Sports
News18 India launches Stump Mic cricket talk show
Light, fan-first chat and sharp takes air daily through T20 World Cup
NEW DELHI: With the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup warming up the cricketing calendar, News18 India is stepping up to the crease with Stump Mic, a new talk show that swaps heavy analysis for breezy, fan-first conversation. The programme went on air on 7 February and will run through the tournament.
Hosted by Anand Narasimhan, Stump Mic promises the sort of candid chatter usually heard only on the field, blending sharp opinions, match insights and offbeat stories from the cricketing circuit. The tone is light, the takes are frank, and the focus stays firmly on what fans want to hear.
The panel brings together familiar faces from across the cricketing world, including former India batter and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar, ex-India fast bowler S Sreesanth, Indian pacer Umesh Yadav, former England spinner Monty Panesar and social media voice Yuvraj Dua. Adding a strong on-ground flavour, Vimal Kumar, better known as Vimalwa, joins the show with correspondents to deliver live updates, match-day atmosphere and fan reactions.
The show airs in two editions that bookend the day’s play. A pre-match segment from 3:50 pm to 4:50 pm sets the scene, while the post-match edition from 11 pm to midnight wraps up the action with analysis, reactions and standout moments.
True to its name, Stump Mic draws inspiration from the spontaneous exchanges picked up during live matches, mixing expert insight with easy banter and fan-centric moments. The show airs on India match days only on News18 India.
Sports
JioStar terminates Bangladesh IPL and WPL broadcast rights deals
Payment defaults lead to licence cancellations and potential legal action.
MUMBAI: When the money stops flowing in cricket’s biggest cash cow, even the sub-licence holders can find themselves suddenly bowled out. JioStar India Private Limited has terminated its Bangladesh sub-licence agreements for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Women’s Premier League (WPL) after the counterparty, Excel Lead IT Solutions FZ-LLC (holding company of broadcaster T-Sports), failed to clear outstanding dues.
The agreements, originally signed with Viacom18 (now part of JioStar) and later novated to Excel Lead, covered digital media rights for the IPL and WPL in Bangladesh for the 2023–27 seasons. In early January 2026, JioStar issued a demand notice for unpaid amounts related to the IPL 2025 and WPL 2025 seasons. Despite providing full access to matches and allowing complete commercial exploitation, the dues remained unpaid even after the cure period expired.
As a result, all licensed rights have automatically reverted to JioStar. The company has demanded immediate payment of all outstanding dues along with overdue interest and costs, and has instructed Excel Lead (T-Sports) to immediately cease any broadcast, streaming, promotion or exploitation of the rights in Bangladesh. Any continued use would constitute unauthorised exploitation.
JioStar is also considering legal proceedings, including interim and injunctive relief, to protect the commercial value of these high-profile cricket properties.
In a separate development, JioStar has invoked arbitration against Green Bean Sports Marketing (an affiliate of Gazi TV Bangladesh) over a sublicensing agreement for IPL television media rights in Bangladesh for the 2023–27 seasons. The agreement was terminated in January 2025 due to contractual breaches and payment issues.
Industry sources say JioStar remains confident in the judicial process and is determined to recover all outstanding amounts, including interest and litigation costs, in full.
The developments highlight a growing zero-tolerance approach by rights holders towards payment defaults and unauthorised exploitation in South Asia’s lucrative sports media market, where marquee cricket properties continue to command premium valuations.
In the high-stakes game of cricket broadcasting, it seems JioStar has decided that when payments don’t come, the game stops and the rights go back to the rightful owner.
