MAM
Cricket after World Cup and IPL
MUMBAI: After the World Cup and the Indian Premier League (IPL), the value of the residual cricketing properties in the year could fall due to India‘s poor performance and an economic slowdown.
Media analysts had forecast the cricket television broadcasting economy to earn an advertising revenue of Rs 20 billion this year. While the World Cup fetched Rs 5 billion, the IPL took home Rs 10 billion.
“As the India-West Indies series was just after the two marquee events, there was a level of fatigue. The India-England series was a disappointment and could cast an influence on the other remaining properties in the year,” says a media analyst.
The upcoming events include the Champions League Twenty20, the India-Australia series and the India-England ODIs.
A media buyer says that one has to wait for the five ODI matches between India and England before valuing the other properties. “Only then we can say to what extent ad revenue will be affected. If India does well and the ratings are good, then things will be on track. If it doesn’t, then advertiser interest will fall.”
The other issue concerning sports broadcasters is the slowdown that seems to be hitting the economy. While the effect is hard to quantify, the buyer says that the good thing about the upcoming series is that they are taking place before and during the festive season.
Lodestar Universal CEO Shashi Sinha feels that cricket outside the World Cup and IPL will still manage at least Rs.5 billion. “Despite the performance of the Indian team, I still get inquiries from clients about cricket,” he says.
Multi Screen Media (MSM) president network sales, licensing and telephony Rohit Gupta doesn’t think that the slowdown will hurt cricket. “Revenues will depend more on how each series is hyped up, promoted and the kind of teams India is playing against. So far television has not been affected by the slowdown,” he says.
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TCS and ServiceNow join forces to fast-track AI in enterprises
New partnership aims to turn clunky workflows into smart, self-learning engines
MUMBAI: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and ServiceNow have teamed up to help businesses move from AI experiments to full-scale adoption. The multi-year partnership will see TCS building industry-specific AI solutions on the ServiceNow platform, transforming slow, manual processes into intelligent, autonomous workflows that learn and improve over time.
Enterprises are eager for smarter ways to handle back-office functions like HR, finance, supply chain, procurement, and employee services. With this collaboration, TCS will offer AI-led solutions that bring together trusted AI, modern workflows, and deep industry knowledge, helping businesses work faster, smarter, and more efficiently.
ServiceNow president and chief product officer Amit Zavery said, “Enterprises need partners who can combine innovation, execution, and governance. Together with TCS, we are embedding AI directly into workflows, modernising legacy systems, and driving measurable results.”
TCS executive director and COO Aarthi Subramanian added, “Companies are ready to move beyond pilots to enterprise-wide transformation. Our partnership will embed intelligence across IT, operations, and customer functions, unlocking speed, efficiency, and lasting advantage.”
The solutions are designed to break down silos, giving organisations a holistic, insight-driven view. HR operations, for instance, could shift from fragmented services to a smooth hire-to-retire lifecycle, boosting productivity and engagement. Similarly, order processing could evolve from a slow, multi-step cycle into a fast-moving engine that drives revenue and cash flow.
TCS is already ServiceNow’s largest user for IT Asset Management, rolling out the system across thousands of devices in just three months. Both companies will also invest in co-innovation labs, solution showcases, and joint go-to-market initiatives to bring these AI capabilities to clients.
With this partnership, enterprises can look forward to workflows that think for themselves, helping businesses stay ahead in the AI era.
