Happy Birthday Manish Singhal: The visionary behind Dangal’s triumph

In India’s ever-evolving media and entertainment industry, few journeys have been as remarkable as that of Manish Singhal, the driving force behind Enterr10 Television and its flagship brand, Dangal TV. On his birthday today, the industry celebrates not just the man but also the vision that turned a regional experiment into a nationwide phenomenon.

Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, Manish Singhal started Enterr10 Television in 2004 from Indore, a city far from the media hubs of Mumbai or Delhi. What began as an extension of his thriving shopping and tele-commerce business soon blossomed into something much larger. His early venture into television was meant to support commerce, but under his leadership, the content company quickly grew into a formidable name in the Indian broadcasting space, challenging entrenched giants and creating new patterns of consumption for millions across the country.

When Dangal TV launched in 2009, it started off as a Bhojpuri movie channel. But in 2015, reading the pulse of the Indian audience, Manish pivoted it into a Hindi General Entertainment Channel (GEC), a decision that would prove game-changing. With a mix of family dramas, mythology, and crime shows, Dangal not only carved out a place for itself but also often topped the viewership charts, particularly across Hindi-speaking households. His philosophy was simple but powerful: “It was always ‘Dangal versus Dangal’.”

Manish’s genius has always been his audience-first approach. By staying deeply attuned to everyday Indian values and emotions, he created content that resonated equally in urban centres, semi-urban towns, and rural villages. Today, Dangal enjoys one of the highest Time Spent per Viewer (TSV) among Hindi GECs, proving that authentic storytelling has no geographical boundaries.

Even as television transformed under the pressure of digital disruption, Manish saw the opportunity in it. He championed the launch of Dangal Play in 2022, Enterr10’s OTT platform. The venture, now spearheaded by his son Akshat Singhal, is a testament to Manish’s belief in blending legacy broadcasting with the new-age digital ecosystem. While Akshat brings the digital-native edge, Manish’s grounding in audience understanding ensures the perfect balance of experience and innovation.

What sets Manish apart as a leader is his boldness to do things differently. Dangal produces all of its original shows in-house, making it the only free-to-air (FTA) channel with such a strong commitment to fresh content. This independence gives the network agility, creative control, and a sharp edge in delivering stories that connect.

Under his stewardship, Enterr10 clocked in ₹600 crore plus in revenue last year and is targeting another 15% growth this year. His ambitions, however, go beyond numbers. Dangal today is not just an Indian success story, it is becoming a global player. From securing distribution in the UK and US (including Sling in America) to exploring territories across Africa, the Middle East, and nearly 45 countries through syndication, Manish is ensuring that Indian stories find audiences worldwide.

A forward-looking strategist, he has also secured licences for regional expansions—Telugu and Bengali GECs and even Dangal HD, cementing the company’s footprint in a multilingual, multiplatform future.

Advertisers too have found in Manish a trusted ally. With FMCG brands forming nearly 60% of ad spends, Dangal has positioned itself as a high-reach, high-impact platform that connects brands to India’s fastest-growing markets in smaller towns and rural areas. His dedicated branded content team ensures that advertisers are not just visible but seamlessly integrated into storytelling.

Manish also champions transparency and adaptability. While ratings remain important, he has embraced new performance metrics through social media traction and YouTube, where Enterr10’s content has grown more than two-and-a-half times in the last year. For him, the audience voice, whether through TRPs or YouTube comments, remains the truest barometer of success.

As Manish Singhal celebrates another year of life, the industry applauds not just his vision and tenacity, but also his ability to build something extraordinary from outside the traditional power corridors. From Indore to the world, his journey embodies the triumph of courage, conviction, and connection.