears were replaced with bolder, flashier ones in the 21st century. Now, we’re getting a brand new generation of news anchors: powered by AI. Is the news industry ready?

Soumya Gupta

Oct 04, 2023

Pocket Change

It’s been 10 years since Pocket Aces rose to popularity, then morphed from a YouTube multi-channel network to an independent streaming content studio. Now, it’s been acquired for a modest sum. What does the deal tell us about the YouTube-to-OTT pipeline?

Soumya Gupta

Sep 27, 2023

Cold Case = Hot Entertainment

We enjoyed CID reruns and Savdhaan India specials. Now, OTT platforms want to hook us up with hardcore true crime documentaries. Will enough Indians watch?

Soumya Gupta

Sep 13, 2023

Koo’s search for ‘Bharat’

India’s answer to Twitter is now struggling for funds. Does India need homemade social media platforms?

Soumya Gupta

Sep 06, 2023

IMAX’s Indian Odyssey

It’s been 20 years since the first IMAX screen opened in India, and 10 years since the first Indian IMAX film was released. Is there a market for the cinema technology company here?

Soumya Gupta

Aug 23, 2023

JioCinema is riding the 🌊

Once the IPL was over, streaming platform JioCinema handed its newly acquired audience over to a blitzkrieg of originals films and shows, one every Friday. How will this aggression change India’s streaming industry?

Soumya Gupta

Aug 09, 2023

Two Tickets, Please!

Why is Nykaa hosting a beauty and entertainment ‘carnival’? Also in today’s edition: PVR-Inox got people to the movies but still couldn’t make a profit. Why?

Soumya Gupta

Aug 02, 2023

One Meta, Two Reels

India’s ban on TikTok spawned a generation of short-video copycats. Facebook Reels is a relatively late entrant. What’s it doing in this busy, busy business?

Soumya Gupta

Jul 26, 2023

Are you a desi otaku?

From Dragon Ball Z to Naruto, Indian viewers are no strangers to classic anime in their local language. What new can Crunchyroll bring to the table in India?

Soumya Gupta

Jul 19, 2023

Mickey Mouse’s Break-Up

Disney may be souring on Star, just a few years after acquiring it. It’s not the first acquisition gone wrong for the House of Mouse.

Soumya Gupta

Jul 12, 2023

There’s no toothpaste in my movie hall

One big Bollywood hit can make or break a theatre’s financial quarter. But, to truly prove the industry is back on track, you need to check in-cinema ads. Also in today’s edition: Zuckerberg may have just handed finfluencers a new, unsupervised playground.

Soumya Gupta

Jul 05, 2023

Desi Young Love Stories 💜

Korean dramas are seeping into family TV time in India’s smaller cities and towns. And they’re changing the way stories of young love are made for the Gen-Z Indian on TV and online.

Soumya Gupta

First Back

1 2 3

Next Last