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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Reliance Industries Ltd-backed JioStar is betting on “unprecedented viewing" for the 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which kicks off on Saturday night, as the newly merged media entity brings both TV and digital rights under one umbrella. The unified rights ownership marks a reset for IPL distribution, offering scale across platforms without internal competition, Kiran Mani, chief executive officer-digital, JioStar, said in an interview with Mint.

Nike's turnaround effort is hitting snags as the company tries to clear out old inventory while feeling the effects of a growing trade war. The sportswear maker signaled further declines in revenue and profitability due to an ongoing merchandise reset that the company says is necessary to renew growth. Nike also expects gross margin to decline sharply in the current quarter from a year earlier, in part due to US tariffs on products from China and Mexico. Chief executive officer Elliott Hill, a longtime Nike executive who came out of retirement to take the top role in October, is looking to guide the company back to growth after a difficult year of falling sales and corporate layoffs. He's reshaping Nike by refocusing on sports and mending relationships with its retail partners. Nike is in the midst of clearing out stale merchandise through heavy discounting as demand fades for some of its biggest sneaker franchises, including Air Force 1s and Dunks. Inventory fell 2% in the period but Chief Financial Officer Matt Friend said those levels remain «elevated across all categories.» The company is trying to turn things around against a backdrop of weak consumer spending and fallout from President Donald Trump's escalating trade war. China also remained a weak spot, with sales missing analyst expectations amid a prolonged consumer slump in the market. But performance in North America and the region that includes Europe, Africa and the Middle East came in better than expected.

With a total watch time of approximately 250 billion minutes, including 137 billion minutes on Star Sports and 110 billion minutes on JioHotstar, the tournament’s success was driven by several matches to remember, particularly the grand finale between India and New Zealand on 9 March in Dubai. The final saw peak concurrent viewership reach 122 million on TV and 61 million on JioHotstar, setting a new benchmark for digital viewership in cricket. The final became the second highest-rated ODI in TV history outside of World Cup matches, drawing 230 million viewers and accumulating 53 billion minutes of watch-time across television and digital platforms. A key highlight of the tournament was the India-Pakistan league-stage clash in Dubai, which had the audience stuck to their seats and became one of the most-watched ODIs in India.

ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 has set new benchmarks in viewership, surpassing all previous multi-nation cricket tournaments in India, including the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. The tournament witnessed a staggering 23% increase in TV ratings, reaffirming cricket’s dominance in the country’s sports landscape.

Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies declined on Friday as escalating geopolitical tensions and concerns over US tariffs dampened investor appetite for risk. Global policymakers struck a cautious tone amid central bank meetings this week, highlighting economic and political uncertainty. The US Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, and Bank of England all kept interest rates unchanged, citing trade tensions and inflation risks.

Rupee billionaire MLAs. Cynics would explain this as an appalling display of power distance in a money-obsessed public life, but the South’s overwhelming representation in the HNI lawmakers’ club is as much a symbol of peninsular India’s broader prosperity as is the glaring regional disparity in staples-loaded retail inflation. In economic terms, the two pieces of data indicate the South’s burgeoning wealth effect – across the spectrum. India’s consumer inflation gauge, with a disproportionate rural weighting of basic food items and a still substantial urban weighting, has fallen below the 4% legal mandate in February to a seven-month low. However, a region-based analysis of inflation data indicates the South has averaged higher on the metric, presumably driven by demand, as those migrating from the less prosperous northern, eastern and central states seek toeholds in bustling economic hubs such as Coimbatore, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, and Cochin. “The region-wise index share CAGR growth during FY12 to FY25 (until Feb 2025) indicates that the southern region has the highest CAGR inflation of 6% in overall inflation,” SBI Research said in a study that analysed inflation across states and federally administered areas over the past 14 years. Curiously, inflation in the South trended above the national average over the period in both rural and urban areas, indicating prosperity across the geographic spectrum – and possibly the impact of labour migration from the less economically advantaged states into even remote villages in the South – particularly the remittance-heavy Kerala.

Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta said Thursday it would launch its generative artificial intelligence assistant Meta AI in the European Union from «this week», more than a year after the service's US release. «It's taken longer than we would have liked to get our AI technology into the hands of people in Europe as we continue to navigate its complex regulatory system — but we're glad we're finally here,» the company said in a statement. «Starting this week, Meta AI will begin rolling out across 41 European countries.»

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai/New Delhi: A fake job post on LinkedIn forced Nestlé India Ltd chairman and managing director Suresh Narayanan to debunk the scam. The menace, however, is far bigger, as multiple companies have reported such sham advertisements.

Showtime.

When Calls the Heart Season 12 is coming to an end with Episode 12, titled Must Be Gold. The episode will be available on March 23, 2025, at 9/8c on the Hallmark Channel. The series follows a fixed release schedule.

ARAI) to probe the mismatch between Ola Electric's reported sales figures and actual vehicle registrations along with numerous consumer complaints against the Bhavish Aggarwal-owned electric two-wheeler maker and submit a report within 15 days, sources said. While the total number of registrations by Ola Electric on the Vahan portal for February stood at 8,652, the company had reported sales of over 25,000 units during February 2025. As of March 20, the company's registrations stood at 11,781 on the Vahan portal. Ola Electric is a beneficiary of the FAME II and PM E-DRIVE schemes and its eligibility certificate has been provided by ARAI, a certification and testing agency under the administrative control of the ministry.

Accenture raised the lower end of its annual revenue forecast on Thursday, betting on growing demand for its services to help clients integrate AI-powered tools into their operations. Strong demand for large-scale projects in cloud migration, artificial intelligence-led digital transformation and data security has helped companies such as Accenture.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. On 30 November 2022, technology started talking back. It was the day when OpenAI unleashed ChatGPT into the wild.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have been shifting their focus from large-cap stocks to select smaller companies, reshaping investment patterns in the Indian market. In the December 2024 quarter, FIIs increased their stake in only nine Nifty 50 firms while trimming positions in the rest.

digital arrest scam operation that possessed data of 20,000 pensioners, including their banking information from various states, leaving officials astounded. A previous operation last year led authorities to discover prepared scripts containing calculated dialogues aimed at deceiving and pressuring elderly targets. Digital arrest fraudsters have become increasingly sophisticated, utilising advanced methods and extensive personal information. Their leaders, typically operating from foreign locations, leave authorities dealing primarily with lower-level operatives. Officials discovered an intricate system of deception capable of trapping vigilant people. «They seem very organised from step one. They employ scripted fraud speeches, carefully crafted to instil fear and panic, making targets more susceptible to the scammers' demands,» explained a cyber cell officer. «The scripts are scientifically tailored to exploit the target's vulnerabilities, such as their age, health or financial situation, making these speeches even more effective at extracting money and information from unsuspecting individuals.» These criminals select their targets deliberately. They utilise various methods to acquire sensitive banking information, focusing on elderly customers. Their techniques include social engineering, data breach exploitation, and collaboration with corrupt bank staff who share confidential customer information.

Bitcoin Reserves are currently the talk of the town. These new-gen reserves around crypto assets shows the on-going paradigm shift in financial technology, and its adoption worldwide utilized in stabilizing national funds. Governments can now validate the proof of digital assets for the public and at the same time diversify portfolios, mitigating risks associated with traditional market risks. This approach has gained traction globally, with recent developments in the United States potentially influencing other nations and maybe can do the same in India.

Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & Highways emphasized the nation's commitment to reducing logistics costs from the current 14-16 per cent to single digits, positioning India to compete effectively with global economic powerhouses like China and the US, at 32nd Convergence India & 10th Smart Cities India Expo. This year's expo features advancements in 5G & 6G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, IoT, Cybersecurity, Augmented & Virtual Reality (AR/VR), Embedded Tech, Fintech, Urban Mobility, and Smart City Solutions. Attendees will also have access to the latest developments in Digital Gaming, Mobile Devices & Accessories, OTT Platforms, Security & Surveillance, E-commerce, Mobile Apps, Drone Technology, and more.

Tata Communications Thursday announced the launch of Tata Communications Vayu, the next-gen Cloud fabric for enterprise IT. It aims to tackle rising cloud costs, multi-cloud complexities, and Al infrastructure demands empowering businesses to navigate the Intelligent Enterprise era, the company said in a release. The Cloud fabric is built for ease and control, integrating laaS, PaaS, Al Platform, Security, Cloud Connectivity, and professional services into a single, intelligent ecosystem. It eliminates management complexity, reduces operational costs and ensures enterprises can scale effortlessly without vendor lock-in. The fabric delivers up to 30 per cent cost-saving with a transparent pricing model, built-in Finops automation, and multi-Cloud flexibility, while optimising workload performance.

Liqvd Asia, a digital-first advertising agency, has acquired AdLift, a performance marketing and SEO agency for Rs 50 crore. This move aims to reshape digital marketing and position Liqvd Asia as a force in integrated marketing, combining branding, content, SEO, and AI-driven performance marketing to deliver business impact. Founded in 2013, Liqvd Asia has built a reputation for digital branding and content-driven campaigns. By acquiring AdLift, known for data-driven performance marketing, the agency strengthens its position as a full-funnel marketing leader, offering clients ROI-driven strategies to maximise brand impact and growth.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Gen Z in India is falling flat for re-released romantic films, never mind if some of them were flops of yesteryear. While there have been re-releases galore in cinemas over the past few months, there is a significantly higher draw for romantic dramas, including flops such as Laila Majnu, Rockstar and Sanam Teri Kasam.