Brands
Tata.ev’s ‘Perry Powerful Punch’ award breaks the internet
Mumbai: While the Women’s Premiere League reached great heights in shattering biases in the world of cricket, we saw Ellyse Perry of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) shatter not only stereotypes about women in the sport, but also the window of the title sponsor’s display car, the TATA.ev.
Perry’s sixer broke the car’s glass window on 4 March.
FCB Kinnect & Tata.ev decided to take this moment of brouhaha and turn it into a memorable triumph for the cricketer, by bestowing her with the ‘Perry Powerful Punch’ award – which also carried the date on which she broke the glass.
What’s special about this award is that it was carefully crafted with the shattered glass of the very window that Perry broke.
The internet was in awe of the gesture by the brand, which made headlines in several sports and other publications.
Taking to social media, the brand said, “You did what every kid playing cricket on the streets, dodging parked cars, dreams of doing but never actually dares. Breaking that display car wasn’t just a jaw-dropping moment; it was a sweet, sweet nod to the mischievous joy hidden in the heart of every cricket lover. Cheers to you, the window-breaking warrior of the #TATAWPL 2024!”
Tata.ev encouraged Perry to never break her spirit for anything, and especially not over broken glass.
FCB Kinnect national creative director Kartikeya Tiwari said, “Contemporary brands are built as much on unplanned moments, as on planned ones. The WPL is bigger than just a cricket tournament – it’s a celebration of resilience and talent. This incident was the perfect epitome of how women in India are shattering the glass ceiling. We simply wanted to immortalise this by giving Perry her flowers and not taking the genuineness out of this moment.”
Brands
TV bills on the rise: JioStar, Sony, and Zee crank up prices by 10 per cent
Broadcasters tune into higher tariffs as JioStar, Sony, and Zee reveal new prices
MUMBAI: If you were hoping for a cheaper night in front of the telly next year, you might want to look away from the remote. India’s broadcasting giants are flipping the script on pricing, with JioStar, Sony, and Zee all tuning into a new frequency of higher tariffs. Ahead of the 2026 financial year, the Big Three have released their updated Reference Interconnect Offers (RIOs), signalling a collective push that will see most monthly bills rise by roughly 10 per cent.
The synchronised move suggests that broadcasters are testing the price elasticity of their audience. In simpler terms, they are betting that your love for daily soaps and live sports is stronger than your annoyance at a slightly lighter wallet.
Sony is making a particularly bold play in the High Definition space. If you enjoy the crispness of Sony Entertainment Television HD or Sony SAB HD, your monthly bill for those channels will jump from 25 rupees to 30 rupees. The same 30-rupee price tag now applies to their sports heavyweights, including Sony Sports Ten 1, Sony Sports Ten 2, Sony Sports Ten 3 Hindi, and Sony Sports Ten 5.
However, Sony is also expanding its horizons. Fans of regional content have new arrivals to look forward to, provided they are patient. Sony Sports Ten 4 Kannada is slated for an April 2026 debut, while Sony Vizha and Sony Vizha HD are expected by June. By August, Sony Telugu and Sony Telugu HD should be live. To keep customers sweet until then, Sony is offering “proportionate discounts.” For instance, the Happy India 2026 Smart Tamil bouquet, normally 42 rupees, will cost just 29.91 rupees until the new Vizha channel officially joins the party.
On the standard definition front, Sony is keeping its “strategic mass price” at 19 rupees for big hitters like Sony Max, Sony Marathi, and Sony Aath. Smaller channels see minor tweaks: Sony Max 2 is nudging up from 2 rupees to 3 rupees, while Sony Yay! sits at 6 rupees and Sony Max 1 remains at 5 rupees.
Zee Entertainment is also getting in on the act with a comprehensive 10 percent hike. Their flagship Standard Definition channels, such as Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Sarthak, Zee Kannada, and Zee Tamil, are all locked in at 19 rupees. Interestingly, they have matched this 19-rupee price point for many of their HD versions too, including &TV and &Pictures.
For those who prefer the all-you-can-eat bouquet approach, Zee’s All-in-One Hindi SD pack has risen to 58 rupees. Their Marathi and Bangla packs are now 64 rupees, while the Southern trio of Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu SD packs will set you back 85 rupees. If you want those same Southern packs in glorious HD, the price climbs to a steeper 131 rupees. Zee is also shuffling its deck by exiting English entertainment but entering the sports arena, with Zee Cafe and &flix seeing price adjustments to 7 and 8 rupees respectively.
JioStar is perhaps the most aggressive of the bunch when it comes to regional favourites. While they have kept core Hindi staples like Star Plus, Colors, and Star Gold at 19 rupees, they have pushed premium regional channels like Asianet, Colors Kannada, Vijay TV, and Maa TV up to 30 rupees. This move is significant because any channel priced over 19 rupees cannot be included in a discounted bouquet, meaning fans of these channels will have to buy them separately, potentially driving up the total cost of a monthly subscription.
Even the youngsters aren’t spared, with kids’ favourites like Nick SD and Nick HD+ now priced at 19 rupees. As we head towards April 2026, the ball is now in the court of the cable and dish operators. They must decide how much of these increases they can swallow and how much they will pass on to the person holding the remote. For the average viewer, the message is clear: premium content is getting a premium price tag.
