As India’s digital news industry continues to grapple with low advertising yields, ITV Digital is looking beyond domestic audiences to unlock its next phase of growth. The network’s digital arm, led by CEO Akshansh Yadav, is increasingly focusing on international audiences as part of a strategy aimed at improving monetisation and expanding its global footprint.

According to the company, the move is driven by a fundamental reality of the digital advertising market. While Indian digital news platforms typically earn CPMs (cost per thousand impressions) of around USD 0.2 to 0.3, international audiences can generate CPMs of USD 1 or more, creating a significantly larger revenue opportunity for publishers able to attract global traffic.

Akshansh Yadav, CEO of ITV Digital, which oversees platforms including India News, NewsX, The Daily Guardian, Blink and NewsX World, believes the industry’s growth challenge is not simply about reaching larger audiences but reaching the right ones.

“India has world-class editorial talent and the fastest, most cost-efficient content engine on the planet. What we haven’t always done is point it at the world,” Yadav said.

He added that the gap between Indian and international CPMs should be viewed as an opportunity rather than a limitation. According to him, creating global content from India has emerged as one of the biggest growth levers for the company and is now central to how ITV Digital builds, distributes and monetises content across its network.

The strategy reflects a broader shift in thinking within parts of the digital media industry, where publishers are increasingly looking at international markets to diversify revenue streams and reduce dependence on domestic advertising rates. By leveraging India’s strong editorial capabilities and cost-efficient content production ecosystem, ITV Digital aims to compete for audiences beyond national borders while maintaining operational efficiency.The global content push also comes at a time when the company claims to have witnessed strong growth across key business metrics, including revenue, traffic and audience engagement. Rather than pursuing short-term traffic spikes, ITV Digital says it is focused on building sustainable growth through stronger fundamentals and long-term audience development.

As competition intensifies across the digital news landscape, ITV Digital’s international-first approach could offer a new blueprint for Indian publishers seeking to scale revenues in an increasingly crowded market. Whether the strategy succeeds may depend on the network’s ability to consistently produce content that resonates with audiences well beyond India while capitalising on the higher-value advertising markets it is targeting.