iWorld
DeadAnt’s DACA 2024 Comedy Awards return for 4th edition
Mumbai: DeadAnt, a media and entertainment company that’s at the leading edge of Indian comedy, today announced the much-anticipated fourth edition of India’s only comedy accolades: the DeadAnt Comedy Awards (DACA). Celebrating the pinnacle of comedic brilliance across diverse categories, DACA 2024 will honour comedians and comedy creators who entertained us and made us laugh in 2023. Starting from 18th May, fans can cast their votes for their favourite comedians—and their contributions to the world of comedy—in 10 popular categories on DeadAnt’s official website. The winners across all segments will be announced soon.
The competition will be at an all-time high with exciting face-offs in store at DACA 2024. From Zakir Khan, Tanmay Bhat, and Abhishek Upmanyu to Kusha Kapila, Shreeja Chaturvedi, and Urooj Ashfaq, among many others, India’s biggest and most talented comedians will be pitted against each other for the coveted titles. The ‘Best Online Comedy Special’ category will witness 15 renowned comedians going head-to-head, including Zakir Khan, Aakash Gupta, Biswa Kalyan Rath, and Anubhav Singh Bassi, among others. The ‘Best TV/Web Series/Format Show by a Comedian’ category will keep comedy superfans on the edge of their seats with nominees including Permanent Roommates S3, Guns & Gulaabs, Happy Family: Conditions Apply, and more. Furthermore, Kusha Kapila, who won Funniest Person On The Indian Internet Award last edition, will gear up to defend her title as she faces off against the likes of Niharika NM, Srishti Dixit, Vishnu Kaushal, Jose Covaco, to name a few, who are in the running for the accolade this edition around. But that’s not all! DACA 2024 will also feature Critics’ Choice Awards and Peer Picks Awards–each judged by a special hand-picked jury–which will be announced shortly as well.
DeadAnt founder & CEO Ravina Rawal remarked: “We are excited to return with another exciting edition of DeadAnt Comedy Awards, recognising talent in the Indian comedy landscape. Our beloved artists have achieved instrumental milestones in recent times, elevating the scale of Indian comedy culture to new heights, and we look forward to honouring them at DACA 2024. We invite all comedy superfans to be a part of this one-of-its-kind celebration of comedic excellence by voting in large numbers for their favourite comedians. After all, fans will play an integral role in helping them win big across various categories.”
Voting for DeadAnt Comedy Awards 2024 is now live on http://www.deadant.co/DACA24 with the winners set to be unveiled soon.
MUMBAI: If cricket were a binge-worthy series, this one just dropped its most explosive pilot yet. The opening weekend of the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League has come out swinging, smashing records across both television and digital platforms and reaffirming the tournament’s unmatched pull in India’s sporting and media landscape.
Backed by two high-octane matches featuring 200-plus run chases, the tournament delivered a combined reach of over 515 million viewers across linear TV and digital platforms via JioStar’s broadcast ecosystem, including Star Sports and JioHotstar. More tellingly, engagement surged alongside reach, with total watch-time hitting 32.6 billion minutes, a sharp 26 per cent jump over the opening weekend of the previous season.
The numbers reveal a deeper shift in how India watches cricket. Connected TV (CTV) consumption rose by 30 per cent, while peak concurrency on digital platforms jumped 61 per cent, signalling a growing appetite for shared, big-screen streaming experiences. On traditional television, the momentum held strong, with TV ratings (TVR) climbing 24 per cent compared to earlier seasons’ opening matches.
A key driver of this spike has been the evolution of the viewing experience itself. This season introduced differentiated feeds, most notably a Hindi CTV broadcast featuring cricketing voices such as Ravichandran Ashwin, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan. Blending expert analysis with a watch-along format, the feed has added a conversational, almost second-screen feel without requiring viewers to leave their screens.
According to JioStar CEO for Sports Ishan Chatterjee, at the opening weekend underscores not just scale but also the depth of engagement that live cricket continues to command. He noted that the combination of large-screen viewing and digital interactivity is creating a more immersive and personalised experience, while also delivering tangible outcomes for brand partners.
From the league’s perspective, the early numbers point to a tournament that continues to reinvent itself. Arun Singh Dhumal, Chairman of the IPL, said the strong start reflects how high-quality cricket paired with enhanced viewing formats is resonating with audiences nationwide, while Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Devajit Saikia highlighted the “quality of engagement” as a key takeaway, not just the scale.
Commercially too, the opening weekend signals robust advertiser confidence. The broadcast is led by co-presenting sponsors including Google (Search AI Mode), Campa Energy, and Havells & Lloyd, alongside co-powered partners such as Birla Opus, Hero Motocorp and Amazon. A long tail of associate sponsors from OpenAI and Asian Paints to Flipkart and Amul further reflects the league’s unmatched ability to aggregate advertiser interest at scale.
Taken together, the opening weekend numbers are less a spike and more a statement. With 515 million viewers, 32.6 billion minutes of watch-time, and double-digit growth across formats, IPL 2026 has not just started strong, it has set the tone for a season that looks poised to push the boundaries of both sport and spectacle.
