iWorld
Celebrities leverage their online brand value with Twitter’s BlueRoom
Mumbai: Twitter taught us how to spill our hearts online in just 140 characters and now it is teaching celebrities to do the same through one on one interactions with their fans, The social media giant has finally gone public with its much awaited feature, #BlueRoom. Continuing its service of bringing fans and celebrities together, the platform has introduced Blue Room in India that allows fans to interact with their favourite celebs not only through tweets but in real life as well.
“The #BlueRoom is a special spot to host interviews, Q&As, performances and more, so you can expect to see a even more of your favourite sports stars, film and TV talent, and music artists direct from the #BlueRoom,” read twitter India’s official blog announcing the launch.
It’s here! A sneak peek of Twitter India’s #BlueRoom — stay tuned this week as we bring you @video & more…pic.twitter.com/2VrUJpEaQH
In a world which is ruled by likes, favorites and shares, it is essential for celebrities to keep their online popularity up. Blue Room also gives an opportunity to celebrities to increase their online presence and interact with their fans in a more connected way.
“Any kind of initiative is good news for celebrities as it puts them directly in accessible range of audiences, which is extremely important in this digital age. Whether it is music album launches or any kind of announcements, we see more and more celebrities choosing social media and other digital platform to relay such informations to their fans. If you are not interacting with your fans through facebook or Twitter you are losing out on a lot of fanbase,” shared popular celebrity management agency CAA Kwan founding partner Indranil Das Blah.
In terms of brand value as well, it is important for celebrities to maintain their online presence and leverage it with fan engagements. “More and more brands are looking at the digital space for marketing themselves. And therefore naturally looking out for a digital footprint to grow. It helps to have a brand ambassador who has a digital footprint in place already,” pointed out Blah.
Blue Room may have gone public only now but several actors, musicians, chefs, CEOs and sports stars have already tried out the Blue Room at twitter’s office in India. Actors Kalki Koechlin (@kalkikanmani) and Karan Tacker (@karantacker) kicked off some of the first @video Q&As in the #BlueRoom using #AskKalki and #AskKaran.
Several excited fans sent out questions to the actress, some even asking her to carry out funny challenges as well:
Look who’s joining us in the #BlueRoom very shortly! Tweet your questions to #AskKalki & @kalkikanmani will reply https://twitter.com/kalkikanmani/status/735353594875105280 …
iWorld
T20 World Cup ’26: India–England semi-final sets global streaming record of 619 million views on JioHotstar
India–England semi-final records 65.2 million peak streams
MUMBAI: The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 set a new milestone in global sports streaming, as the India–England semi-final drew record digital audiences on JioHotstar.
The match on 5 March registered 65.2 million peak concurrent viewers, the highest ever recorded for a live event on any streaming platform worldwide. The semi-final also generated 619 million views, making it the most streamed T20 international match in history.
The landmark audience numbers were driven largely by viewers in India, setting a record achieved within a single market, rather than through aggregated viewership across multiple countries.
The high-scoring encounter between India national cricket team and England cricket team produced 499 runs across both innings, fuelling widespread fan engagement across platforms.
According to the International Cricket Council, the digital record surpassed the previous global benchmark of 65 million concurrent viewers, set in November 2024 by another international streaming platform.
Across television and digital platforms combined, the semi-final reached more than 320 million viewers, while total watch time exceeded 23 billion minutes, making it the most watched T20 international match ever.
“This World Cup demonstrates the immense passion of cricket fans and the progress made in bringing the game closer to audiences worldwide,” said ICC chairman Jay Shah.
“This moment reflects the scale of cricket fandom in India and the technological capability required to serve hundreds of millions of viewers simultaneously.”
JioStar vice-chairman Uday Shankar, said the audience surge underscored the future of large-scale digital entertainment.
“One in every three Indians tuned in to watch the second semi-final. Delivering such an experience at scale requires the very best of technology,” he said.
The 619 million views during the match also eclipsed the 533 million views recorded during the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
With the final yet to be played, the 2026 tournament has already set multiple benchmarks in audience reach and digital engagement.
India will face the New Zealand national cricket team in the final on 8 March at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The match will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network and streamed on JioHotstar.
