NDTV today announced a significant expansion of its Connected TV footprint with the appointment of Akhil Bhalla as Product Head – Connected TV and Sanjeev Kumar Choudhary as Head of Connected TV Revenue, marking a decisive foray into one of the fastest-growing and most consequential segments of the global media ecosystem.
Connected TV (CTV) is rapidly emerging as a primary destination for premium video globally and increasingly for news, bringing together the reach of television, the intelligence of digital, and the credibility of trusted content environments.
In India, this shift has gathered unmistakable momentum. Industry tracking shows that over 129 million Indians streamed digital video on a Connected TV device at least once in the past month, underscoring how rapidly large-screen OTT viewing is becoming mainstream. At the household level, estimates suggest Connected TV penetration could surpass 60 million homes, positioning CTV as a mass medium with national scale rather than a niche extension of digital consumption.
Monetisation trends are closely tracking this surge in usage. Forecasts indicate that India’s Connected TV advertising market is expected to reach approximately USD 760 million in 2025 and approach USD 1 billion in 2026, reflecting how quickly advertiser budgets are moving toward premium, brand-safe, living-room environments. Globally, the opportunity is even more pronounced, with connected TV advertising revenues projected to rise to USD 51 billion by 2029, reinforcing CTV’s central role in the future of the video economy.
For news organisations, this evolution represents a structural inflection point. Connected TV offers a rare convergence of premium attention, immersive viewing, brand safety, and measurable delivery – making it a natural home for trusted journalism as audience behaviour matures. Globally, the shift toward higher-quality streaming inventory, sharper verification frameworks, and event-led viewing formats continues to accelerate, further strengthening CTV’s relevance for credible news brands.
NDTV’s new appointments signal a clear strategy to build a dedicated Connected TV ecosystem spanning product design, editorial experience, distribution, and revenue.
As Product Head – Connected TV, Akhil Bhalla will lead the re-architecture of NDTV’s Connected TV product and editorial experience, reimagining how NDTV’s journalism is discovered, consumed, and engaged with on the big screen across platforms and devices. Akhil brings deep operational experience in building news as a streaming product at scale. Before joining NDTV, he was with JioHotstar (formerly Disney + Hotstar) where he played a central role in shaping Connected TV-led news ecosystems, including integrating more than 45 national and regional news channels and designing engagement and visibility frameworks tailored for real-time, breaking-news consumption. Over the course of his career, he has worked across several leading media organisations and is widely regarded as one of the early operational pioneers of Connected TV in India, particularly in the news domain.
‘Connected TV is redefining how audiences experience news. NDTV’s legacy of trust and editorial credibility offers a powerful foundation to build a Connected TV product that is both meaningful for audiences and commercially sustainable. This is not about adapting news to another screen, but about designing it for the future’, said Akhil Bhalla.
On the commercial and distribution front, Sanjeev Kumar Choudhary joins NDTV as Head of Connected TV Revenue, with responsibility for scaling NDTV’s Connected TV footprint and unlocking monetisation opportunities at scale. Sanjeev comes to NDTV from Republic Media Network and brings extensive experience across digital revenue, Connected TV partnerships, and large-scale monetisation models. His background includes building revenue streams across CTV platforms and ecosystems such as Yupp, Jio, Samsung TV Plus, LG, Planetcast, and Google Showcase, as well as leading sizable, multi-stream digital revenue operations.
Sanjeev Kumar Choudhary said, ‘Connected TV in India is at a clear inflection point. Scale is already visible, consumption is deepening, and advertiser interest is accelerating rapidly. NDTV’s trust advantage and editorial stature give it a strong edge in this space. The opportunity now is to expand distribution and build revenue models that reflect both the premium nature and the sheer size of the Connected TV market.’
Commenting on NDTV’s strategic push into Connected TV, Rahul Kanwal, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, NDTV, said, ‘Connected TV represents a fundamental shift in how news is consumed and valued. It combines the authority of television with the precision of digital, all within a premium, high-trust environment. NDTV’s foray into Connected TV is a strategic investment in the future of news – one that aligns our editorial strengths with evolving audience behaviour and new revenue possibilities.’
He added, ‘By strengthening leadership across product, editorial thinking, distribution, and revenue, we are building a Connected TV ecosystem designed not just for growth, but for long-term relevance and credibility.’
With these appointments, NDTV is positioning itself at the forefront of one of the most consequential shifts underway in the media industry. As Connected TV consolidates its position as a mainstream screen in India – and as global advertising increasingly follows premium streaming environments, NDTV’s expanded leadership will now imagine Connected TV as a powerful force multiplier in its long-term growth strategy.
