News Broadcasting
News Corp won’t part its stake in UTV
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, which holds a 37 per cent stake in the Ronnie Screwvala promoted United Television (UTV) is negotiating with Screwvala to retain a stake in his company.
News Corp had a 49 per cent stake in UTV prior of selling a 12 per cent stake off to Warburg Pincus which already held 24 per cent of holding in the company. The deal reduced Murdoch’s stake to 37 per cent and he last year, had announced to sell it off to Mr Screwvala. Now Murdoch is in talks with Screwvala to retain 15 per cent stake in UTV. UTV will be listing on Indian brouses by May-June this year.
After his increased interest in India, Murdoch seems not willing to give up his stake in the huge media house UTV. News Corp is already getting ready to capture a market share in India in the era of convergence by plans to acquire Internet companies, ISPs and telecom companies as well as creating portals. Already having a chunk of the television market through its subsidiaty Star TV, News Corp wants to get deep in the convergence market. Since content would be an important issue in the forthcoming world of broadband, Murdoch won’t like to give up his whole stake in the company which is rich in content and which could add value to his holding.
Incidently, Murdoch would visit Mumbai this weekend where UTV is based. But the exact purpose of his visit is still unknown and this could be a part of his agenda.
News Broadcasting
WITT Summit 2026 concludes in New Delhi
Babar Azam’s comical diving attempt goes viral as league introduces anti-dew measures.
MUMBAI: The WITT Summit just wrapped up with enough big ideas to fill a policy playbook because when India’s leaders, thinkers and icons gather under one roof, even the conversations hit sixes. The eighth edition of TV9 Network’s flagship What India Thinks Today (WITT) Summit 2026 concluded on Saturday after two days of dynamic discussions at its New Delhi venue. India’s largest multi-domain public policy and culture summit brought together political leaders, policymakers, sports icons, artists and technology innovators to examine the forces shaping contemporary India and its global standing.
Prime minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address on the theme “India and the World” for the third consecutive year. In a wide-ranging speech, he addressed the ongoing conflict in West Asia, calling for restraint and compassion while highlighting India’s continued development trajectory despite global turmoil.
The summit featured candid conversations with state leaders. Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy articulated a people-first governance model and contrasted it with other development approaches. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav declared that Left-wing extremism had been effectively eliminated in his state and highlighted preparations for the upcoming Kumbh Mela. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann defended his government’s record, citing the closure of 19 toll plazas and creation of the Sadak Suraksha Force. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar expressed confidence in Congress prospects in Assam and addressed recent allegations against him.
On geopolitics and national security, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia outlined India’s ambition to become a builder of trusted digital infrastructure for the world, citing the rapid 5G rollout and village-level 4G connectivity.
Cricket received significant attention. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly praised player freedom and trust as hallmarks of great leadership and named MS Dhoni as the greatest captain due to his World Cup successes. India women’s team bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi credited the BCCI and Women’s Premier League for building a pipeline of world-class talent behind the team’s recent ODI World Cup triumph.
The summit also hosted the inaugural AI² Awards 2026, celebrating the convergence of human creativity and machine intelligence in storytelling and content creation. Poet and kathavachak Kumar Vishwas delivered a nuanced take on India’s concept of Dharma and criticised the recent arrest of an 80-year-old Shankaracharya. Veteran lyricist Sameer Anjaan and storyteller Neelesh Misra reflected on changing music trends and artistic responsibility in the wake of a recent controversy involving Nora Fatehi.
In a country where conversations often run as deep as the Ganges, the WITT Summit proved once again that when leaders, thinkers and storytellers come together, the real winner is public discourse lively, layered and refreshingly unafraid to tackle the big questions shaping India’s tomorrow.
