iWorld
CNN+ to accelerate launch in US
Mumbai: This one is for those news channel executives and owners in India who don’t seem to have the confidence to launch their own streaming services. Cable TV news pioneer CNN – part of the WarnerMedia (now WarnerBros.Discovery) group, is working on its OTT service called – what else do you expect –CNN+, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The platform is likely to be subscription driven and launch plans are being speeded up to allow it to debut much before the merger between CNN owner Warner Media and Discovery gets completed and the combined media behemoth resurfaces as Warner Bros.Discovery.
CNN+ has signed up deals with its prime anchors led by Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon to create new programmes – aside from the ones they have on the cable TV news service – , offering them higher packages, and possibly even bonuses related to subscriber growth.
Rivals such as Fox News got into the streaming fray 18 months ago as Fox Nation, offering differentiated programming than what is served on the network. Subscription numbers are just in the hundreds of thousands, but the new streamer has helped the Murdoch owned news service stay relevant to a new generation of digital first customers.
The Comcast owned streamer Peacock, also has given space to programmes from sister news services MSNBC and CNBC, as has the Viacom owned Paramount+ which has news shows such as 60 minutes from its CBS News operation.
Will Indian news channel leaders take a cue from the bustle of activity taking place in the US and also launch their own streaming services? So far they have been happy have a meek presence with their online web site avatars or have their linear channels streamed on other OTTs such as Disney+Hotstar or Zee5. It’s over to the news channel managements.
Gaming
Nodwin Gaming sells EVO stake to RTS
Fighting game tourney eyes global push, Nodwin partners on emerging markets amid 58 per cent revenue surge to Rs 530.3 crore.
MUMBAI: Nodwin Gaming just pulled off the ultimate combo breaker ditching its full stake in EVO, the fighting game world’s undisputed champ, to long-time ally RTS. Announced on 20 February 2026, the move frees up firepower for EVO’s global scaling dreams, with hefty investments on the horizon. Nodwin isn’t vanishing though; it’ll stick around as a key partner, flexing its regional muscle, ops know-how, and community ties to grow the tourney in emerging markets like the Global South.
EVO, a two-decade FGC (Fighting Game Community) cornerstone, started as a grassroots huddle and morphed into esports royalty drawing players, publishers, and superfans worldwide. RTS steps up to steward this next-level expansion, honouring the community vibe while plotting world domination.
For Nodwin, it’s a savvy portfolio shuffle: honing in on high-growth zones, local IPs, and ecosystem builds. The timing’s spot-on, they flipped EBITDA positive in Q3 2025, boasting 58 per cent year-on-year revenue growth to Rs 530.3 crore (USD 58.5 million) over the first nine months of FY26.
Nodwin Gaming co-founder and managing director, Akshat Rathe, framed it neatly, “EVO represents the passion, resilience, and spirit of the fighting game community… For Nodwin, this is a strategic step that sharpens our focus on markets where gaming is witnessing extraordinary momentum.”
More details on EVO’s emerging-market playbook with Nodwin drop soon. In esports terms, it’s like trading a legendary skin for upgrades smart meta shift that keeps everyone in the arena swinging.
