News Broadcasting
ESS-InCable parleys inconclusive, to continue tomorrow
MUMBAI: The feud between ESPN Star Sports and Hinduja Group MSO InCableNet failed to reach a resolution today. The two parties will resume discussions tomorrow. ESS had earlier issued the deadline of this evening for InCable to clear up matters.
When contacted ESS affiliate sales VP Srichand Iyengar said that the offer that InCable had made today was completely unacceptable. ” If they fail to make an appropriate offer within the next two days we will be left with no option but to cut off our signal. We have yet take a call on when this will happen. We cannot continue to offer our services for free.”
Speaking for InCable, Hinduja TMT’s Ashok Mansukhani reiterated that an offer had been made and that the ball was in ESS’ court. ” We have still to get a rep[y from them regarding our offer. Talks will continue tomorrow between us and them. At the moment we are still showing the channels.”
About all that this offers the InCable subscriber is that he/she can sit back on the morrow and enjoy the show when India’s cricketing heroes are expected to create history by beating the mighty Aussies in their own backyard. After that though…
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.
