News Broadcasting
IBN 7, Loksatta partner for BMC election coverage
MUMBAI: IBN 7 will partner with Marathi publication Loksatta to air special programming in the days leading up to the Bombay Municipal Corporation Elections.
The IBN 7 coverage of the BMC elections started on 22 January and will continue till the final vote count on 2 February.
The special programming is based on a comprehensive survey by AC Nielsen which tests and reveals the true mood of the Mumbaikars on the state of their city.
The weekly series will have half-hour episodes culminating in a prime-time special on 2 February from Gateway of India in Mumbai featuring a panel of political representatives.
“Unlike in Delhi, there exists one municipal board across Mumbai city and its suburbs. This makes BMC a very important body and the process of electing its leaders even more so. IBN 7 is therefore dedicated to bringing its viewers the most up-to-date and accurate information regarding the elections including the sentiments of the Mumbaikars,” says, IBN 7 managing editor Ashutosh.
Loksatta group brand head Shankar Rao Shinde added “We at Loksatta are proud to be in partnership with IBN 7 to bring to our readers and viewers an in-depth look at the upcoming BMC polls. We intend to highlight the mood of the Mumbaikars on the state of their city and who they feel is most competent to bring about much-needed infrastructural and civic changes. I am confident that this initiative with IBN 7 will pave the way for a long standing association.”
News Broadcasting
Book Cricket gets a digital century on News18 amid T20 fever
Nostalgic classroom game revamped in English, Hindi plus Telugu on web and app.
MUMBAI: When the T20 World Cup fever hits fever pitch, News18 decides to flip the script straight back to the classroom. The digital news platform has revived the timeless schoolyard favourite Book Cricket as an interactive online game, perfectly timed to ride the cricket wave gripping fans across the globe. The reimagined Book Cricket ditches textbooks for smartphones, blending old-school nostalgia with modern gameplay. Once a sneaky recess pastime played by flicking book pages to score runs, the digital version now offers seamless fun for anyone craving a quick cricket fix between overs.
Available in English, Hindi and Telugu (with more languages planned across News18’s network), the game sits within the platform’s fast-growing gaming portfolio of over 20 titles, all built in-house. It joins event-driven hits like ‘Kursi Catcher’ and ‘Result Rewind’ during the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, plus festive specials such as ‘Durga’s Astras’ for Durga Puja and ‘Mouse Modak’ for Ganesh Chaturthi.
News18 Digital CEO Mitul Sangani said, “Gaming is a key pillar of our engagement strategy. At News18, we uniquely combine our newsroom agility with immersive gaming experiences. By blending credible content with interactive formats, we are creating meaningful engagement in an era defined by shrinking attention spans and evolving consumption habits.”
Select titles have expanded beyond News18.com to CNBC-TV18.com and Firstpost.com, reflecting the network’s push to deepen user interaction across platforms. The Book Cricket game is live now at https://www.news18.com/games/book-cricket/.
In a tournament where every boundary counts, News18’s digital Book Cricket proves the simplest games can still deliver the biggest smiles no syllabus required, just pure cricket joy one page-flip at a time.
