TV and mobile screens converging, not replacing: Kevin Vaz
Television, streaming, mobile and connected TV are converging rather than replacing one another as Indian viewers move between screens, FICCI Media & Entertainment Committee chairman and JioStar CEO entertainment Kevin Vaz said on Tuesday at FICCI FRAMES 2026 in Mumbai. Linear pay-TV lost about 11 million subscriptions in 2025 while connected TV gained about 10 million, per FICCI-EY data. He said TATA IPL 2026 reached over 1.2 billion viewers across TV and streaming.
Source
Economic Times — Industry · read the original report ↗
Desk check · compared with the source
What the desk checked (5)
- Television, streaming, mobile and connected TV are converging rather than replacing one another. — Attributed to Kevin Vaz, FICCI Media & Entertainment Committee chairman and JioStar CEO entertainment, at FICCI FRAMES 2026.
- Linear pay-TV lost about 11 million subscriptions in 2025 while connected TV gained about 10 million. — Attributed in source to FICCI-EY data cited by The Economic Times.
- Connected TV reaches an estimated 62-65 million households and 207 million viewers. — Attributed to WPP Media, The Trade Desk and Ormax Media; figure appears in source.
- TATA IPL 2026 reached more than 1.2 billion viewers across TV and streaming. — Figure stated by Vaz; no independent verification offered in source.
- Dish TV-owned Vzy has launched an app with 200+ live TV channels and 29+ OTT platforms; Tata Play, Sun Direct and GTPL Hathway are testing similar services. — Stated in source without named spokesperson attribution.
Analysts’ view opinion
This is less a story about technology and more about a shifting cost structure. FICCI-EY data cited here shows linear pay-TV shed roughly 11 million subscriptions in 2025 while connected TV added about 10 million — audiences are not disappearing, the revenue route is changing. The commercial logic behind distributors moving to app-based delivery is straightforward: less dependence on set-top boxes and the servicing infrastructure around them.
- The set-top-box model carries heavy fixed costs in hardware, installation and customer service; app delivery is an attempt to strip those out and defend margins.
- Bundling live channels and OTT in a single interface is primarily a retention play — reducing churn is cheaper than acquiring new subscribers.
- Connected TV's pitch to advertisers — search, personalisation, addressability and measurement — points to ad budgets migrating toward targeted inventory.
- The claim that TATA IPL 2026 reached more than 1.2 billion viewers across TV and streaming suggests live sports still holds strong pricing power in rights markets.
- The argument that the big screen survives as shared family viewing is plausible, but it comes from an industry leader; the story offers no data on prices or jobs.
What to watch — Watch how jobs at the cable/DTH network level, local operator commissions and subscription pricing adjust — and whether the Tata Play, Sun Direct and GTPL Hathway trials become full services.
The story does not establish how much cost the app shift actually saves, what happens to revenue per user, or the employment impact — and the figures quoted are industry estimates.
Deep dive
Research brief · 8 facts · 3 dates · exam-readyThe brief
Context
At FICCI FRAMES 2026 in Mumbai, FICCI Media & Entertainment Committee chairman and JioStar CEO entertainment Kevin Vaz argued that television, streaming, mobile and connected TV (CTV) are converging rather than substituting for one another as Indian audiences hop between screens. His remarks come amid pressure on traditional pay-TV, with distributors such as Dish TV-owned Vzy, Tata Play, Sun Direct and GTPL Hathway moving to app-based delivery of linear channels. FICCI-EY data show linear pay-TV shedding subscriptions even as connected TV households expand rapidly.
Key facts
- Linear pay-TV lost around 11 million subscriptions in 2025, while connected TV gained approximately 10 million, per FICCI-EY data cited by The Economic Times.
- Connected TV now reaches an estimated 62-65 million households and 207 million viewers, per WPP Media, The Trade Desk and Ormax Media.
- Kevin Vaz said TATA IPL 2026 reached more than 1.2 billion viewers across television and streaming.
- Dish TV-owned Vzy has launched an app offering more than 200 live TV channels alongside 29+ OTT platforms.
- Tata Play, Sun Direct and GTPL Hathway are testing similar app-based linear TV services.
- Vaz spoke in his inaugural address at FICCI FRAMES 2026 in Mumbai on Tuesday.
- App-based delivery can cut distributors' dependence on set-top boxes and related customer-service infrastructure, offering live TV and OTT in a single interface.
- Vaz said connected TV combines TV's scale and 'lean-back experience' with digital search, recommendations, personalisation, addressability and measurement.
Timeline
- 2025Linear pay-TV loses about 11 million subscriptions; connected TV adds about 10 million, per FICCI-EY data.
- Tuesday (FICCI FRAMES 2026, Mumbai)Kevin Vaz delivers inaugural address on screen convergence and the continuing relevance of linear TV.
- Reported alongside (date not stated in the source)India's TV industry and JioStar urge the I&B Ministry to restore BARC ratings immediately and seek a regulatory roadmap for linear TV.
Who has a stake
- JioStar / Kevin Vaz — As broadcaster-streamer, gains from a converged TV-plus-digital model and from large live-sport reach such as TATA IPL.
- FICCI Media & Entertainment Committee — Industry voice shaping the policy agenda, including restoration of BARC ratings and a regulatory roadmap for linear TV.
- Pay-TV distributors (Dish TV's Vzy, Tata Play, Sun Direct, GTPL Hathway) — Losing linear subscriptions; app-based delivery can cut set-top box and service costs and retain subscribers.
- Ministry of Information and Broadcasting — Faces industry demands to restore BARC ratings and provide regulatory clarity for linear television.
- Viewers and households — Want seamless movement across screens; large screen still valued as a shared family viewing experience.
- Advertisers and measurement agencies (BARC, Ormax, WPP Media, The Trade Desk) — Need credible cross-screen measurement and addressability as audiences fragment across TV and CTV.
Why it matters
India's media and entertainment economy is being rewired: linear pay-TV is shrinking while connected TV scales to an estimated 207 million viewers, forcing distributors to shift from set-top boxes to apps. How advertising money, measurement systems and regulation adapt to this convergence will decide the revenue models of broadcasters, cable and DTH operators alike. Live sport, with TATA IPL 2026's claimed 1.2 billion-plus reach, shows the commercial stakes of getting the cross-screen transition right.
UPSC angle
Prelims pointers
- FICCI FRAMES 2026 was held in Mumbai; Kevin Vaz chairs the FICCI Media & Entertainment Committee and is CEO entertainment at JioStar.
- FICCI-EY data: linear pay-TV lost about 11 million subscriptions in 2025; connected TV gained about 10 million.
- Connected TV reach in India: 62-65 million households and 207 million viewers (WPP Media, The Trade Desk, Ormax Media).
- TATA IPL 2026 reached over 1.2 billion viewers across TV and streaming, per Vaz.
- Vzy (Dish TV) app offers 200+ live TV channels and 29+ OTT platforms; Tata Play, Sun Direct, GTPL Hathway are testing similar services.
- BARC is the TV ratings body whose restoration the TV industry has urged the I&B Ministry to order immediately.
Mains framing
India's television ecosystem is undergoing convergence rather than substitution: FICCI-EY data show linear pay-TV losing roughly 11 million subscriptions in 2025 even as connected TV added about 10 million and now reaches an estimated 62-65 million households and 207 million viewers. The drivers are cheaper data-led digital consumption, smart TV penetration and the appeal of digital capabilities such as search, recommendation, personalisation, addressability and measurement, which pure linear TV lacks. Distributors are responding by shifting linear channels onto apps - Dish TV's Vzy carries 200-plus live channels with 29-plus OTT services, with Tata Play, Sun Direct and GTPL Hathway testing similar offerings - reducing dependence on set-top boxes and unifying live TV and OTT in one interface. Yet, as Kevin Vaz argued, the large shared screen retains relevance in Indian households, and live sport such as TATA IPL 2026, with a claimed reach of over 1.2 billion viewers across TV and streaming, best illustrates the blend. The way forward, on the source's own terms, lies in enabling audiences to move seamlessly across screens while giving the industry better tools to understand and serve them - which in turn requires credible measurement (hence the industry's demand for immediate restoration of BARC ratings) and a regulatory roadmap for linear television.
Key terms
- Linear TV
- Scheduled, channel-based television viewing where content is broadcast at fixed times rather than on demand.
- Connected TV (CTV)
- Internet-connected television sets or devices that stream content and allow search, personalisation, addressability and measurement.
- Pay-TV
- Subscription television delivered through cable or DTH distributors, typically via set-top boxes.
- OTT
- Over-the-top streaming services delivered directly over the internet, bypassing traditional cable or DTH distribution.
- BARC
- The television audience measurement body whose ratings the TV industry has asked the I&B Ministry to restore immediately.
- FICCI FRAMES
- FICCI's annual media and entertainment industry convention; the 2026 edition was held in Mumbai.
Practice questions
- Examine the claim that television, streaming and connected TV in India are converging rather than replacing one another. Use recent subscription and reach data to support your answer.
- How is the decline of linear pay-TV subscriptions reshaping the business models of India's DTH and cable distributors? Discuss with reference to app-based delivery of linear channels.
- Why is credible audience measurement central to India's media and entertainment economy, and what challenges arise as viewing fragments across screens?
Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.