News Broadcasting
NBC’s Sci Fi channel inks multimedia deal with Virgin Comics
MUMBAI: Sci Fi Channel, an NBC Universal network, is teaming up with Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Comics to create a co-branded multimedia partnership called Sci Fi/Virgin Comics.
With five new comic book titles serving as a jumping off point, Sci Fi/Virgin Comics will develop fresh properties that integrate the spirit and vitality of both brands. Delivering innovative, multi-platform projects, original concepts will be considered across all mediums from publishing, film and television to digital and gaming.
The announcement was made today by, Sci Fi Executive Vice President and general manager Dave Howe and Virgin Comics CEO and publisher Sharad Devarajan at New York Comic Con, the season’s pop culture and comic book event.
The first Sci Fi/Virgin titles, distributed by Diamond Comics, can be expected to hit shelves later this year, informs an official release.
“Virgin Comics and I are delighted to collaborate with Sci Fi and the rest of the NBC Universal family,” said Sir Richard Branson, “to create stories that will inspire a new generation of thinkers and dreamers throughout the world.”
“Sci Fi/Virgin Comics marks an important step in our strategy to extend the Sci Fi brand into new cross-media platforms. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Virgin Comics to create exciting new titles, characters and stories that can live beyond the pages of the comic book,” added Howe. “Virgin is the perfect brand to help us connect with the youth audience around the world.”
“With Sci Fi we are changing the face of the comic book industry – seamlessly developing characters and stories for books, television, online and other media,” said Devarajan. “Together we are creating stories as innovative as the ways consumers will get to experience them.”
Utilizing the global creative and synergistic resources that exist both at Sci Fi Channel and Virgin Comics, the partnership will aim to attract some of the biggest names and talent from the worlds of comic books, television and movies. Sci Fi and Virgin Comics will bring together a multimedia, creative editorial board with members representing comic books, television, movies, digital, gaming, licensing and merchandising.
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.
