News Broadcasting
Sunil Lulla to take over as GM, SET?
The search for a business head for Sony Entertainment Television appears to be over, if the buzz in the industry is to be believed.
Sunil Lulla, former CEO of the now defunct portal indya.com is slated to take over as general manager, SET, by end June. Sources say Lulla was among three candidates shortlisted for the post, which is currently vacant. Industry sources say a senior executive from Star India was also in the reckoning, but turned down the offer. The last position he held was CEO, Valuebridge, a consultancy business set up by venture capital firm AtIndia and advertising major HTA.
Lulla has held several positions giving him wide exposure to the media and entertainment business. Among them: HMV (now Saregama) general manager – marketing, MTV India head (before current MTV boss Alex Kuruvilla), J Walter Thompson (in Taipei as Director of Client Services) and United Distilleries and Vintners (UDV)(as vice president).
With Lulla hopping on board, the Sony Entertainment management will have all divisions within Sony well cared for – AXN under Shantonu Aditya’s charge, SET MAX under Rajat Jain and SET with Sunil Lulla.
News Broadcasting
Book Cricket gets a digital century on News18 amid T20 fever
Nostalgic classroom game revamped in English, Hindi plus Telugu on web and app.
MUMBAI: When the T20 World Cup fever hits fever pitch, News18 decides to flip the script straight back to the classroom. The digital news platform has revived the timeless schoolyard favourite Book Cricket as an interactive online game, perfectly timed to ride the cricket wave gripping fans across the globe. The reimagined Book Cricket ditches textbooks for smartphones, blending old-school nostalgia with modern gameplay. Once a sneaky recess pastime played by flicking book pages to score runs, the digital version now offers seamless fun for anyone craving a quick cricket fix between overs.
Available in English, Hindi and Telugu (with more languages planned across News18’s network), the game sits within the platform’s fast-growing gaming portfolio of over 20 titles, all built in-house. It joins event-driven hits like ‘Kursi Catcher’ and ‘Result Rewind’ during the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, plus festive specials such as ‘Durga’s Astras’ for Durga Puja and ‘Mouse Modak’ for Ganesh Chaturthi.
News18 Digital CEO Mitul Sangani said, “Gaming is a key pillar of our engagement strategy. At News18, we uniquely combine our newsroom agility with immersive gaming experiences. By blending credible content with interactive formats, we are creating meaningful engagement in an era defined by shrinking attention spans and evolving consumption habits.”
Select titles have expanded beyond News18.com to CNBC-TV18.com and Firstpost.com, reflecting the network’s push to deepen user interaction across platforms. The Book Cricket game is live now at https://www.news18.com/games/book-cricket/.
In a tournament where every boundary counts, News18’s digital Book Cricket proves the simplest games can still deliver the biggest smiles no syllabus required, just pure cricket joy one page-flip at a time.
