# Ravi Adhikari says TV ad revenue down 60%, nobody is putting money 2026-08-27T01:47:30+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet TV producer Ravi Adhikari, managing director of Sri Adhikari Brothers, has said television advertising revenue has dropped 50 to 60% as advertisers move to digital platforms. In an interview with Hindustan Times, he stated that smartphone penetration and cheaper data are driving the shift, with viewers migrating from cable to streaming services. Adhikari, whose company produced 1990s hits such as Shrimaan Shrimati and Yes Boss, said OTT platforms now offer superior content quality and flexible viewing. He noted that TV's reputation has suffered due to its programming choices, while streaming provides creators freedom to tell stories in longer formats of 8, 10 episodes with sound budgets. The producer added that TV audiences have not disappeared but have moved to OTT, where they watch on their own schedule rather than fixed appointment viewing. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The advertising exodus from television is accelerating a structural shift that began with Reliance Jio's 2016 data-price war, which made mobile streaming affordable for crores of Indians. Under the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's 2017 tariff order, broadcasters already faced declining cable subscriptions as cheaper data plans eroded the pay-TV base. Sri Adhikari Brothers' own fall mirrors this: once valued at over Rs 1,000 crore in the 2000s, the group battled debt and sold its flagship channel to Sony in 2012. The Indian advertising market, pegged by the industry body Pitch Madison at Rs 1.2 lakh crore in 2024, now sees digital capture over 50% of spends. The real test will be whether the broadcasting ministry's 2023 audience-measurement revamp, replacing TAM with BARC's new meters, can give TV a credible ad-currency to slow the slide. ## Coverage - hindustantimes.com Led with producer's 60% drop claim and direct quotes on decline, no government or regulatory counterpoint provided This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: advertising, OTT, Ravi Adhikari, Sri Adhikari Brothers, television Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/ravi-adhikari-says-tv-ad-revenue-down-60-nobody-is-putting-money/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/ravi-adhikari-says-tv-ad-revenue-down-60-nobody-is-putting-money/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/