iWorld
OTT: VEQTA is exclusive Major League Baseball partner for India
MUMBAI: In what could be the best news for baseball fans in India, VEQTA, India’s only digital broadcast network (OTT) dedicated to sports, has announced its partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB), the world’s top baseball league from USA. With this first of its kind multi-year partnership, VEQTA will give baseball fans in India access to an all-new never seen before content experience.
This partnership between one of the world’s most iconic sports leagues and India’s next generation sports platform will help build a larger fan base for baseball in the region. VEQTA will be the official home of Major League Baseball in India with exclusive long term OTT rights. VEQTA will serve the widest offering of MLB games ever in India, with over 20 live games each week during the regular season (April through September); and full coverage of the league’s “Jewel Events” — All-Star Game (July), Wild Card Games, Division Series, League Championship Series, and the World Series (October/November).
MLB and VEQTA will also launch a variety of initiatives together to build the sport further in the country including promotional activities, events, fan activation and engagement.
VEQTA, with its key partnerships with global sports bodies, will additionally serve over 6000 hours of live sports content in 2017 across Tennis, Fight Sports, Motorsports, Football, Basketball, Rugby, Athletics, and of course Baseball.
VEQTA co-founder & director Vikram Tanwar said, “Baseball has a niche audience here and we wish to grow it further. Through this partnership, Indian baseball fans will have access to exclusive baseball content not available in its entirety on any other platform. VEQTA is proud to bring this experience to India and assert our commitment to offer the best sports content from across the globe to Indian fans.”
MLB is amongst the largest league systems by revenue across any sport. It is also the world’s biggest league by total attendance with over 73 million fans attending MLB games in 2016.
Major League Baseball VP – international media sales and marketing partnerships Dominick Balsamo said, “MLB on VEQTA will serve Indian baseball fans with comprehensive coverage of the league from Opening Day through the World Series, and present the game on an exciting platform that promises to attract new baseball fans and players in India.”
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
