News Broadcasting
Sony to offer interactive feed for World Cup in DTH, Cas homes
MUMBAI: With the World Cup scheduled to kick off later this month, Sony is ready with a few plans up its sleeve. One of these involves adding a value added feed for direct-to-home (DTH) and Cas (conditional access system) subscribers.
Addressing a media briefing this afternoon Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India CEO Kunal Dasgupta says that the channel is looking at having two angles – stumps and mid wicket. They are also looking at making this interactive feed available in Cas homes. “The coverage from different camera angles will help DTH. We are also in talks with multi-system operators (MSOs) to offer this to their set-top box subscribers,” Dasgupta adds.
SET India has sold out its entire inventory for the World Cup and expects an all-time high audience for the big event with the matches favourably positioned for prime time viewing in India. The company had earlier indicated that it was targeting Rs 5 billion in ad revenues from the ICC Championship and World Cup.
The matches will not be shown on flagship Hindi general entertainment channel Sony TV (they will be telecast on Max, Sab and Pix) as the cricket telecast will disrupt viewing of its tradional programming content. Instead, the movie list on the Sony channel will be enhanced during the World Cup.
“We are in the process of rebuilding Sony TV which has slipped from its number two position. When we put up matches on the channel in the last World Cup, we suffered. We won’t make that mistake this time. We are getting Indian Idol back and in the coming three to four months we will be coming out with new shows that we are confident will see the channel move up,” says Dasgupta.
Sab TV, which Sony acquired to have a two-channel strategy in the general entertainment space, will be relaunched after the World Cup.
In terms of viewership, Dasgupta says that the number of C&S homes have more than doubled from 32 million when the previous World Cup took place in 2003 in South Africa. DTH platforms will also give a boost. “There is a strong lead in which was not the case in South Africa where matches started at 2:30 in the afternoon.”
He adds that this time there will be a lot of out of home viewing as the match starts at 7 pm. Already 70 organisations have asked Sony for permission to air matches during parties. “Places like Goa will have a carnival atmosphere. The trend will be for people to watch matches till late in the night. The World Cup will really kick off from 23 March when India plays Sri Lanka.”
Dasgupta, however, was critical of the high acquisition cost for cricket properties. “As a standalone, it is a loss leader in the portfolio. You take it to boost other areas of the network like distribution and weaker properties.”
In terms of ad revenue Sony recently came out with a 12 match package for spots. This involves the India games, the semi finals and the final. The other spots package it offers to advertisers is for the final 27 matches.
Doordarshan will get to telecast 19 (including the India contests, semi-finals and final) out of the 51 World Cup matches.
News Broadcasting
Kamlesh Singh receives Haldi Ghati Award from MMCF
India Today Group editor honoured for three decades of journalism at Udaipur ceremony.
MUMBAI- Kamlesh Singh just turned a lifetime of sharp words into a shiny shield because when journalism wakes up a society, even the Maharana of Mewar wants to pin a medal on it.
The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) conferred its prestigious Haldi Ghati Award on Kamlesh Singh, a senior editor at the India Today Group, during a ceremony in Udaipur on 15 March 2026. The national award, instituted in 1981-82, recognises “work of permanent value that initiates an awakening in society through the medium of journalism.”
Singh, who leads several editorial initiatives including Aaj Tak Radio, the Teen Taal community and The Lallantop, was presented the honour by Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Managing Trustee of MMCF. The citation highlighted his three decades of contributions to Indian media, innovations in digital journalism, mentoring young reporters, and his popular podcast persona “Tau” on Teen Taal, which fosters thoughtful public discourse.
The Haldi Ghati Award, named after the historic Battle of Haldighati symbolising valour and resilience, is one of four national awards given annually by MMCF. Past recipients include Tavleen Singh, Piyush Pandey and Raj Chengappa.
Other honourees this year included Padma Vibhushan Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vedamurti Devvrat Rekhe, Treeman of India Marimuthu Yoganathan, Vir Chakra Capt Rizwan Malik, and US-based researcher Molly Emma Aitken, who received the Colonel James Tod Award for contributions to understanding Mewar’s spirit and values.
In an era where headlines often shout louder than substance, the MMCF quietly reminded everyone that real journalism isn’t about noise, it’s about the quiet, persistent work that stirs society awake, one thoughtful story at a time.
