iWorld
Sports only OTT service Veqta to launch in June
MUMBAI: With the aim of expanding its portfolio, Veqta, a digital broadcast network dedicated to sports is all geared up to launch its OTT service in June 2016. With the launch of the platform, the venture will also roll-out its application followed by content in various regional languages.
Through this platform, sports fans across India can engage into various other categories of sports content that they have not yet explored. Breaking apart from the other content providers, Veqta plans to provide content via on-demand videos and live streaming.
“Veqta will follow a very friendly content format. There is very little sports content for the viewers. We will be a destination for sports fans to enjoy high quality content coming from the biggest names in the business”, asserts Veqta co-founder and director Varun Mathur.
It has raised $500,000 (Rs 3.4 cr) in seed funding from Chatsworth Management and sports management company ITW Consulting Pvt. Ltd. The firm had earlier received initial-stage backing from ITW.
“What will make us different form the rest is our packaging, our different formats of short form and live streaming content as well as feeds in various regional languages which everyone can understand,” says Mathur.
The platform will follow the freemium model wherein the users will have some content available for free while there will be a pay wall for some premium content. Its offerings will include licensed content and flagship studio content across various ‘underpunctuated’ categories like cricket, football, motorsports, basketball, tennis, badminton and a range of Olympic sports.
The venture has signed deals with various international partners from the field of sports. The venture has not locked deals with any advertisers as of yet and are just focused at expanding its consumer reach, building team and strengthening its product development.
Taking a hint from this, it will be interesting to see whether the other OTT players like HotStar, Spuul, Hooq, Eros Now, Sony Liv, Ditto TV, VOOT, etc, might also look at mushrooming their target niche audiences.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
