MAM
Star Sports: A new logo, packaging & brand identity
MUMBAI: It was a historic moment for Star India when on 6 November at the stroke of midnight it unveiled the new identity for six of its sports channels – Star Sports1, Star Sports 2, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD1 and Star Sports HD 2 – and its website (starsports.com). (Star Sports 3 replaced Star Cricket, while Star Sports 4 replaced ESPN and Star Cricket HD and ESPN HD were rebranded as Star Sports HD1 and HD2.)
Today all the channels have a single logo – a star with a thinner silver outline with a streak of colours swishing into it. “The new brand identity is a metallic star with an explosive incandescent trail symbolizing the authority and passion of sports,” elaborates Star India exec VP marketing Gayatri Yadav.
The Star India broadcast design team and the UK-based brand consultancy Venturethree have created the brand identity while the broadcast package has been designed by Los Angeles based design and branding studio Capacity. Venturethree has a client roster that includes Myspace, The Times, Orange, Penguin, Reliance Industries, king.com and Discovery Communications while Capacity has done work for the NFL (national football league) and CW channel.
“The bold new star icon is to stand for a new era of sport. The star is sharp, bold and iconic. It brings strength and authority to the channel. The incandescent trail is explosive and dynamic. It brings the intensity and passion of sports to life. The fiery trail ignites and unites every sport, every player and every fan. It’s the glue that runs through everything on the channel. This expresses the fluid and dynamic nature of sports,” says Yadav.
Sridhar feels that it is just a matter of habit for people to star using the new names
The unified logo highlights the network’s ambition “to change the face of sports broadcasting in the country’ as well as provide world-class sports coverage to Indian sports fans. “To signal the change to the consumer, Star India is bringing all the six diverse TV channels under one brand name, Star Sports, and one purpose ‘believe’,” says Yadav.
According to Leo Burnett Chief creative officer K V Sridhar, the new logo is much more energetic and brings through the focus they are trying to put with Star Sports. “It is a Diwali colourful logo. Their biggest challenge is to merge ESPN and Star Sports. Now promoting their channels will become much easier for them. What they are doing is just the beginning because they are taking upon themselves a very beautiful and visionary strategy to make Star synonymous with sports,” he says.
Wouldn’t it be a difficult task for those used to calling the channels by their former names? “It is actually simpler than before now and it is just a matter of habit before people will start referring to a channel like- Star Sports channel 3,” quips Sridhar.
If it does happen as Sridhar predicts, it will be a job well done.
MAM
Deepfakes target women in 93 per cent of cases, report finds
Pi-labs study shows 900 per cent rise in female-focused synthetic media; India sees 60 per cent jump in cybercrime complaints.
MUMBAI: Deepfakes aren’t just fooling cameras, they’re hitting women hardest, turning pixels into a new kind of weapon. A new report from creator intelligence platform Pi-labs has revealed that nearly 93 per cent of deepfake victims are women, with deepfake content targeting females surging 900% in recent years. The findings paint synthetic media as a fast-escalating digital threat with a stark gendered impact.
In India, cybercrime complaints involving women rose from about 50,000 in 2024 to nearly 80,000 by 2026, an increase of roughly 60 per cent in just two years. Almost 98 per cent of deepfake pornography is aimed at women, often powered by face-swapping apps and bot networks that disproportionately target females, including school-age girls. Victims typically fall in the 18–30 age group, with Bengaluru reporting a growing share of cases.
Globally, 62 per cent of deepfake abuse cases involving women go unreported due to stigma, in India, over one-third of women facing online harassment take no action, and many reduce their digital presence after abuse. Close to 33 per cent of women remain unaware of protective laws.
City-level trends show Bengaluru leading with nearly 30 per cent of complaints, followed by Hyderabad (14 per cent), Mumbai (13 per cent), Chennai and Kolkata (5 per cent each), and Delhi (3 per cent).
Pi-labs, CEO and founder Anukush Tiwari said, “AI is one of the most powerful technologies of our time, but like every powerful tool, it reflects the intent of those who use it. We are witnessing a growing trust deficit in digital spaces, where identity can be manipulated within minutes and reputations can be damaged overnight.”
Image morphing and deepfake videos remain the most common forms of misuse. The report also notes a new trend: fully AI-generated female personas (not based on real individuals) gaining high engagement on social platforms, raising questions about digital credibility.
Detection remains challenging due to widespread generative tools and rogue creators. Industry estimates suggest over 5,000 face-swap tools and more than 1,000 voice-cloning applications are accessible online.
pi-labs offers pi-authentify, an AI-driven detection system that scans media for generative markers and provides authenticity scores, as well as Namokavach, a verification portal delivering confidential assessments within two working days. The Payal gaming case was resolved using pi-authentify’s forensic analysis.
The report urges minimising digital footprints and adopting detection tools to limit replication risks. It frames the gendered impact of synthetic media as an urgent digital safety issue requiring coordinated action from individuals, platforms and technology providers.
In a world where faces can be borrowed in seconds, the real crime isn’t just creation, it’s the silence that follows, and women are paying the heaviest price.
