News Broadcasting
Chess Grandmasters now on Zapak.com
BANGALORE: Zapak Digital Entertainment (Zapak) a Reliance ADA Group venture, announced the launch of India’s first full-feature online ‘Multiplayer Chess’.
The Multiplayer Option provides the advantage of playing against your friend who could be anywhere across the world, and also has three difficulty levels; for beginners, advanced players and experts. Zapak.com also launched ‘Multiplayer Speed Chess’, where the player has only ten seconds to make a move.
Koneru Humpy, the Reigning World Junior Champion, only 33 ELO points away from being called ‘Super Grandmaster Champion’ and Tania Sachdeva, the Reigning Asian Junior Girls Champion, unveiled the game and showcased the gameplay.
Speaking about the performance of the portal on this occasion, Zapak COO Rohit Sharma, said, “We have become the fastest growing portal in less than two months from launch reaching 5,00,000 registrations and crossing 5,00,00,000 page views.
The performance of the portal has surely exceeded our expectations and we are continuously adding new features on our website so that we exceed our players’ expectations. In fact we have even witnessed registrations from Vishakhapatnam, Siliguri, Jabalpur, Ludhiana, etc besides the Metros and even International Locations.
Computer gaming the world over is dominated by males – almost 85% of the gamers are male, however according to Sharma, Zapak has around 25-30% female subscribers, a swing from the norm, while discussing the current three TVC’s on air which focus on males. The TVCs’ have been created by Marketing Ants, while the Reliance internal team handles the media part. Over the last two months since the launch of the gaming site around Rs.45 million have been spent on the media campaign according to Reliance Entertainment president Rajesh Sawhney.
Currently on offer is a bouquet of 160 plus games on the site with plans to ramp this number up to 500 games by the end of March this year. Zapak also announced an online chess championship for the Zapak Grandmaster starting February 01 this year with a prize purse of Rs.100,000/- for the Grandmaster.
According to Reliance estimates, the global gaming industry is worth around US$45 billion and is expected to grow to US$53 billion (which would make it larger than the Hollywood film industry), while that of the Indian industry is expected to grow to US$424 million by 2010.
News Broadcasting
News18 India launches Command Centre war explainer with Arya
New show shifts from debates to decoding global conflicts and impacts
MUMBAI: News18 India has rolled out a new war-focused programme, Command Centre, featuring Gaurav Arya, as it looks to offer viewers a sharper, more grounded take on global conflicts amid rising tensions in West Asia.
Positioned as an “insider war room”, the show moves away from conventional panel debates and instead focuses on explaining military developments, decoding strategy and connecting global events to their everyday impact, from fuel prices to economic shifts.
The format leans heavily on visuals and data. The studio has been designed like a command hub, complete with large LED war maps, real-time graphics and an alert system to track developments as they unfold.
At the centre of it all is Arya, who brings his military background to simplify complex war strategies for viewers. His signature line, “Seedhi baat samjhiye”, anchors the show’s promise of clarity over noise.
News18 India managing editor Jyoti Kamal said, “Command Centre, featuring Major Gaurav Arya is designed to deliver accurate insights and a clear perspective on how evolving conflicts impact everyday life, from household budgets to national security. With expert voices analysing every development in real time, the show goes beyond headlines to decode what’s happening now, what it means, and what could come next.”
Echoing the intent, Gaurav Arya added, “In times of war, confusion is the biggest threat. With News18 India’s Command Centre, we are bringing viewers inside the war room, decoding strategies, tracking every escalation, and explaining, in the simplest terms, what it means for India and for every household. Seedhi baat samjhiye, this is where you understand not just what is happening, but what happens next.”
The weekday show will air in the afternoon slot and will also feature Gaurav Shukla, adding to its editorial depth.
With its mix of analysis, visuals and a clear focus on impact, the show reflects a broader shift in news consumption. Viewers are no longer just watching events unfold, they are looking to understand what those events mean for them.
