iWorld
Hotstar notches record 340 million views during WC
MUMBAI: The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 has registered 340 million video views on Hotstar through the tourney making it the most viewed sporting event ever on digital in the world. The eleventh edition of the World Cup registered a record 87 million unique users on Star’s digital platforms – Hotstar and starsports.com, over the course of the tournament, the highest ever aggregation of users for a sporting event on digital, claims Star India.
With 13.5 billion hits during the course of the event, the tournament registered an all-time high for any single digital broadcaster for a sporting event globally. The tournament also created global history for digital viewership with 50 million video views for the India Australia semi-final clash, the largest for a single event for any broadcaster anywhere in the world on digital. The game surpassed the previous record of 25 million video views set by the India – Pakistan league game of the WC.
Speaking on the achievement, Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said, “The tournament logged record views on digital from the opening day itself and broke the internet during the India – Pakistan game. Mobile has emerged as a preferred platform for the 87 million Indians, and we will look to renew the fans’ relationship with their sport again with the Pepsi IPL on Hotstar.”
Hotstar will stream all the 60 games of the Pepsi IPL live, including the qualifiers, eliminators and the final. With a dramatic surge in viewership on digital platforms in the last 12 months, Hotstar is likely to reach more than 100 million fans over the course of the IPL. Hotstar will also be programming a digital-only pre show that builds on the dramatic success of the two original shows it created for the WC, One Tip One Hand and Juicy Half Volley.
The Pepsi IPL has also witnessed interest from a mix of large traditional advertisers as well as new advertisers looking to associate with cricket. Key categories of advertisers include two-wheelers, four-wheelers, e-commerce, FMCG, handsets and durables.
Hotstar digital platform that has content across sports, TV shows and movies in seven languages, was launched on 1 February, 2015, 14 days before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. With over 12 million downloads in a month, the application has witnessed the fastest adoption of any digital service in the world.
iWorld
Tips Music CEO Hari Nair to step down
Girish Taurani and Sushant Dalmia to jointly steer the company as the hunt for a new chief begins
MUMBAI: A leadership shuffle is under way at Tips Music. Hari Nair, the company’s chief executive, will step down on April 30 as the music label begins the search for a successor.
The company said Girish Taurani, executive director, and Sushant Dalmia, chief financial officer, will jointly oversee operations during the transition while the board identifies a permanent replacement.
Nair joined Tips Music in 2023 and set about reshaping the veteran music label into a more digital, data-led enterprise. During his tenure, the company secured licensing and partnership deals with global platforms including Sony Music Publishing and TikTok, while renewing agreements with Warner Music Group.
Drawing on earlier experience in technology and entertainment, including a stint at ByteDance, Nair pushed the organisation towards a performance-driven culture. He built a brand partnerships division and introduced proprietary software systems aimed at strengthening digital distribution and data capabilities.
Kumar Taurani, chairman and managing director, credited Nair with embedding a data-led culture within the company and driving revenue growth in line with shareholder commitments.
In his resignation note, Nair said that after helping transition the label into a modern, digitally focused and process-driven organisation, the time had come to pursue his next leadership challenge.
The leadership change comes as the broader Tips Films group shows signs of financial stabilisation. In the third quarter of FY26 the company reported a net loss of Rs 2.86 crore, narrowing sharply from Rs 14.2 crore in the previous quarter. For the nine months ended December, losses stood at Rs 12.37 crore.
Yet revenue told a more volatile story. Income from operations slid to Rs 4 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 56 crore in the preceding quarter, taking total operating income to Rs 4.56 crore.
For a company built on a catalogue of more than 34,000 tracks and decades of Bollywood hits, the next chief will inherit both a digital engine and a volatile music market. The playlist may be familiar, but the next act at Tips Music is only just beginning.
