MAM
Wal-Mart partners with ‘The Scholar’ to provide student scholarships
MUMBAI: Wal-Mart has signed up as a leading sponsor of a new unscripted, reality TV series – The Scholar, which will be the first prime-time show ever to celebrate higher education as the ultimate American prize.
Filmed at an actual university, The Scholar follows 10 high school seniors who compete for a full scholarship and all college-related expenses. The first episode of this six-week series will air on 6 June on ABC.
Wal-Mart is providing students secondary scholarships throughout the series as they compete in areas of academics, leadership, creativity and community service, while facing oral exams and defending themselves to an Ivy League scholarship committee. Wal-Mart is one of the largest contributors to education in the US, having provided more than $100 million already in scholarship assistance alone to students and schools across the country.
Wal-Mart’s partnership with The Scholar is based on providing actual scholarships to students on the show, as well as merchandise and advertising support. In addition, Wal-Mart’s online advertising support includes a microsite on ABC.com. The microsite features a tour of a virtual dorm room outfitted with merchandise from Wal-Mart and Walmart.com that is shown during The Scholar.
“Wal-Mart believes in helping others reach a better quality of life. We also see education as a gateway to success that can be achieved for those who try, no matter the obstacles. ‘The Scholar’ is a natural fit with our own values and philosophy, and is why we made the decision to work with ABC as a major sponsor,” said Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club Foundation vice president corporate affairs and executive director Betsy Reithemeyer.
Wal-Mart announced that it will provide more than $6.9 million in community scholarship grants to students this summer in communities where its 3,700 stores and Sam’s Club are located. Student awards for the Sam Walton Community Scholarships, presented by the Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club , range from $1,000 to $25,000.
Brands
RPSG’s Sudhir Langer exits days before IPL 2026
Timing sharpens focus on stake sale buzz and LSG’s tightening financial playbook
MUMBAI: RPSG ( RP-Sanjiv Goenka) Ventures has sprung a late leadership surprise just as the IPL drumroll begins. Sudhir Langer will step down as whole-time director and from the board effective March 31, days after the 2026 Indian Premier League season kicks off on March 28.
The timing is hard to ignore. RPSG Ventures owns Lucknow Super Giants, and Langer’s exit lands in a narrow pre-tournament window when operational focus is typically at its peak.
The move also coincides with chatter around a potential stake sale. According to a Moneycontrol report, the RPSG Group, led by Sanjiv Goenka, is exploring options to offload up to a 15 per cent stake in the franchise. There has been no official confirmation.
RPSG had acquired the Lucknow franchise in November 2021 for Rs 7,090 crore, among the highest bids in IPL history. The team operates under RPSG Sports Private Limited and carries a sizeable annual franchise fee obligation of Rs 709 crore through FY31.
Financials underline both scale and strain. The franchise remains heavily reliant on central revenue distribution from the Board of Control for Cricket in India. In H1 FY26, it received Rs 399 crore as its share of franchise rights, compared with Rs 458 crore in FY25, the single largest contributor to income.
Total revenue for H1 FY26 stood at Rs 495.9 crore, with profit at Rs 63.7 crore. Yet FY25 saw a softer showing: revenue fell about 20 per cent to Rs 557 crore, weighed down by fewer matches and a lower league finish in the 2024 season. Growth has since been modest, with H1 FY26 revenue rising roughly 3 per cent year on year.
That leaves LSG balancing on a familiar IPL tightrope: strong central inflows, volatile on-field-linked earnings and a hefty fixed fee burden.
With a leadership exit, stake-sale speculation and a new season about to begin, Goenka’s cricket bet is entering a decisive phase—where timing, performance and capital strategy will all have to click.
