News Broadcasting
Pay broadcasters meet on pricing issue
NEW DELHI / MUMBAI: Today could well be the day that the public have a clear inkling of just what will be their payout if they wish to opt for all the pay channels that are available in a post conditional access rollout scenario. And if initial indications are anything to go by, the total monthly tab will almost certainly cross the “magic” figure of Rs 200 that information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has been harping upon.
Representatives of pay broadcasters from Star India, Sony Entertainment Television India and even Zee Telefilms are meeting at 1:30 pm at the ESPN Star Sports offices in Delhi to discuss a common strategy on the pricing issue. The broadcasters hope to have it ready before they head in for their scheduled meeting at the I&B ministry at 3 pm. One pay broadcaster executive on condition of anonymity said he expected something to evolve today.
Today’s all-broadcaster meeting follows confabulations that Star and Sony had yesterday over the same matter. It is reliably learnt that Star had drawn up an initial pricing plan on Monday. CEO Peter Mukerjea and COO Sameer Nair were holed up all day yesterday at the Star offices in Worli, fine-tuning the package.
As far as the price is concerned, whether Star, Sony or Zee, indications are that the total package for each pay bouquet will cost in the Rs 50-55 range, while if a la carte rates are added up it will come to about Rs 70. And the cost of a Star Plus or SET? Around Rs 15, say industry watchers.
Stay tuned for further developments.
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.
