iWorld
Womens’s World Cup final draws record viewers on Hotstar
MUMBAI: Cricket continues to rule in India. Even if you don’t have the likes of Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma on the field or screen.
The team at the 21st Century Fox owned Hotstar were more than happy to discover the upscaling in viewership that even women’s cricket has been getting.
The recently concluded ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 final featuring India and England has notched up new records, if a press release from Hotstar is to be believed. The Indian cricketing eves lost by a slender margin; England’s ladies kept their nerves to pick up their trophy.
Hotstar says India’s second-ever entry into a Women’s World Cup final had a peak concurrency of 1.9 million simultaneous viewers. And this happened in the tragic forty eighth over with India needing 11 runs to win off 12 balls.
The release syas that “this was higher than the average concurrency of many of the marquee men’s cricket tournaments on Hotstar in the last year, a feat in its own right and an inflection point in women’s sports. While Vivo IPL 2017 saw a predictable list of state-wise tune-ins, consistent with team loyalties, the Women’s World Cup saw a surprise entrant in UP, which along with Maharashtra, contributed to 25 per cent of total viewership.”
iWorld
Samay Raina returns with Still Alive, confronts 2025 controversy in bold comeback special
Comeback set tackles controversy, blending humour with raw storytelling
MUMBAI: Samay Raina is set to release his new stand-up comedy special, Still Alive, on YouTube on April 7, 2026, marking a high-profile return following a turbulent year.
The trailer for the special dropped on April 5, offering a glimpse into what Raina describes as a raw and unfiltered set that leans as much on honesty as it does on humour.
Positioned as a comeback of sorts, Still Alive draws heavily from the controversy surrounding his show India’s Got Latent in early 2025. The episode led to legal trouble, multiple FIRs, and a lengthy six-hour interrogation by the Maharashtra Cyber Cell, placing the comedian at the centre of intense public scrutiny.
Rather than sidestep the episode, Raina leans into it. The special reflects on the fallout and his personal journey through it, blending observational comedy with moments of emotional candour. Early audience feedback from live performances suggests the tone is less about rapid-fire punchlines and more about storytelling with bite.
The special was filmed during his global Still Alive & Unfiltered tour, which ran from August 2025 to early 2026. The tour saw Raina perform across major international venues, including the Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York, a milestone that places him among the youngest Indian comedians to take that stage.
The title itself signals resilience. “Still Alive” is a nod to navigating both legal and public backlash while choosing to remain unapologetically authentic, a theme that appears to anchor the set.
With the special set to premiere online, all eyes are now on how audiences respond to a performance that promises equal parts reflection and wit. For Raina, the message is clear. He is not just back, he is ready to be heard on his own terms.
