iWorld
Socialsamosa.com to host ‘Social Media Mentoring’ session for start-ups
MUMBAI: 15 experts over five days will give an insight to businesses on the new tool of communication: social media. Conducted by Socialsamosa.com starting 21 October, the social media mentoring session aims at aiding start-up companies with an opportunity to enjoy a private 30 minute session with a social media expert from within the industry.
With social media transforming into serious business and a platform to engage and retain customers along with being cost effective, small business entrepreneurs are adopting it instantly. The social media mentoring session will help companies in finding answers to the ever changing and evolving platform.
Speaking on the event Socialsamosa.com co-founder Aditya Gupta said, “Start-ups are often overwhelmed with the growing number of social platforms and fail to strategise and create power packed campaigns that can lead to fulfillment of crucial business goals. For instance, Myntra derives a good amount of its web traffic through social media and likewise e-commerce start-ups can boost their footprints too. To facilitate this process we have initiated private mentoring sessions which I believe can truly build social media marketing direction for any start-up brand.”
Participating companies can choose slots between 11 am and 3 pm during the five days of the session. 45 start-ups can choose a slot and a speaker depending on the area of expertise and business strengths. So for those interested in understanding how listening, monitoring or analysing social conversations can help their business, can book a slot with someone working with analytics tool/platform.
Socialsamosa.com co-founder Ankita Gaba added, “We realise that there is a need within the start-up ecology to understand and acquire a thorough understanding of social platforms and hence we have organised this knowledge sharing activity through Social Samosa school, our sub-portal. The private hangout will ensure a healthy interaction through a two way knowledge sharing and building exercise. We did a twangout [combination of live Google hangout and tweets] with Harshil Karia on how startups can use social media. But that was one to many, one expert answering multiple questions of multiple start-ups. This time we have gone beyond the general sharing of knowledge and moved to business specific mentoring, ensuring a highly personalised brand experience.”
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.
