iWorld
Amit Bhandari joins Planet Marathi
KOLKATA: Just a few months ago, Planet Marathi announced the first-ever Marathi OTT platform that will curate exclusive Marathi content across various genres for the global Marathi audience. This announcement caused quite a stir in the Marathi film world. Ever since the big news, quite a few names are getting associated with the brand. The most recent name to join the bandwagon of entertainment changemakers is Amit Bhandari.
Bhandari, who was the assistant vice president at Sony Marathi and also being a popular media personality, who has several accolades in the entertainment industry. He will now start the second inning of his career with Planet Marathi.
Bhandari’s collaboration with Planet Marathi brings great synergy as both the names are renowned for their path-breaking work in the entertainment industry. Akshay Bardapurkar, head and founder, Planet Marathi, created this brand back in 2017 and eventually made his way into film production. Amit Bhandari’s association with Planet Marathi promises that the caliber entertainment will see a peak.
Bhandari will be managing the front of Planet Marathi film production, Planet Marathi OTT, and Planet Marathi Talent. While talking about this new chapter in his career, he says, “Today the audience is sensitive when it comes to the content they consume. Planet Marathi OTT recognizes these nuances and is committed to transforming the way Marathi content gets distributed, broadcasted, and the way users experience it. “म मानाचा, म मराठीचा” is the tagline of Planet Marathi OTT. I would love to contribute to Akshay’s vision and give Marathi content the long-overdue recognition it deserves on a global level. My goal is to enable the creation of meaningful content that moves people and promises value in entertainment." Amit also expressed his inclination towards meeting the pace of the fast-evolving talent-management and film production industry with Planet Marathi’s skilled team.
Bardapurkar expressed his exuberance saying, “We have always believed in the pursuit of excellence. It is only with the right talent and a strong vision, that achieving excellence is possible. Amit has demonstrated his innovation and forward-thinking with Yuva Sakal, Mumbai Times, Star Majha (ABP Majha), and Sony Marathi. The expertise he brings to Planet Marathi along with the decades of experience in Marathi and Hindi entertainment, Amit will only add value to Planet Marathi.”
iWorld
Meta signs multiyear AI deal with News Corp
Agreement worth up to $50 million annually covers WSJ, New York Post and UK titles.
MUMBAI: Meta just bought itself a front-row seat to the newsroom because when AI needs facts, even Zuckerberg is willing to pay the subscription fee. Meta Platforms has signed a multiyear artificial intelligence content licensing agreement with News Corp that could be worth up to $50 million (£39 million) a year, The Wall Street Journal reported on 25 February 2026. The deal, expected to run for at least three years, grants Meta access to News Corp’s US and UK content including The Wall Street Journal and New York Post for training AI models and powering real-time information retrieval in its products.
Australian mastheads such as the Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun are not included. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson revealed the arrangement during a Morgan Stanley technology conference in San Francisco, describing news organisations as a vital “input company” in the AI ecosystem. “We’re essentially an input company,” he said. “The great threat in the age of AI is going to be to what you might call output companies.”
Thomson emphasised the value of reliable journalism as foundational infrastructure for AI systems, noting regular conversations with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg via Whatsapp and ongoing talks with OpenAI’s Sam Altman. He added that News Corp is in “advanced stage” negotiations for additional deals, promising further announcements soon.
The agreement follows News Corp’s 2024 five-year partnership with OpenAI (reportedly worth more than $250 million) and reflects Meta’s broader push to secure content licences. The company has already confirmed deals with People Inc, USA Today, CNN and Fox News, though financial terms remain undisclosed.
Publishers remain divided, some pursue partnerships for revenue, while others litigate. News Corp subsidiaries have sued Perplexity over copyright infringement, The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft, yet the same NYT struck a separate AI licensing deal with Amazon reportedly worth $20–25 million annually.
Thomson summed up the dual strategy as “woo or sue” seeking commercial agreements where possible, legal action when content is used without permission.
In an AI race where data is oxygen, Meta isn’t just training models, it’s buying the raw material for tomorrow’s answers, one headline at a time.
