ENTERTAINMENT
RCB finally wins IPL, but don’t expect a brand boom for Kohli, Patidar or Pandya
Talent managers do not expect any significant upside for Kohli, who is already the most valued celebrity. For Krunal Pandya and Rajat Patidar, the win may result in a few brand deals, but experts do not see a major change in their endorsement game.
TRENDS
Gukesh-Magnus faceoff sparks strong viewership in India amid soaring chess popularity
The viewership for Gukesh-Magnus faceoff surged on popular chess platforms with Chess.com recording 202,000 views in India and Chessbase India seeing 172,000 views.
TRENDS
Gukesh-Magnus clash a big draw, says Norway Chess founder; eyes India for his next move
The World number one slamming the board and losing to the one player the Norwegian thought he would not lose to has led to a lot of social media buzz around Norway Chess.
TRAVEL
Turbulent summer hits travel sector: Longer routes, soaring airfares, falling demand
The India-Pakistan border tensions led to some major disruptions during the peak summer travel season, with destinations such as Leh and Manali seeing up to a 50% decline. On International routes such as Europe and the Middle East, bookings were down 15–20%. But recovery is in sight, say travel operators
ENTERTAINMENT
Chasing the next Endgame: Hollywood’s hunt for a big hit continues amid struggles in India
It seems to be a tall order for English movies to recover from the slump they faced last year, when their box office performance in India hit a post-pandemic low of Rs 941 crore.
TRAVEL
Anchors aweigh: India's cruise craze, record footfalls draw Singapore OTA to its shores
India boasts of a 7,500-km coastline and over 14,000 km of navigable rivers, making it a strong market for ocean and river cruise tourism.
EDUCATION
End of American Dream? Trump visa pause prompts more Indian students to explore Germany, Ireland, France
Several study abroad platforms report a surge in queries as the US pauses new student visa interviews and tightens social media vetting, prompting Indian students to reconsider their plans ahead of the Fall intake
TRENDS
ASCI flags widespread influencer ad violations, including on LinkedIn; sounds alarm on betting ads
The regulator investigated 121 LinkedIn influencer posts flagged by users for failing to disclose material connections.
BUSINESS
From regional reads to blockbusters: Siddharth Roy Kapur taps Pratilipi for fresh stories
The story-telling platform has over 1.6 million writers and over 12 million active monthly readers. Over 10 million stories have been published so far with 627 million stories being read in a month.
ENTERTAINMENT
Rewiring the remote: Dish TV bets on digital segment to stay in the game
Dish TV's CEO Manoj Dobhal is expanding the digital business under Watcho as it expects the over-the-top platform to become profitable soon.
TRENDS
Food Pharmer 2.0: Revant Himatsingka launches his OWN brand, to roll out certification
After calling out big food brands for falsely claiming that their products were healthy, Himatsingka is ready for the next phase of his mission.
TRAVEL
Maha Kumbh showed how India's spiritual quest turned into material gains for MakeMyTrip, Ixigo, Oyo
Spiritual tourism is increasing driving revenue of travel companies such as ixigo, MakeMyTrip and OYO, with the younger demographic emerging as a significant growth driver in this category. The rising trend has also prompted strong projections of job creation as well as revenue growth.
BUSINESS
Not just white-collar jobs, AI will even replace manual labour work: Ixigo’s Rajnish Kumar
The good thing about this tech is that it's dead simple to use, and no sector will be spared, he says. It's mostly a race between US and China now, and India is far away, says Kumar.
TRAVEL
Pickyourtrail's domestic dream takes off via Kashmir after suspending Turkey, Azerbaijan tours
Pickyourtrail is expanding its India operations with tour packages for Kashmir. While sentiments have been affected due to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the firm’s co-founder said there is strong potential in the region.
TECHNOLOGY
Chatbot TARA resolves 92% customer queries, AI agents handle 45% calls: Ixigo's Rajnish Kumar
AI is not only helping cut costs but it is also driving Ixigo’s revenue with close to 30 percent attachment rate for their value added services which are completely driven by AI
ENTERTAINMENT
2025 box office snapshot: A pulse for Hindi films, a power run for regional cinema
April has emerged as a strong month for Malayalam movies, grossing over Rs 200 crore for the second time ever after February 2024 with four successful ventures including Thudarum, Alappuzha Gymkhana, Maranamass and Bazooka.
ENTERTAINMENT
IPL back on track in such a short time shows India’s resilience: Gujarat Titans COO
Gujarat Titans Chief Operating Officer (COO) Colonel Arvinder Singh said that IPL's comeback in such a short time shows India's resilience.
SPORTS
IPL 2025 returns: Ad rates up as brands race to make the most of short window
A good pause? Marketers expect higher premiums on ad inventory for some of the remaining matches
BUSINESS
Around 2,000 Indian tourists pull back from Turkey, Azerbaijan; bookings slide south
The cancellation requests were for trips planned to Turkey and Azerbaijan between May and July, initial estimates from industry participants and experts suggest
BUSINESS
Falling footfalls, big losses: PVR Inox stuck in a cliffhanger as Hollywood, Bollywood blink
Hindi hits were few and far between in FY25 which was one of the main reasons for lower footfalls, resulting in poor performance. On the other hand, south films sizzled wiht higher share at the box office.
TRAVEL
Peak XV-backed Atlys takes down ad on Baku, suspends all marketing in Turkey and Azerbaijan
Atlys founder Mohak Nahta said that there has been significant drop in visa volumes from India to the two destinations.
TRAVEL
Indo-Pak tensions: Hotels wary of short-term dip in check-ins
While peace is returning to border states in India, revival in occupancy and bookings will remain affected in the short term, said experts.
BUSINESS
Bombay HC stays Bhool Chuk Maaf's Prime Video premier as PVR Inox takes Maddock to court
While the film was supposed to release on May 9, Maddock Films in a tweet on May 8 said that it will take the direct to streaming route due to the rising tensions between India and Pakistan.
TRAVEL
Host of cancellations, dent in revenue; travel firms brace for impact amid India-Pakistan tensions
Travel firms estimate a dent in revenues due to drop in bookings especially with the April to June period driving majority of the demand for travel companies.
