News Broadcasting
IBF puts up united front, denies split in offing
MUMBAI: The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), which has been riven recently by persistent reports of major rifts between pay and free-to-air lobbies within it, sought today to put up a united front.
An IBF statement issued in Delhi says: “There have been misleading reports in some sections of the Press that the Indian Broadcasting Foundation is headed for a split on the issue of Conditional Access System.”
“This is to clarify that all IBF members are united on all issues including CAS. The IBF is affectively working under the dynamic leadership of KS Sarma, CEO, Prasar Bharati, and there is no question of division in the Foundation.”
Speaking earlier to indiantelevision.com from different sides of the fence, both Kunal Dasgupta, SET India CEO and IBF vice-president, and Markand Adhikari, SAB TV vice-chairman and MD, struck a common tone on the matter. They asserted there would not be any split in the IBF and talks of separate bodies / associations representing pay and FTA channels were untrue. They maintained that while there may be differences due to competing business interests, a split was not in the offing.
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.
