iWorld
MobiKwik’s journey spotted on Bharat FinTech story streaming on Disney+ Hotstar
Mumbai: MobiKwik, a digital financial services platforms, is to be featured in the “Bharat Fintech Story” documentary series, produced by Edstead. This compelling series, now available for streaming on Disney+ Hotstar, highlights MobiKwik’s transformative impact on India’s financial ecosystem by empowering over 150 million people across the country with digital financial products and services.
The Bharat Fintech Story is the first-of-its-kind docu-series spotlighting five fintech startups that are revolutionizing financial services in India. Among these trailblazers, MobiKwik’s journey is particularly notable, showcasing its evolution from a one-room home office to becoming the first fintech in India to achieve full-year profitability and now preparing for its debut on the stock exchange.
The documentary delves into the story of MobiKwik’s founders, Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku, and their mission to simplify digital payments and promote financial inclusion for millions of Indians. Through candid interviews and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, viewers gain insight into the challenges, achievements, and milestones that have defined MobiKwik’s journey.
One of the key highlights of the episode is MobiKwik’s relentless pursuit of bridging the digital divide, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. From simplifying everyday transactions, and effectively connecting merchants with users to offering seamless credit options, the docu-series showcases how MobiKwik continues to play a pivotal role in the financial lives of millions.
“MobiKwik’s inclusion in this series is a testament to our commitment to driving financial inclusion and empowering every Indian with digital financial services,” said MobiKwik co-founder and CFO Upasana Taku. “We are honored to share our story on such a prestigious platform and hope it inspires more entrepreneurs to create meaningful change in the world of fintech.”
The episode also highlights MobiKwik’s diverse range of products, which serve the hinterlands of India, showcasing its impact in reaching and supporting underserved regions.
The Bharat Fintech Story on Disney+ Hotstar is a must-watch for anyone interested in the dynamic world of fintech and the future of digital financial services in India.
Gaming
India’s broadcasters say no to Fifa World Cup 2026
Fifa has slashed its asking price by 65 per cent but India’s broadcasters are still not buying
MUMBAI: The world’s biggest sporting event cannot find a single taker in the world’s most sports-mad nation. Fifa’s television rights for the 2026 World Cup remain unsold in India, and the clock is ticking loudly.
To shift the property, world football’s governing body has already swallowed hard and cut its asking price from $100m to $35m, bundling in the 2030 edition as a sweetener. It has not worked. Indian broadcasters have looked at the offer, done the sums and quietly walked away.
The reasons are brutally simple. The 2026 tournament, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, kicks off in a time zone that turns India’s primetime into a graveyard shift. Most matches will air between midnight and 7am IST, a scheduling catastrophe for advertisers chasing mass reach. The 2022 Qatar edition was a gift by comparison, with matches dropping neatly into Indian evenings. North America offers no such luxury.
The market itself has also changed beyond recognition. The merger of Star India and Viacom18 into JioStar has gutted the competitive tension that once sent sports rights prices soaring. Where rival bidders once slugged it out, there is now a single dominant buyer, and it is in no hurry. JioStar has valued the rights at roughly $25m, a full $10m below Fifa’s already-discounted floor price. That gap has so far proved unbridgeable.
Broadcasters are also nursing a ferocious cricket hangover. Between 2022 and 2023, Indian media houses committed well over $10bn to cricket rights alone, covering IPL, ICC events and BCCI domestic fixtures combined. After a binge of that scale, appetite for a football package that delivers a fraction of the ratings, in the dead of night, is close to zero.
The economics of football broadcasting make the maths even harder. Cricket, with its natural breaks every few overs, is an advertiser’s paradise. Football offers a 15-minute halftime and precious little else. Recovering a nine-figure rights fee from a single half-hour ad window is a stretch at the best of times. These are not the best of times: the Indian government’s tightening grip on real-money gaming and gambling advertising has vaporised a category that once underwrote the economics of big sporting events.
Nor is the World Cup an anomaly. Indian Super League valuations have cratered. English Premier League rights have softened across successive cycles. The cooling of football as a broadcast commodity in India is structural, not cyclical.
With the tournament opening on 11th June, Fifa is running out of road. It may yet blink and meet JioStar at $25m. Or it may go direct, streaming the entire tournament on its own platform, Fifa+, or cutting a digital deal with YouTube, and hoping that a generation of Indian football fans finds its way there without a broadcaster to guide them.
Either way, the beautiful game’s Indian chapter is looking decidedly ugly.
